Articles | Volume 22, issue 18
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-4729-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-4729-2025
Research article
 | 
17 Sep 2025
Research article |  | 17 Sep 2025

A saturating response of photosynthesis to an increasing leaf area index allows selective harvest of trees without affecting forest productivity

Olivier Bouriaud, Ernst-Detlef Schulze, Konstantin Gregor, Issam Boukhris, Peter Högberg, Roland Irslinger, Phillip Papastefanou, Julia Pongratz, Anja Rammig, Riccardo Valentini, and Christian Körner

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Cited articles

Achat, D. L., Deleuze, C., Landmann, G., Pousse, N., Ranger, J., and Augusto, L.: Quantifying consequences of removing harvesting residues on forest soils and tree growth – a meta-analysis, Forest Ecol. Manag., 348, 124–141, 2015. 
Ameztegui, A., Paquette, A., Shipley, B., Heym, M., Messier, C., and Gravel, D.: Shade tolerance and the functional trait: Demography relationship in temperate and boreal forests, Funct. Ecol., 31, 821–830, 2017. 
Anten, N. P.: Optimal photosynthetic characteristics of individual plants in vegetation stands and implications for species coexistence, Ann. Bot., 95, 495–506, 2005. 
Asner, G. P., Scurlock, J. M., and A. Hicke, J.: Global synthesis of leaf area index observations: implications for ecological and remote sensing studies, Global Ecol. Biogeogr., 12, 191–205, 2003. 
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Short summary
The impact of harvesting on forests' carbon sink capacities is debated. One view is that their sink strength is resilient to harvesting, and the other is that it disrupts these capacities. Our work shows that leaf area index (LAI) has been overlooked in this discussion. We found that temperate forests' carbon uptake is largely insensitive to variations in LAI beyond 4.5 m² m-² but that forests operate at higher levels.
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