CONCLUSION
Our results reconcile the recent
debate on the relative importance of diversity vs. stand factors on
ecosystem properties in natural forests. We showed that
forest
biomass and productivity are more affected by stand factors, while their
temporal stability is dominated by diversity. Notably, our results imply
that the effect of diversity on forest biomass and productivity may
increase with grain size. Our analysis highlights the importance of
forest management to adjust stand structure as an effective way to
increase forest biomass and productivity, so as to mitigate global
climate change. Meanwhile, biodiversity conservation should be
incorporated in forest management practices, which is crucial for
ecosystem stability and to sustain ecosystem services under projected
future climate change. Our results also suggest that management
practices to increase richness and functional diversity may be more
effective to enhance ecosystem functions and stability, than other
diversity components and dimensions.