Human‐induced environmental changes are altering forest productivity and species composition, significantly impacting tree physiology, growth, water uptake, and nutrient acquisition. Investigating the intricate interplay between plant physiology and environmental shifts, we analyzed tree‐ring isotopes (δ 13 C, δ 18 O, and δ 15 N) to track long‐term trends in intrinsic water‐use efficiency (iWUE) and nitrogen availability for E...

Understory herbs and soil invertebrates play key roles in soil formation and nutrient cycling in forests. Studies suggest that diversity in the canopy and in the understory are positively associated, but these studies often confound the effects of tree species diversity with those of tree species identity and abiotic conditions. We combined extensive field sampling with structural equation modeling to evaluate the simultaneous...