Structural diversity as a reliable and novel predictor for ecosystem productivity

The physical structure of vegetation is thought to be closely related to ecosystem function, but little is known of its pertinence across geographic regions. Here, we used data from over three million trees in continental North America to evaluate structural diversity - the volumetric capacity and physical arrangement of biotic components in ecosystems - as a predictor of productivity. We show that structural diversity is a robust predictor of forest productivity and consistently outperforms the traditional measure - species diversity - across climate conditions in North America. Moreover, structural diversity appears to be a better surrogate of niche occupancy because it captures variation in size that can be used to measure realized niche space. Structural diversity offers an easily measured metric to direct restoration and management decision making to maximize ecosystem productivity and carbon sequestration.

Automated summary

The study shows that the physical structure of vegetation is closely related to ecosystem function, and structural diversity is a robust predictor of forest productivity. It consistently outperforms species diversity as a predictor across different climate conditions in North America. Moreover, structural diversity captures variation in size and can be used to measure realized niche space, making it a better surrogate of niche occupancy. This study highlights the importance of using structural diversity as a metric for restoration and management decisions to maximize ecosystem productivity and carbon sequestration.