Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42436137›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Canopy structural diversity mediates the effect of climate on primary productivity in forests.

Xiaoxia Yi, Grégoire Vincent, Tianyu Hu, Jianli Liu, James A Lutz, Haibao Ren, Lei Chen, David F R P Burslem, Joseph D Birch, Min Cao and 21 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

31 authors.

Xiaoxia YiZhejiang Qianjiangyuan Forest Biodiversity National Observation and Research Station, Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Grégoire VincentAMAP, Univ. Montpellier, CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE, IRD, Montpellier, France.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9443-021X
Tianyu HuZhejiang Qianjiangyuan Forest Biodiversity National Observation and Research Station, Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Jianli LiuCollege of Geography and Geomatics, Xuchang University, Xuchang, China.
James A LutzWildland Resources Department, Utah State University, 5230 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2560-0710
Haibao RenZhejiang Qianjiangyuan Forest Biodiversity National Observation and Research Station, Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8955-301X
Lei ChenZhejiang Qianjiangyuan Forest Biodiversity National Observation and Research Station, Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0625-4808
David F R P BurslemSchool of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Cruickshank Building, St Machar Drive, Aberdeen, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6033-0990
Joseph D BirchWildland Resources Department, Utah State University, 5230 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT, USA.
Min CaoCAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China.
James W DallingDepartment of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6488-9895
David A CoomesUniversity of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8261-2582
Géraldine DerroireCirad, UMR EcoFoG (AgroParistech, CNRS, INRAE, Université des Antilles, Université de la Guyane), Campus Agronomique, Kourou, French Guiana.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7239-2881
Hu DuKey Laboratory of Agro-ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, Hunan, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9645-399X
Shuai FangCAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Silviculture, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China.
Guangze JinCenter for Ecological Research, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, China.
Jinbo LiInstitute of Natural Resources and Ecology, Heilongjiang Academy of Sciences, Harbin, China.
Fei LinCAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Silviculture, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China.
Hongwei NiHeilongjiang Academy of Forestry, Harbin, China.
Michael J O'BrienEstación Experimental de Zonas Áridas, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Almería, Spain.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0943-8423
Guochun ShenZhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9853-6062
Xihua WangZhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5835-7529
Xingyu WangZhejiang Qianjiangyuan Forest Biodiversity National Observation and Research Station, Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Jie YangCAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4444-8240
Fuping ZengKey Laboratory of Agro-ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Daoguang ZhuInstitute of Natural Resources and Ecology, Heilongjiang Academy of Sciences, Harbin, China.
Yan ZhuZhejiang Qianjiangyuan Forest Biodiversity National Observation and Research Station, Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Yanjun SuZhejiang Qianjiangyuan Forest Biodiversity National Observation and Research Station, Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7931-339X
Qinghua GuoInstitute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Science, Peking University, Beijing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1065-0838
Keping MaZhejiang Qianjiangyuan Forest Biodiversity National Observation and Research Station, Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9112-5340
Xiangcheng MiZhejiang Qianjiangyuan Forest Biodiversity National Observation and Research Station, Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. mixiangcheng@ibcas.ac.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2971-5881

Funding

Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology | Department of S and T for Social Development (Department of S&T for Social Development) 2023YFE0112802
6 · The paper itself

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.

Indexed as

BiodiversityClimateForestsTreesEcosystemTropical Climate

Identifiers

PMID42436137
PMCPMC13484487

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.