PLANT SPECIES DIVERSITY OF THE ISLAND FOREST IN A MARSH IN THE SANJIANG PLAIN, CHINA

doi:10.3773/j.issn.1005-264x.2008.03.007

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims Island forest is a major vegetation type of the Sanjiang Plain in northeastern China. However, its species diversity is at risk of decline. Our objectives were to 1) describe the flora, 2) determine the level of plant diversity, and 3) determine relationships between diversity indices and patch characteristics (area, perimeter and shape index).

Methods We used Quick Bird satellite image data to identify a 65 km² study site. The quadrat method was used to investigate community patch characteristics such as area, perimeter and shape index, which were analyzed with Erdas Imagine 8.7. Four indices were selected to describe plant diversity: richness (R), Simpson (D), Shannon-Wiener (H'), and Pielou (J_sw).

Important findings The 19 patches of the island forest had 140 species of vascular plants of 44 families and 102 genera dominated by cosmopolitan and temperate genera. Our data suggested that, compared with the neighboring community in the Honghe Nature Reserve, some plant species had disappeared. The diversity indices were significantly different among shrub layers of the Populus davidiana, Betula platyphylla and P. davidiana + B. platyphylla communities (p<0.05). Additionally,R, D and H' indices of different layers were as follows: herb layer > shrub layer > tree layer, with significant differences among them ( p<0.01). While statistically significant correlations were observed between theR index and patch area (r=0.591, p<0.01), perimeter (r=0.674, p<0.01) and shape index (r=0.584, p<0.01), no correlations were noted for theD, H' and J_sw indices. Diversity levels remained relatively high after human disturbance. The greatest difference among patches was noted in herb layers. Our data also suggested that gap disturbance was an important cause of higher understory diversity. Plant species richness increased with patch area, perimeter and shape index, most likely resulting from edge effects. Our results demonstrated that the island forest plays an important role in preserving plant diversity in the region.

Key words: Sanjiang Plain, island forest, plant diversity, patch, edge effect, gap

ZHANG Liang, XING Fu, YU Li-Li, XU Kun, SUN Zhong-Lin, LÁ Xian-Guo. PLANT SPECIES DIVERSITY OF THE ISLAND FOREST IN A MARSH IN THE SANJIANG PLAIN, CHINA[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2008, 32(3): 582-590.

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URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.3773/j.issn.1005-264x.2008.03.007

https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2008/V32/I3/582

Figures/Tables 6

References 42

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类群 Category		科 Family	属 Genus	种 Species	木本Tree			草本Herb			藤本Vine
类群 Category		科 Family	属 Genus	种 Species	种数 Number of species	比例 Ratio^* (%)		种数 Number of species	比例 Ratio^* (%)		种数 Number of species	比例 Ratio^* (%)
蕨类植物 Pteridphyte		4	4	6	0		0.0	6		100	0	0.0
被子植物 Angiosperm	双子叶植物 Dicotyledon	34	82	116	20		17.2	95		81.9	1	0.9
	单子叶植物 Monocotyledon	6	16	18	0		0.0	18		100	0	0.0
合计Total		44	102	140	20		14.3	119		85.0	1	0.7

类群 Category		科 Family	属 Genus	种 Species	木本Tree			草本Herb			藤本Vine
类群 Category		科 Family	属 Genus	种 Species	种数 Number of species	比例 Ratio^* (%)		种数 Number of species	比例 Ratio^* (%)		种数 Number of species	比例 Ratio^* (%)
蕨类植物 Pteridphyte		4	4	6	0		0.0	6		100	0	0.0
被子植物 Angiosperm	双子叶植物 Dicotyledon	34	82	116	20		17.2	95		81.9	1	0.9
	单子叶植物 Monocotyledon	6	16	18	0		0.0	18		100	0	0.0
合计Total		44	102	140	20		14.3	119		85.0	1	0.7

分布区类型 Type of distribution	属数 Number of genus	占总属数的百分比 Percentage in total genus (%)
1.世界分布 Cosmopolitan	23	-
2.泛热带分布Pantropic	5	6.67
4.旧世界热带分布Old World Tropics	1	1.33
6.热带亚洲至热带非洲分布 Tropical Asia to Tropical Africa	1	1.33
8.北温带分布North Temperate	41	54.67
8a.北温带和南温带(全温带)间断分布North Temperate & South Temperate disjuncted. (“Pan-temperate")	11	14.67
9.东亚和北美间断分布East Asia & North America disjuncted	3	4.00
10.旧世界温带分布Old World Temperate	8	10.67
10a.欧亚和南非洲(有时也在大洋洲)间断分布Eurasia & South Africa (sometimes also Australasia) disjuncted	2	2.67
14.东亚分布 East Asia	3	4.00
合计Total	98	100

分布区类型 Type of distribution	属数 Number of genus	占总属数的百分比 Percentage in total genus (%)
1.世界分布 Cosmopolitan	23	-
2.泛热带分布Pantropic	5	6.67
4.旧世界热带分布Old World Tropics	1	1.33
6.热带亚洲至热带非洲分布 Tropical Asia to Tropical Africa	1	1.33
8.北温带分布North Temperate	41	54.67
8a.北温带和南温带(全温带)间断分布North Temperate & South Temperate disjuncted. (“Pan-temperate")	11	14.67
9.东亚和北美间断分布East Asia & North America disjuncted	3	4.00
10.旧世界温带分布Old World Temperate	8	10.67
10a.欧亚和南非洲(有时也在大洋洲)间断分布Eurasia & South Africa (sometimes also Australasia) disjuncted	2	2.67
14.东亚分布 East Asia	3	4.00
合计Total	98	100

群落类型 Community	层次 Layer	多样性指数 Diversity index		均匀度指数 Evenness index
群落类型 Community	层次 Layer	R	D	H'		(J_sw)
山杨林Ass. Populus davidiana	乔木Tree	3.333±0.422	0.575±0.032	1.005±0.098	0.871±0.021
	灌木Shrub	11.167±0.872	0.849±0.020	2.150±0.097	0.895±0.018
	草本Herb	30.667±3.062	0.876±0.021	2.738±0.114	0.806±0.023
白桦林Ass. Betula platyphylla	乔木Tree	3.000±0.408	0.578±0.058	0.969±0.131	0.904±0.025
	灌木Shrub	6.250±1.109	0.775±0.025	1.626±0.143	0.916±0.020
	草本Herb	22.750±3.449	0.881±0.029	2.620±0.183	0.845±0.033
杨桦林Ass. P. davidiana+B. platyphylla	乔木Tree	3.111±0.423	0.630±0.065	0.957±0.107	0.913±0.019
	灌木Shrub	6.778±0.662	0.744+0.019	1.589±0.077	0.857±0.024
	草本Herb	29.111±2.736	0.894±0.006	2.766±0.062	0.831±0.014