On the use of observational data in studying biodiversity-productivity relationships in forests
The biodiversity-productivity relationship is one of the focus areas in ecological research that is studied primarily through mixed species experiments. Recent efforts in forests, however, increasingly involve the use of observational data, due to the difficulty in establishing long-term, multispeci...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Canadian Institute of Forestry
2019-05-01
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| Series: | The Forestry Chronicle |
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| Online Access: | https://pubs.cif-ifc.org/doi/10.5558/tfc2019-006 |
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| author | Xiuli Chu Hua Yang Yong Jiang Rongzhou Man |
| author_facet | Xiuli Chu Hua Yang Yong Jiang Rongzhou Man |
| author_sort | Xiuli Chu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The biodiversity-productivity relationship is one of the focus areas in ecological research that is studied primarily through mixed species experiments. Recent efforts in forests, however, increasingly involve the use of observational data, due to the difficulty in establishing long-term, multispecies plantations. Caution is warranted in the observational databased causal relationships between biodiversity and productivity due to the potential confounding effects by environmental variations. In this article, we use a recent forest example to demonstrate how erroneous results could be generated in studying biodiversity-forest productivity relationships when species diversity is highly correlated with environmental variables (multicollinearity). In forestry, erroneous biodiversity-productivity relationships can mislead future research, industry decisions, and policy development. Forest researchers and managers should be aware of the issues associated with collinear data and validate research results with literature reports and professional knowledge. Options to deal with observational data are discussed. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-49551296be5447f99fd1a31d646bd2f0 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 0015-7546 1499-9315 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2019-05-01 |
| publisher | Canadian Institute of Forestry |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Forestry Chronicle |
| spelling | doaj-art-49551296be5447f99fd1a31d646bd2f02025-08-20T02:56:51ZengCanadian Institute of ForestryThe Forestry Chronicle0015-75461499-93152019-05-019501242810.5558/tfc2019-006On the use of observational data in studying biodiversity-productivity relationships in forestsXiuli Chu0Hua Yang1Yong Jiang2Rongzhou Man3Research Institute of Subtropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Zhejiang, ChinaCollege of Forestry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, ChinaYong Jiang, Key laboratory of Ecology of Rare and Endangered Species and Environmental Protection of Ministry of Education, Guangxi Normal University, ChinaOntario Forest Research Institute, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Sault Ste. Marie, CanadaThe biodiversity-productivity relationship is one of the focus areas in ecological research that is studied primarily through mixed species experiments. Recent efforts in forests, however, increasingly involve the use of observational data, due to the difficulty in establishing long-term, multispecies plantations. Caution is warranted in the observational databased causal relationships between biodiversity and productivity due to the potential confounding effects by environmental variations. In this article, we use a recent forest example to demonstrate how erroneous results could be generated in studying biodiversity-forest productivity relationships when species diversity is highly correlated with environmental variables (multicollinearity). In forestry, erroneous biodiversity-productivity relationships can mislead future research, industry decisions, and policy development. Forest researchers and managers should be aware of the issues associated with collinear data and validate research results with literature reports and professional knowledge. Options to deal with observational data are discussed.https://pubs.cif-ifc.org/doi/10.5558/tfc2019-006species richnessconfounding variablesregression analysiscausal effectsmulticollinearitydiversité des espèces |
| spellingShingle | Xiuli Chu Hua Yang Yong Jiang Rongzhou Man On the use of observational data in studying biodiversity-productivity relationships in forests The Forestry Chronicle species richness confounding variables regression analysis causal effects multicollinearity diversité des espèces |
| title | On the use of observational data in studying biodiversity-productivity relationships in forests |
| title_full | On the use of observational data in studying biodiversity-productivity relationships in forests |
| title_fullStr | On the use of observational data in studying biodiversity-productivity relationships in forests |
| title_full_unstemmed | On the use of observational data in studying biodiversity-productivity relationships in forests |
| title_short | On the use of observational data in studying biodiversity-productivity relationships in forests |
| title_sort | on the use of observational data in studying biodiversity productivity relationships in forests |
| topic | species richness confounding variables regression analysis causal effects multicollinearity diversité des espèces |
| url | https://pubs.cif-ifc.org/doi/10.5558/tfc2019-006 |
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