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@article{Ding:2026,
author = {Ding, R and Nobrega, R and Collalti, A and Harrison, SP and Prentice, IC},
journal = {Global Change Biology},
title = {Resolving the multiple controls of biomass productionefficiency in woody plants},
year = {2026}
}
TY - JOUR
AB - Plants assimilate carbon through photosynthesis to support biomass production (BP), autotrophic respiration (Ra) and the synthesis of non-structural compounds. Biomass production efficiency (BPE), the fraction of assimilated carbon allocated to BP, is one key factor influencing ecosystems’ potential to store carbon. However there is no consensus on the controls of BPE, and even the sign of its response to growth temperature is unclear. By means of statistical hypothesis testing using the largest observational dataset to date on annual BPE (n = 514 records) from evergreen and deciduous woody plants, we confirm earlier findings that BPE declines with stand age and is greater in deciduous plants. However, we also show that BPE declines towards more organic, sandy, or alkaline soils and increases with climatic aridity, while declining with warmer growing seasons and increasing with warmer winters. Such a dual temperature response is consistent with additional carbon costs due to the need for cold-hardening processes, and reconciles contradictory published reports of both positive and negative effects of temperature on BPE. Notably, our analysis provides novel evidence that BPE is significantly higher in species associated with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi than in those associated with ectomycorrhizal (EcM) fungi and mixed EcM–AM associations. Our analysis explains the observed BPE patterns better than dynamic global vegetation models (DGVMs) from the TRENDY (Trends and Drivers of the Regional-Scale Terrestrial Sources and Sinks of Carbon Dioxide) project, which show a weaker correspondence with observations. In particular, our model captures reduced BPE in boreal regions, consistent with the predominance of ectomycorrhizal (EcM) species there. This study advances understanding of the global controls of BPE, and suggests a route towards the improved representation of plant growth in vegetation and land surface models.
AU - Ding,R
AU - Nobrega,R
AU - Collalti,A
AU - Harrison,SP
AU - Prentice,IC
PY - 2026///
SN - 1354-1013
TI - Resolving the multiple controls of biomass productionefficiency in woody plants
T2 - Global Change Biology
ER -
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