Abstract
Forest biodiversity experiments test how species diversity affects forest ecosystem functioning, typically in terms of forest productivity. In this Review, we discuss key findings from these experiments and put them into context with observational studies from forests. Experimental studies can reveal causal effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning, which is extremely challenging in observational studies. The past three decades of experimental research show that increasing tree diversity can promote a multitude of ecosystem functions through resource partitioning, abiotic and biotic facilitation, and other species interactions. The longest-running experiments show that these relationships strengthen over time, and comparative work in natural or planted forests suggests that these effects are likely to persist. Moreover, diversity at other trophic levels can strongly mediate tree diversity effects on forest productivity. New experiments that manipulate both tree diversity and the diversity of other trophic levels as orthogonal treatments are needed to investigate causality in these interactions. Furthermore, experiments crossing tree diversity with global change factors are necessary to understand the context-dependency of tree diversity–ecosystem functioning relationships under global change. Finally, combining insights from observational studies and experiments can help biodiversity–ecosystem function research to inform restoration and forest management targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework.
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Acknowledgements
We thank S. Li, Y. Li, C. Chen and S. Zhang for their help in collecting the experiment information in Supplementary Table 1 and improving the figures. X.L. was supported by the National Key Research Development Program of China (2022YFF0802300), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32525042 and 32222055), and the Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS (2023019). J.C.-B. was supported by the ASCEND Biology Integration Institute, NSF DBI (2021898) and Cedar Creek Long-Term Ecological Research, NSF DEB (1831944). A.S. was supported by the German Research Foundation DFG (452861007/FOR 5281). B.S. was supported by the NOMIS Foundation, the Presidential International Fellowship Initiative (PIFI) from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the University Research Priority Program on Global Change and Biodiversity of the University of Zurich.
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X.L. and K.M. conceived the idea. X.L. A.S., J.C.-B., A.P., B.S. and K.M. together wrote the review.
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Glossary
- Facilitation
A species in a mixture benefits from the presence of other species that change the abiotic or biotic environment.
- Functional diversity
Variation in function among individuals or species within a circumscribed space, often calculated for multiple traits, using a variety of metrics, which can be abundance-weighted.
- Multi-functionality
Measures combining multiple ecosystem functions into a single value, based on averages or on the number of functions reaching a minimal level.
- Multi-trophic diversity
The species diversity across multiple groups of organisms belonging to different trophic levels, often expressed as the average across the standardized (that is, relative) species richness values of each group of organisms.
- Phylogenetic diversity
Evolutionary divergence among individuals or species within a circumscribed space, calculated from a phylogeny using a variety of metrics, which can be abundance-weighted.
- Resilience
The ability of ecosystem properties to return to a pre-disturbance condition after a disturbance.
- Resistance
The ability of individuals, species or communities to persist and maintain ecosystem functions despite exposure to a stress or disturbance.
- Stability
The capacity of an ecosystem to maintain its structure and function over time, despite disturbances and environmental fluctuations.
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Liu, X., Schuldt, A., Cavender-Bares, J. et al. Ecological insights from three decades of forest biodiversity experiments.
Nat. Rev. Biodivers. (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44358-025-00112-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44358-025-00112-2
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