Chen Jiahui, Qiao Xuetao, Hao Minhui, Fan Chunyu, Wang Juan, Zhao Xiuhai, Zhang Chunyu
State Key Laboratory of Efficient Production of Forest Resources, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China.
Research Center of Forest Management Engineering of State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China.
Glob Chang Biol. 2025 Apr;31(4):e70212. doi: 10.1111/gcb.70212.
Climate variability poses a significant threat to ecosystem function and stability. Previous studies suggest that multiple facets of biodiversity enhance the temporal stability of forest ecosystem functioning through compensatory effects. However, as climate change intensifies, two key questions remain unresolved: (1) the mechanisms by which different biodiversity facets sustain the temporal stability of carbon sequestration across spatial scales and (2) how climate variability influences biodiversity and stability at different scales. In this study, based on data from 262 natural communities in the temperate forests of northeastern China, we aggregated metacommunities at varying spatial extents. Using ordinary-least squares regression, we examined the relationships between different facets of biodiversity and the temporal stability of carbon sequestration (hereafter, "stability") across scales. We then employed mixed-effects models to assess how multiple facets of biodiversity influence biotic stability mechanisms at different scales. Additionally, we applied piecewise structural equation modeling to disentangle the relationships among climate variability, multiple facets of biodiversity, and stability across scales. Our findings indicate that biodiversity facets (taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity) enhance ecosystem stability at multiple scales primarily through insurance effects. Temperature variability was negatively correlated with all biodiversity facets, and declines in biodiversity were associated with reduced ecosystem stability at different scales. Precipitation variability, in contrast, was negatively correlated with α diversity facets but positively correlated with β diversity facets. Unexpectedly, precipitation variability exhibited an overall positive correlation with stability across scales. These results suggest that increasing temperature variability may pose a greater threat to temperate forest ecosystems in the future. Thus, preserving multiple facets of biodiversity across spatial scales will be critical for mitigating the adverse effects of climate warming. Furthermore, the impact of precipitation variability cannot be overlooked in arid and semi-arid regions. Our study provides novel insights into biodiversity conservation under global climate change.
气候变异性对生态系统功能和稳定性构成重大威胁。先前的研究表明，生物多样性的多个方面通过补偿效应增强了森林生态系统功能的时间稳定性。然而，随着气候变化加剧，两个关键问题仍未得到解决：（1）不同生物多样性方面在空间尺度上维持碳固存时间稳定性的机制，以及（2）气候变异性如何在不同尺度上影响生物多样性和稳定性。在本研究中，基于中国东北温带森林262个自然群落的数据，我们在不同空间范围聚合了集合群落。使用普通最小二乘法回归，我们研究了生物多样性不同方面与跨尺度碳固存时间稳定性（以下简称“稳定性”）之间的关系。然后，我们采用混合效应模型来评估生物多样性的多个方面如何在不同尺度上影响生物稳定性机制。此外，我们应用分段结构方程模型来理清气候变异性、生物多样性的多个方面以及跨尺度稳定性之间的关系。我们的研究结果表明，生物多样性方面（分类、功能和系统发育多样性）主要通过保险效应在多个尺度上增强生态系统稳定性。温度变异性与所有生物多样性方面呈负相关，生物多样性的下降与不同尺度上生态系统稳定性的降低相关。相比之下，降水变异性与α多样性方面呈负相关，但与β多样性方面呈正相关。出乎意料的是，降水变异性在跨尺度上与稳定性总体呈正相关。这些结果表明，未来温度变异性增加可能对温带森林生态系统构成更大威胁。因此，在空间尺度上保护生物多样性的多个方面对于减轻气候变暖的不利影响至关重要。此外，在干旱和半干旱地区，降水变异性的影响也不容忽视。我们的研究为全球气候变化下的生物多样性保护提供了新的见解。
