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# Heavy thinning increased short-term growth while shrinking one dimension of functional diversity
- URL: https://intelligence.wildlandseco.com/2026-09-27-zhejiang-thinning-diversity-productivity/
- Published: 2026-09-27T11:16:19.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-27T11:16:19.000Z
- Description: Three years after treatment in a Zhejiang secondary forest, heavy thinning raised species diversity and biomass growth but reduced functional richness—so the management response depends on which objective is being measured.
- Author: Benjamin Worlund
- Tags: forest thinning, functional diversity, productivity, Zhejiang, land management, Forestry, biodiversity, Forest structure, Management, #ecological-intelligence, #brief-2026-09-27, #land-manager-watch, #peer-reviewed

Evidence

Peer-reviewed

Geography

Zhejiang Province, China

System

Subtropical secondary evergreen broad-leaved forest

## WHAT THE EVIDENCE SAYS

Thirty plots were assigned to control, light thinning (10–15% basal-area removal) or heavy thinning (20–25%), with ten replicates each. After three years, heavy thinning increased species diversity, functional evenness and divergence and raised total-biomass relative growth rate by 66.7% versus controls, while functional richness fell 61.9%. The diversity–productivity relationship also shifted from negative under control/light treatments to positive under heavy thinning.

## WHY IT MATTERS / OUR READ

For managers, ‘more diversity’ and ‘more growth’ are not single outcomes. Thinning intensity can move species diversity, trait-space occupancy, structure and productivity in different directions, so the prescription should follow the objective and be evaluated with more than basal-area growth alone.

## CAVEATS / UNCERTAINTY

These are three-year responses in one regional forest type and may represent transient post-thinning dynamics rather than a stable endpoint. Higher short-term biomass growth does not establish long-term resilience or biodiversity benefit, and the loss of functional richness is a material tradeoff rather than noise.

## SOURCE

BMC Plant Biology  
[View original evidence ↗](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12870-026-09825-8?ref=intelligence.wildlandseco.com)

From the Morning Brief · 2026-09-27

[Read the full Morning Brief →](https://intelligence.wildlandseco.com/morning-brief-2026-09-27/)