Natural disturbance impacts on trade-offs and co-benefits of forest biodiversity and carbon. Issue 1961 (27th October 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Mikoláš, Martin; Svitok, Marek; Bače, Radek; Meigs, Garrett W.; Keeton, William S.; Keith, Heather; Buechling, Arne; Trotsiuk, Volodymyr; Kozák, Daniel; Bollmann, Kurt; Begovič, Krešimir; Čada, Vojtěch; Chaskovskyy, Oleh; Ralhan, Dheeraj; Dušátko, Martin; Ferenčík, Matej; Frankovič, Michal; Gloor, Rhiannon; Hofmeister, Jeňýk; Janda, Pavel; Kameniar, Ondrej; Lábusová, Jana; Majdanová, Linda; Nagel, Thomas A.; Pavlin, Jakob; Pettit, Joseph L.; Rodrigo, Ruffy; Roibu, Catalin-Constantin; Rydval, Miloš; Sabatini, Francesco M.; Schurman, Jonathan; Synek, Michal; Vostarek, Ondřej; Zemlerová, Veronika; Svoboda, Miroslav;
• Is Part Of: Proceedings. Volume 288:Issue 1961(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-10-27
• Subjects: biodiversity conservation -- carbon sequestration -- carbon storage -- climate change -- historical disturbance -- primary forest; Biology -- Periodicals; 570.5
• DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1631
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0962-8452

Abstract

Abstract : With accelerating environmental change, understanding forest disturbance impacts on trade-offs between biodiversity and carbon dynamics is of high socio-economic importance. Most studies, however, have assessed immediate or short-term effects of disturbance, while long-term impacts remain poorly understood. Using a tree-ring-based approach, we analysed the effect of 250 years of disturbances on present-day biodiversity indicators and carbon dynamics in primary forests. Disturbance legacies spanning centuries shaped contemporary forest co-benefits and trade-offs, with contrasting, local-scale effects. Disturbances enhanced carbon sequestration, reaching maximum rates within a comparatively narrow post-disturbance window (up to 50 years). Concurrently, disturbance diminished aboveground carbon storage, which gradually returned to peak levels over centuries. Temporal patterns in biodiversity potential were bimodal; the first maximum coincided with the short-term post-disturbance carbon sequestration peak, and the second occurred during periods of maximum carbon storage in complex old-growth forest. Despite fluctuating local-scale trade-offs, forest biodiversity and carbon storage remained stable across the broader study region, and our data support a positive relationship between carbon stocks and biodiversity potential. These findings underscore the interdependencies of forest processes, and highlight the necessity of large-scale conservation programmes to effectively promote both biodiversity and long-term carbon storage, particularly given the accelerating global biodiversity and climate crises.