Variations in tree growth provide limited evidence of species mixture effects in Interior West USA mixed-conifer forests

In mixed stands, species complementarity (e.g. facilitation and competition reduction) may enhance forest tree productivity. Although positive mixture effects have been identified in forests world-wide, the majority of studies have focused on two-species interactions in managed systems with high functional diversity. We extended this line of research to examine mixture effects on tree productivity across landscape-scale compositional and environmental gradients in the low functional diversity, fire-suppressed, mixed-conifer forests of the U.S. Interior West. We investigated mixture effects on the productivity of Pinus ponderosa, Pseudotsuga menziesii and Abies concolor. Using region-wide forest inventory data, we created individual-tree generalized linear mixed models and examined the growth of these species across community gradients. We compared the relative influences of stand structure, age, competition and environmental stress on mixture effects using multi-model inference. We analysed growth of neighbouring tree species to infer whether a mixture effect in a single species translated to the stand-level. We found support for a positive mixture effect in P. menziesii, although our results were equivocal in light of a weaker but still plausible alternative model. Growth of P. menziesii neighbouring species in mixed stands declined or held constant depending on aridity, suggesting that a positive mixture effect in P. menziesii does not necessarily extend to the stand level. We found no evidence for mixture effects in P. ponderosa, A. concolor or their neighbouring species. Complementarity appears to have a limited influence on tree growth in the mixed-conifer systems of the U.S. Interior West, reflecting limited functional diversity. Historical changes in stand structure following fire exclusion, particularly high stand densities, may limit the potential for positive species mixture effects. The limited species pool of Interior West forests increases the risk that, without careful management, what functional diversity exists could be lost to compositional changes resulting from stand dynamics or disturbance.

Automated summary

Positive mixture effects were found in Douglas-fir in mixed-conifer forests of the U.S. Interior West, but the extent of this effect to stand level was equivocal. In contrast, no evidence of mixture effects was found for Ponderosa pine, White fir or their neighboring species. Limited functional diversity and historical changes in stand structure may limit the potential for species mixture effects in these forests.