2026-10-14T02:36:55Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/33963448 2026-09-22T10:13:01Z category_24235 item_type_3 month_year_09_2026

Data supporting Tree evenness enhances soil carbon stabilization and saturation in temperate forests Zhenghu Zhou (25088800) Terrestrial ecology Tree evenness mineral-associated organic carbon <p dir="ltr">Enhancing stable soil mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC) storage is essential for advancing nature-based climate solutions, yet the mechanisms linking tree diversity to MAOC persistence remain poorly understood. Here, our investigation across six temperate forests demonstrates that tree evenness was a stronger predictor of MAOC storage and saturation than tree richness. Increasing tree evenness from its minimum to maximum observed value was associated with a 1.98-fold increase in MAOC storage, with a stronger effect than climate, carbon inputs, soil properties, and the chemical composition of soil organic matter (SOM). Tree evenness amplifies the positive effects of tree richness and carbon inputs on MAOC storage. Furthermore, tree evenness enhances MAOC storage by increasing the molecular-level evenness of soil organic matter. Overall, by integrating the roles of tree evenness and molecular-level evenness of SOM in regulating MAOC, our study provides mechanistic insights into how managing tree species composition can enhance soil carbon.</p> 2026-09-22T00:00:00Z Dataset Dataset 10.6084/m9.figshare.33963448.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Data_supporting_Tree_evenness_enhances_soil_carbon_stabilization_and_saturation_in_temperate_forests/33963448 CC BY 4.0