Fig. 1

Schematic example of how species diversity (S), volume production and mean wood density may co-vary with disturbance and recovery in an example wet forest. The top schematic shows four idealized stages in forest recovery (I–IV) comprised of three species: pioneer, early- and late-successional (after Connell 1978). These species possess characteristic volume-growths and wood-densities indicated by the relative size of the red and blue circles respectively on the adult trees. Species diversity in the four schematic successional stages shows a rise and fall with long-term forest recovery (a peak occurs between II and III when all three species have the potential to co-occur). The central graphic illustrates the rise and fall of diversity (continuous black line), declining volume growth (red dotted line), and increasing mean stand wood density (blue dashed line) with recovery (absence of disturbance) in a wet forest. The two lower figures show the potentially contrasting relationships between diversity, volume growth and wood density that may occur depending on the disturbance histories observed. This schematic is a stylized representation of patterns that will differ among locations (for example, wood densities may decline with succession in dry Neotropical forests)