SUMMARY:

Controlled studies at small scale have demonstrated that biodiversity conveys numerous ecosystem benefits such increased productivity and resistance to disturbance. It has not been as clear, however, whether those relationships hold across broad scales in natural forests.

I have coordinated or collaborated in several studies assessing the relationship between biodiversity and forest function across broad U.S. regions, using data from tens of thousands of Nationwide Forest Inventory (NFI) plots. This includes studies focusing on biodiversity and biomass accumulation and resistance to non-native plant and pest invasion. The results offer guidance about what kinds of biodiversity are most relevant to ecosystem function, where this diversity exists in U.S. forests, and under what circumstances it is most important.

For some of these studies, I compiled a phylogenetic “supertree” for nearly 400 North American tree species based on the most recent molecular phylogenetic studies; I used this supertree to generate biodiversity metrics quantifying the evolutionary relationships encompassed by species on each NFI plot. Such measures of phylogenetic diversity or clustering could more accurately predict the diversity of ecological functions provided by a forest because species that are phylogenetically distinct may have traits and provide services not offered by species more closely related to each other.

LINKS:

• The Forest Family: Relationships among Tree Species

CONTACT: Kevin Potter, kevin.potter@usda.gov or (919) 281-1971