Tree species diversity and composition relationship to biomass, understory community, and crown architecture in intensively managed plantations of the coastal Pacific Northwest, USA

Abstract

Trends in land cover and the demand for ecosystem services suggest that plantation forests will be expected to provide a larger quantity and diversity of ecosystem services. We identified three measures indicative of diverse ecosystem services (aboveground biomass, understory biodiversity, and crown length) and compared their relationships to tree species composition in intensively managed forest plantations of the Coast Range mountains of the Pacific Northwest, United States. This study was conducted in stands of western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco), and red alder (Alnus rubra Bong.), as well as in mixtures of the three species that were 35–39 years old. In this operational setting, we did not observe the positive relationship between species diversity and productivity observed in other studies, which we attributed to management practices that minimize interspecific interaction during most of the rotation. Crown length and understory species diversity were greater in mixtures of tree species than in (monospecific) monocultures. When multiple ecosystem components were considered simultaneously, mixtures of tree species outperformed monocultures. The observed relationships of the three responses to tree species composition and diversity are likely explained by differences in tree phenology, shade tolerance, disease susceptibility, and management interventions. Based on the results, management that is solely fixated on wood production homogeneously throughout the plantation may miss opportunities to provide other ecosystem services.