Canopy structural diversity mediates the effect of climate on primary productivity in forests
Abstract
Canopy structural diversity varies systematically with climate and species diversity across boreal, temperate, and tropical biomes. Yet, how this latitudinal variation affects forest productivity—particularly the role of structural diversity in mediating effects of climate on productivity across biomes—remains unresolved. By synthesizing airborne laser scanning data and ground-based forest inventories spanning boreal to tropical forests, we show that beyond its direct effects on forest productivity, climate influences productivity indirectly by regulating canopy structural diversity—a significant, yet previously underappreciated mechanism whose precise magnitude is challenging to isolate. Notably, we observe a pronounced latitudinal congruence between hotspots of structural diversity and productivity. This positions structural diversity not only as a complementary indicator of productivity but also as a critical mediator of the influence of climate and species diversity, essential for improved forecasting.
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BibTeX
@article{yi2026canopy,
title = {{Canopy structural diversity mediates the effect of climate on primary productivity in forests}},
author = {Xiaoxia Yi and Grégoire Vincent and Tianyu Hu and Jianli Liu and James A Lutz and Haibao Ren and Lei Chen and David F R P Burslem and Joseph D Birch and Min Cao and James W Dalling and David A Coomes and Géraldine Derroire and Hu Du and Shuai Fang and Guangze Jin and Jinbo Li and Fei Lin and Hongwei Ni and Michael J O’brien and Guochun Shen and Xihua Wang and Xingyu Wang and Jie Yang and Fuping Zeng and Daoguang Zhu and Yan Zhu and Yanjun Su and Qinghua Guo and Keping Ma and Xiangcheng Mi},
journal = {Nature Communications},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-75043-3},
url = {https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05781703v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Canopy structural diversity mediates the effect of climate on primary productivity in forests
AU - Xiaoxia Yi
AU - Grégoire Vincent
AU - Tianyu Hu
AU - Jianli Liu
AU - James A Lutz
AU - Haibao Ren
AU - Lei Chen
AU - David F R P Burslem
AU - Joseph D Birch
AU - Min Cao
AU - James W Dalling
AU - David A Coomes
AU - Géraldine Derroire
AU - Hu Du
AU - Shuai Fang
AU - Guangze Jin
AU - Jinbo Li
AU - Fei Lin
AU - Hongwei Ni
AU - Michael J O’brien
AU - Guochun Shen
AU - Xihua Wang
AU - Xingyu Wang
AU - Jie Yang
AU - Fuping Zeng
AU - Daoguang Zhu
AU - Yan Zhu
AU - Yanjun Su
AU - Qinghua Guo
AU - Keping Ma
AU - Xiangcheng Mi
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/11
JO - Nature Communications
DO - 10.1038/s41467-026-75043-3
UR - https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05781703v1
AB - Canopy structural diversity varies systematically with climate and species diversity across boreal, temperate, and tropical biomes. Yet, how this latitudinal variation affects forest productivity—particularly the role of structural diversity in mediating effects of climate on productivity across biomes—remains unresolved. By synthesizing airborne laser scanning data and ground-based forest inventories spanning boreal to tropical forests, we show that beyond its direct effects on forest productivity, climate influences productivity indirectly by regulating canopy structural diversity—a significant, yet previously underappreciated mechanism whose precise magnitude is challenging to isolate. Notably, we observe a pronounced latitudinal congruence between hotspots of structural diversity and productivity. This positions structural diversity not only as a complementary indicator of productivity but also as a critical mediator of the influence of climate and species diversity, essential for improved forecasting.
SN - 2041-1723
SN - 2041-1723
ER -