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Vegetation canopy structure is a fundamental characteristic of terrestrial ecosystems that defines vegetation types and drives ecosystem functioning. We use the multivariate structural trait composition of vegetation canopies to classify ecosystems within a global canopy structure spectrum. Across the temperate forest sub‐set of this spectrum, we assess gradients in canopy structural traits, characterise canopy structural types (CST) and evaluate drivers and functional consequences of canopy structural variation. We derive CSTs from multivariate canopy structure data, illustrating variation along three primary structural axes and resolution into six largely distinct and functionally relevant CSTs. Our results illustrate that within‐ecosystem successional processes and disturbance legacies can produce variation in canopy structure similar to that associated with sub‐continental variation in forest types and eco‐climatic zones. The potential to classify ecosystems into CSTs based on suites of structural traits represents an important advance in understanding and modelling structure–function relationships in vegetated ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The breakdown of plant material fuels soil functioning and biodiversity. Currently, process understanding of global decomposition patterns and the drivers of such patterns are hampered by the lack of coherent large‐scale datasets. We buried 36,000 individual litterbags (tea bags) worldwide and found an overall negative correlation between initial mass‐loss rates and stabilization factors of plant‐derived carbon, using the Tea Bag Index (TBI). The stabilization factor quantifies the degree to which easy‐to‐degrade components accumulate during early‐stage decomposition (e.g. by environmental limitations). However, agriculture and an interaction between moisture and temperature led to a decoupling between initial mass‐loss rates and stabilization, notably in colder locations. Using TBI improved mass‐loss estimates of natural litter compared to models that ignored stabilization. Ignoring the transformation of dead plant material to more recalcitrant substances during early‐stage decomposition, and the environmental control of this transformation, could overestimate carbon losses during early decomposition in carbon cycle models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]