Chin J Plant Ecol ›› 2021, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (6): 670-680.DOI: 10.17521/ cjpe.2021.0093

Special Issue: 植被生态学

• Data Paper • Previous Articles    

Types and community characteristics of karst mixed evergreen and deciduous broad-leaved forests in the central Guizhou Plateau, China

HE Zhong-Quan1,2, LIU Chang-Cheng1,*(), CAI Xian-Li2,3, GUO Ke1,2,*()   

  1. 1State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
    2University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
    3Puding Karst Ecosystem Research Station, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Puding, Guizhou 562100, China
  • Received:2021-03-16 Accepted:2021-04-11 Online:2021-06-20 Published:2021-09-09
  • Contact: LIU Chang-Cheng,GUO Ke
  • Supported by:
    Special Foundation for National Science and Technology Basic Research Program of China(2015FY210200);“Strategic Priority Research Program” of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDA19050402);National Key R&D Program of China(2016YFC0502602)

Abstract:

The central Guizhou Plateau is located in the center of the karst region of southwestern China. The typical vegetation type is karst mixed evergreen and deciduous broad-leaved forests on this distinct landform. Due to human disturbances, the main existing vegetation is secondary vegetation in this region. Based on the primary plot-level data obtained from fieldwork during the growing season from 2007-2020, we systematically studied the community characteristics and the classification of these karst forests. The results showed that the typical karst forests are co-dominated by evergreen trees (e.g., Cyclobalanopsis, Itea, Lithocarpus, Machilus and Cinnamomum species) and deciduous trees (e.g., Platycarya, Carpinus, Celtis and Quercus species). Moreover, 585 vascular plants belonging to 318 genera and 124 families were recorded in the 86 forest plots, among which there were 65 ferns species belonging to 27 genera and 11 families, and 520 angiosperm species belonging to 291 genera and 113 families. The karst forests show high diversities of species composition and community type. Based on the dominance principle, these karst forests were classified into 11 alliance groups, 44 alliances and 83 associations.

Key words: karst, the central Guizhou Plateau, mixed evergreen and deciduous broad-leaved forest, community structure, vegetation classification