articleNature CommunicationsMar 1, 2022GOLD OA

Tree functional traits, forest biomass, and tree species diversity interact with site properties to drive forest soil carbon

Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement · Biologie du Fruit et Pathologie · +4 more institutions

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Abstract

Forests constitute important ecosystems in the global carbon cycle. However, how trees and environmental conditions interact to determine the amount of organic carbon stored in forest soils is a hotly debated subject. In particular, how tree species influence soil organic carbon (SOC) remains unclear. Based on a global compilation of data, we show that functional traits of trees and forest standing biomass explain half of the local variability in forest SOC. The effects of functional traits on SOC depended on the climatic and soil conditions with the strongest effect observed under boreal climate and on acidic, poor, coarse-textured soils. Mixing tree species in forests also favours the storage of SOC,…

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