Large-sized trees regulating the structural diversity–productivity relationships through shaping different productive processes in a tropical forest

Forest structural diversity, a measurement indicating the spatial and size distribution of individual trees, is critical for forest productivity, which stems from the combination of different ecological processes, such as tree mortality, recruitment and growth. Here, we evaluated the relationship between structural diversity and productivity caused by different ecological processes, and tested the roles of different-sized trees in influencing this relationship in a Forest Global Earth Observatory (ForestGEO) rainforest site on the Barro Colorado Island between 2000 and 2015. Generally, we found a negative relationship between structural diversity and forest productivity. Specifically, tree mortality-induced productivity loss increased, while tree recruitment-induced productivity gain decreased, with structural diversity. In addition, the structural diversity–productivity relationship varied with tree size, which was negative for small trees but positive for large trees. Furthermore, we revealed the important role of large-sized trees, which significantly promoted structural diversity but decreased productivity through increasing biomass loss. By disentangling the components of productivity, our results provide insights on the mechanism of the relationship between structural diversity and productivity, and highlight the role of large trees in shaping this relationship.