Mixed-species forestry is a promising approach to enhance productivity, increase carbon sequestration, and mitigate climate change. Diverse forests, composed of species with varying structures and functional trait profiles, may have higher functional and structural diversity, which are attributes relevant to a number of mechanisms that can influence productivity. However, it remains unclear whether the context-dependent roles of functional identity, functional diversity, and structural diversity can lead to a generalized understanding of tree diversity effects on stand productivity. To address these gaps, we analyzed growth data from 83,600 trees from 89 species across 21 young tree diversity experiments spanning five continents and three biomes. Results revealed a positive saturating relationship between tree species richness and stand productivity, with reduced variability in growth rates among more diverse stands. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that functional diversity mediated the positive effects of species richness on productivity. We additionally report a negative relationship between structural diversity and productivity, which decreased with increasing species richness. When partitioning net diversity effects, we found that selection effects played a dominant role in driving the overall increase in productivity in these predominantly young stands, contributing 77% of the net diversity effect. Selection effects increased with diversity in wood density. Furthermore, acquisitive species with lower wood density and higher leaf nitrogen content had higher productivity in more diverse stands, while conservative species showed neutral to slightly negative responses to species mixing. Together, these results suggest that combining acquisitive with conservative species allows acquisitive species to drive positive selection effects while conservative species tolerate competition. Thus, contrasting resource-use strategies can enhance productivity to optimize mixed-species forestry, with potential for both ecological and economic benefits.

Biodiversity Macroecology and Biogeography University of Göttingen Göttingen Germany

Center for Carbon Research on Tropical Agriculture University of São Paulo Piracicaba São Paulo Brazil

Centre for Forest Management Forest Research Alice Holt Lodge Farnham Surrey UK

Chair of Silviculture Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources University of Freiburg Freiburg Germany

CIRAD UMR Eco and Sols Montpellier France

College of Natural Resources University of Wisconsin Stevens Point Stevens Point Wisconsin USA

Département des sciences biologiques Université du Québec à Montréal Montréal Canada

Department Environment Forest and Nature Lab Campus Gontrode Ghent University Melle Gontrode Belgium

Department Forest Nature and Landscape KU Leuven Leuven Belgium

Department of Biology McGill University Montréal Québec Canada

Department of Community Ecology Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research UFZ Halle Germany

Department of Crop Production Ecology Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Uppsala Sweden

Department of Ecology Evolution and Behavior University of Minnesota St Paul Minnesota USA

Department of Ecosystem Management Climate and Biodiversity Institute of Forest Ecology University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna Austria

Department of Forest Protection and Wildlife Management Mendel University Brno Czech republic

Department of Forest Resources University of Minnesota St Paul Minnesota USA

Department of Plant Ecology Technical University of Berlin Berlin Germany

Department of Renewable Resources University of Alberta Edmonton Alberta Canada

Eco and Sols Univ Montpellier CIRAD INRAE Institut Agro IRD Montpellier France

Forest Science Department University of São Paulo ESALQ Piracicaba Brazil

Foundation Euro Mediterranean Center on Climate Change Sassari Italy

geo konzept society for environmental planning systems mbH Adelschlag Germany

Geobotany Faculty of Biology University of Freiburg Freiburg Germany

German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research Halle Jena Leipzig Leipzig Germany

Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment Western Sydney University Penrith New South Wales Australia

INRAE BIOGECO Cestas France

INRAE Ecologie des Forêts Méditerranéennes Avignon France

Institute for Global Change Biology University of Michigan Ann Arbor Michigan USA

Institute of Biology Leipzig University Leipzig Germany

National Biodiversity Future Center Palermo Italy

National Research Council Institute of Bioeconomy Sassari Italy

Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Sault Ste Marie Ontario Canada

re green Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro Brazil

School of Environmental and Conservation Sciences Murdoch University Murdoch Western Australia Australia

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center Edgewater Maryland USA

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Forest GEO Panama City Panama

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute ForestGEO Agua Salud Project Panama City Panama

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Panama City Panama

Soil Science Faculty of Agriculture Civil and Environmental Engineering University of Rostock Rostock Germany

Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Alnarp Sweden

The UWA Institute of Agriculture The University of Western Australia Perth Western Australia Australia

Tropical Silviculture and Forest Ecology University of Göttingen Göttingen Germany

UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Environment Centre Wales Bangor UK

Université catholique de Louvain Earth and Life Institute Environmental Sciences Louvain la Neuve Belgium

University of Bordeaux INRAE BIOGECO Cestas France

USDA Forest Service Human Dimensions Fort Collins Colorado USA

West Virginia University Morgantown West Virginia USA

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