Canopy structural diversity mediates the impact of anthropogenic disturbance on forest biomass

doi:10.1093/jpe/rtag192

J Plant Ecol ›› Advance articles DOI:10.1093/jpe/rtag192

• Research Article • Next Articles

Canopy structural diversity mediates the impact of anthropogenic disturbance on forest biomass

Chuanqi Shi^{1, 2, 3, #}, Siyuan Ren^{4, #}, Yan Zhu^{1, 2, *}

1. Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100093 , China;
2. China National Botanical Garden , Beijing 100093 , China;
3. College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 101408 , China;
4. China Aero Geophysical Survey & Remote Sensing Center for Natural Resources , Beijing 100083 , China
*Correspondence: Yan Zhu, Email: zhuyan@ibcas.ac.cn

Received:2026-01-21 Accepted:2026-08-05 Published:2026-09-09
Supported by:
This work was supported by the NSF-China (32271614; 31870408); Biological Resources Programme, CAS; State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change of China (Y7206F1016).

Abstract

Abstract: The three-dimensional configuration of tree crowns controls resource distribution within canopies, thus driving forest ecosystem functioning, but landscape fragmentation and canopy structure degradation is causing forest biomass loss. Yet, how canopy structural diversity mediates the impact of anthropogenic disturbance on forest biomass remains poorly understood in urbanized regions, where population aggregates in cities and many of the rural areas were converted into built-up land. Here, we combined the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) spaceborne LiDAR with Sentinel imagery to map forest aboveground biomass density (AGBD) at 30 m resolution across Beijing, China. We further assessed the relative contributions of canopy structural diversity (plant area index, PAI and canopy height diversity, H), anthropogenic disturbance (land surface temperature, LST and road network density, RND), and environmental factors (elevation and soil organic matter content, SOM) to AGBD using Bayesian regression modeling, and clarified the direct and indirect pathways linking them to AGBD by structural equation modeling. Results showed that (1) high biomass values were concentrated in mountainous forests, while fragmented lowland forests near urban infrastructure had substantially lower biomass; (2) human disturbance predominantly explained forest biomass variations (66%), followed by structural diversity (20%) and environmental factors (14%), while canopy structural diversity promoted biomass mostly through PAI; and (3) human disturbance (RND and LST) negatively affected biomass, both directly and indirectly by reducing PAI. Our findings highlight canopy structural diversity as a critical mediator between urban disturbance and forest biomass, and demonstrate the potential of GEDI-based monitoring to inform vegetation restoration and sustainable regional planning.

Using GEDI and Sentinel data, we mapped 30-m forest aboveground biomass in Beijing. Anthropogenic disturbance was the primary driver of biomass variation (66%), followed by canopy structure diversity (20%) and environmental factors (14%). Disturbance directly reduced biomass and indirectly suppressed it by decreasing leaf area index. Our findings highlight the key mediating role of canopy structure in linking urban disturbance to forest biomass.

Key words: forest biomass, canopy structural diversity, plant area index, GEDI, multi-source remote sensing, anthropogenic disturbance, forest fragmentation

Chuanqi Shi, Siyuan Ren, Yan Zhu. Canopy structural diversity mediates the impact of anthropogenic disturbance on forest biomass[J]. J Plant Ecol, DOI: 10.1093/jpe/rtag192.

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Canopy structural diversity mediates the impact of anthropogenic disturbance on forest biomass

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