Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2011 Nov 27;366(1582):3303-15. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2011.0094.
Relatively, little is known about the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in forests, especially in the tropics. We describe the Sabah Biodiversity Experiment: a large-scale, long-term field study on the island of Borneo. The project aims at understanding the relationship between tree species diversity and the functioning of lowland dipterocarp rainforest during restoration following selective logging. The experiment is planned to run for several decades (from seed to adult tree), so here we focus on introducing the project and its experimental design and on assessing initial conditions and the potential for restoration of the structure and functioning of the study system, the Malua Forest Reserve. We estimate residual impacts 22 years after selective logging by comparison with an appropriate neighbouring area of primary forest in Danum Valley of similar conditions. There was no difference in the alpha or beta species diversity of transect plots in the two forest types, probably owing to the selective nature of the logging and potential effects of competitive release. However, despite equal total stem density, forest structure differed as expected with a deficit of large trees and a surfeit of saplings in selectively logged areas. These impacts on structure have the potential to influence ecosystem functioning. In particular, above-ground biomass and carbon pools in selectively logged areas were only 60 per cent of those in the primary forest even after 22 years of recovery. Our results establish the initial conditions for the Sabah Biodiversity Experiment and confirm the potential to accelerate restoration by using enrichment planting of dipterocarps to overcome recruitment limitation. What role dipterocarp diversity plays in restoration only will become clear with long-term results.
相对而言，人们对森林生物多样性与生态系统功能之间的关系知之甚少，尤其是在热带地区。我们描述了沙巴生物多样性实验：这是在婆罗洲岛上进行的一项大规模、长期的实地研究。该项目旨在了解树种多样性与低地龙脑香雨林在选择性采伐后恢复过程中的功能关系。该实验计划持续几十年（从种子到成年树），因此我们在这里重点介绍该项目及其实验设计，并评估初始条件和研究系统（马卢阿森林保护区）恢复的潜力。我们通过与丹浓谷原始森林的适当相邻地区进行比较，来估计选择性采伐 22 年后的残留影响。这两种森林类型的样带地块的α多样性或β多样性没有差异，这可能是由于采伐的选择性和竞争释放的潜在影响。然而，尽管总茎密度相等，但森林结构却有所不同，选择性采伐区的大树数量不足，幼树过多。这些结构上的影响有可能影响生态系统功能。特别是，在经过 22 年的恢复后，选择性采伐区的地上生物量和碳储量仅为原始森林的 60%。我们的研究结果为沙巴生物多样性实验确定了初始条件，并证实了通过富集种植龙脑香科树种来克服繁殖限制从而加速恢复的潜力。龙脑香科多样性在恢复中扮演什么角色，只有通过长期的结果才能清楚。
