Community characteristics and spatial distribution of dominant tree species in a deciduous broad-leaved forest of Muzhaling, Henan, China

doi:10.17521/cjpe.2016.0192

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims The objective of this paper is to quantify the species composition and spatial distribution pattern in a deciduous broad-leaved forest in temperate to subtropical ecological transition zone.
Methods In this study, a 3-hm² forest was selected in the temperate to subtropical ecological transition zone to analyze the community species composition, structure of diameter at breast height, community classification and spatial distribution pattern of dominant tree species.
Important findings Our results showed that in the plot there were 85 species, 52 genera and 31 families, mainly composed of Betulaceae, Celastraceae, Caprifoliaceae, Salicaceae and Aceraceae. Quercus aliena var. acuteserrata and Pinus armandii are dominant species of the community tree layer. The rare species and occasional species accounted for 20.0% and 28.24% of total species respectively. Size distribution of all species showed an invert J-shape, which indicates that the community is in a stable and normal growth status. Using multiple regression trees, the community in this plot can be divided into four categories: 1) Quercus aliena var. acuteserrata + Pinus armandii + Litsea tsinlingensis + Cerasus clarofolia + Lindera obtusiloba; 2) Quercus aliena var. acuteserrata + Salix chaenomeloides + Sorbus hupehensis; 3) Quercus aliena var. acuteserrata + Ailanthus altissima + Cerasus clarofolia + Litsea tsinlingensis; 4) Quercus aliena var. acuteserrata + Fraxinus chinensis + Litsea tsinlingensis + Philadelphus incanus. Under the completely random distribution model, the main species in the plot display clustered distributions, with the different species occurring in different habitat types, showing obvious terrain habitat preferences. However, under the heterogeneous Poisson distribution model, these species at different scales are distributed randomly or regularly. This study helps to understand the plant community species composition of the Muzhaling World Geopark, community structure and community distribution. The results show that the terrain habitat heterogeneity is an important factor influencing the spatial distribution of the species. The present work improves the understanding of plant community in Muzhaling World Geopark, and provides technical reference for biodiversity conservation and forest management of this area.

http://jtp.cnki.net/bilingual/detail/html/ZWSB201611007

Key words: forest dynamics plot, community structure, multivariate regression tree, point pattern, topography habitat heterogeneity

Yun CHEN, Ting WANG, Pei-Kun LI, Cheng-Liang YAO, Zhi-Liang YUAN, Yong-Zhong YE. Community characteristics and spatial distribution of dominant tree species in a deciduous broad-leaved forest of Muzhaling, Henan, China[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2016, 40(11): 1179-1188.

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URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.17521/cjpe.2016.0192

https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2016/V40/I11/1179

Figures/Tables 7

Fig. 1 The topography map of the Muzhaling plot with the size of 3 hm2.

Table 1 Top 10 species based on important value in the Muzhaling forest plot

物种 Species	多度 Abundance	平均胸径 Mean diameter at breast height (cm)	胸高断面积 Basal area (m²)	重要值 Important value (%)
锐齿槲栎 Quercus aliena var. acuteserrata	2 237	16.5	65.1	30.4
秦岭木姜子 Litsea tsinlingensis	931	4.1	2.2	4.8
华山松 Pinus armandii	429	12.5	7.7	4.6
微毛樱桃 Cerasus clarofolia	727	6.0	3.3	4.3
三桠乌药 Lindera obtusiloba	382	5.7	1.4	2.3
湖北花楸 Sorbus hupehensis	433	2.9	0.5	2.2
油松 Pinus tabulaeformis	145	14.7	3.5	2.1
华东椴 Sorbus hupehensis	267	7.1	1.7	2.0
漆树 Toxicodendron vernicifluum	167	11.1	2.7	1.9
腺柳 Salix chaenomeloides	165	11.3	2.1	1.7

Fig. 2 Distribution of diameter at breast height class in Mu- zhaling forest plot of 3 hm2.

Fig. 3 Size-class of diameter at breast height (DBH) distributions of nine dominant species in the Muzhaling forest plot t of 3 hm2.

Fig. 4 Multivariate regression tree for community classification in the Muzhaling forest plot. I, II, III and IV are the number of four communities. n, number of plots.

Fig. 5 Spatial distribution pattern under complete spatial randomness null model of nine dominant species in the Muzhaling forest plot. The solid line is the observed value, and the dotted line for the theoretical value. Grey interval is the confidence interval. The subset shows the species distribution in the plot.

Fig. 6 Spatial distribution pattern under heterogeneity Poisson null model of nine dominant species in the Muzhaling forest plot. The solid line is the observed value, and the dotted line for the theoretical value. Grey interval is the confidence interval.

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