Data from: Phylogenetic diversity correlated with aboveground biomass production during forest succession: evidence from tropical forests in Southeast Asia

Enhancing knowledge on the role of evolutionary history during forest
succession and its relationship with ecosystem function is particularly
relevant in the context of forest landscape restoration for climate change
mitigation and adaptation. We used fine-resolution vegetation and
environmental data (soil, elevation and slope) from two large-scale
surveys (320 x 1000 m2 plots in two 10 km x 10 km blocks) in the Upper
Mekong to quantify (1) the role of abiotic and biotic (species
interactions) factors in community assembly processes and (2) the effect
of biodiversity, environmental factors and forest succession on
aboveground biomass (AGB). We found strong correlation between soil
fertility and community structure in the early successional seres, while
species interactions played an increasingly important role in older seres,
presumably due to species complementary. We detected a significant
relationship between AGB and phylogenetic diversity, elevation and soil
fertility across successional gradients. Within successional stages, soil
fertility was not significantly associated with AGB, while elevation was
significantly associated with AGB only in forest <100 years old.
Phylogenetic diversity was positively correlated with AGB in the young
secondary forest (< 15 years old) but not significantly associated
with AGB in older seres.  Synthesis: Our results support the
hypothesis that abiotic filtering influences species assembly in the
initial stages of forest succession, while biotic interactions dominate
community assembly processes in older seres. We found that phylogenetic
diversity, soil fertility and elevation gradients were strongly predictive
of AGB in a secondary tropical montane forest in Southeast Asia. However,
elevation may reflect other underlying abiotic gradients, such as water
availability. Phylogenetic diversity was significantly associated with AGB
only in youngest seres (<15 years old). Considering phylogenetic
diversity in restoration plantings and the management of forests younger
than 15 years old could enhance forest biomass and the climate mitigation
function forest landscape restoration.