Latitudinal patterns and processes shaping temperate forest stability

Abstract Latitudinal patterns and drivers of forest stability play a vital role in informing forest policy and conservation decisions. Previous studies have shown that the temporal invariability of forest productivity decreases at higher latitudes due to lower tree diversity and reduced environmental heterogeneity. However, these studies focus primarily on temporal invariability, leaving other dimensions of stability, such as resistance and resilience poorly understood. Since different stability dimensions reflect distinct ecosystem responses to disturbances and are potentially influenced by different biotic and abiotic factors, a more comprehensive approach is needed. Using 253 standardized temperate forest inventories across 89 local spaces, and satellite‐derived Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) time series–based estimates of above‐ground net primary productivity, we examined latitudinal patterns in resistance, resilience and temporal invariability. Furthermore, we investigated how disturbances (climate extremes and human activities), local environmental conditions (topography and soil nutrients) and vegetation properties (tree size, alpha diversity and beta diversity) shape these stability patterns. We found contrasting latitudinal trends across stability dimensions. Resilience and temporal invariability decreased with increasing latitude whereas resistance increased. For resistance, disturbances were the dominant driver. By comparison, for both resilience and temporal invariability, disturbances, local environmental conditions and vegetation properties each accounted for roughly one‐third of the explained variation. Temporal invariability increased with tree size, alpha and beta diversity, while resilience increased with alpha diversity. Furthermore, climate extremes directly reduced resistance at lower latitudes and reduced alpha diversity, weakening resilience at higher latitudes. In contrast, human activities reduced beta diversity, contributing to reduced temporal invariability as latitude increased. Synthesis . Our findings highlight the need to prioritize alpha diversity in forest policy and management to mitigate the impacts of climate extremes while emphasizing beta diversity in human‐impacted regions to maintain long‐term forest stability.