Structural diversity underpins carbon storage in Australian temperate forests

Abstract

Aim: Forest carbon storage is the result of a multitude of interactions among biotic and abiotic factors. Our aim was to use an integrative approach to elucidate mechanistic relationships of carbon storage with biotic and abiotic factors in the natural forests of temperate Australia, a region that has been overlooked in global analyses of carbon-biodiversity relations. Location: South-eastern Australia. Time period: 2010–2015. Major taxa studied: Forest trees in 732 plots. Methods: We used the most comprehensive forest inventory database available for south-eastern Australia and structural equation models to assess carbon-storage relationships with biotic factors (species or functional diver..