GAP-PHASE REGENERATION RULES OF CONIFER-BROADLEAVED MIXED FOREST IN WOLONG NATURE RESERVE, CHINA

doi:10.17521/cjpe.2007.0051

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims Wolong Nature Reserve is the largest reserve for the endangered wild panda. Owing to historical factors, much of the forest has been disturbed and poorly restored, even in many sections of the core protection area. The relative importance of determinants for species recruitment after disturbance is poorly known. We investigated factors affecting regeneration of conifer-broadleaved mixed forest in forest gaps near Wuyipeng, an observation station for pandas.
Methods We examined environmental factors, gap characteristics and recruitment of new individuals in every forest gap along three line transects and analyzed the data using principal component analysis and correlation analysis in SPSS.
Important findings A range of natural and human disturbances influenced the pattern and characteristics of forest gaps in this area. Richness was higher for seedlings than for gap makers, but the ranking of species dominance was different between seedlings and gap makers. The establishment success of dominant species was affected by a variety of factors. For instance, the establishment of Betula spp. was correlated significantly with topographic factors, while that of Abies faxoniana was affected heavily by soil characteristics and that of Rhododendron spp. was correlated significantly with topographic factors and gap-maker characteristics. Moreover, all biodiversity indexes of regenerating seedlings were significantly correlated to principal components mostly reflecting soil characteristics. Therefore, soil characteristics appear to be the most important factor influencing regeneration of dominant species and seedling richness following gap disturbance.

Key words: gap regeneration, gap maker, biodiversity index, principal component analysis, correlation analysis

YANG Juan, GE Jian-Ping, LIU Li-Juan, DING Yi, TAN Ying-Chun. GAP-PHASE REGENERATION RULES OF CONIFER-BROADLEAVED MIXED FOREST IN WOLONG NATURE RESERVE, CHINA[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2007, 31(3): 425-430.

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URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.17521/cjpe.2007.0051

https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2007/V31/I3/425

Figures/Tables 6

References 23

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林隙干扰特征 Gap disturbance characteristics		海拔 Elevation	坡度 Slope angle	坡向 Aspect
林隙大小特征 Gap size characteristics	EG	0.094	-0.192	0.111
	CG	0.050	-0.083	0.167
	D_cg/H	0.091	-0.105	0.183
形成木特征 Gap maker characteristics	GM_n	-0.152	0.231	0.304^*
	SP_n	-0.115	0.197	0.144
	S_max	0.156	-0.153	-0.182
	S_tol	0.122	-0.122	0.023
林隙形成方式 Gap forming manners	DM	-0.135	0.226	0.142
	KF	0.297^*	-0.168	0.046
	GB	-0.236	0.295^*	0.175
	ZG	-0.219	-0.033	0.031
	KL	-0.011	0.153	0.186

林隙干扰特征 Gap disturbance characteristics		海拔 Elevation	坡度 Slope angle	坡向 Aspect
林隙大小特征 Gap size characteristics	EG	0.094	-0.192	0.111
	CG	0.050	-0.083	0.167
	D_cg/H	0.091	-0.105	0.183
形成木特征 Gap maker characteristics	GM_n	-0.152	0.231	0.304^*
	SP_n	-0.115	0.197	0.144
	S_max	0.156	-0.153	-0.182
	S_tol	0.122	-0.122	0.023
林隙形成方式 Gap forming manners	DM	-0.135	0.226	0.142
	KF	0.297^*	-0.168	0.046
	GB	-0.236	0.295^*	0.175
	ZG	-0.219	-0.033	0.031
	KL	-0.011	0.153	0.186

	岷江冷杉²⁾	铁杉³⁾	杜鹃⁴⁾
桦木¹⁾	0.258	-0.089	-0.124
岷江冷杉²⁾		0.292^*	0.056
铁杉³⁾			0.060

	岷江冷杉²⁾	铁杉³⁾	杜鹃⁴⁾
桦木¹⁾	0.258	-0.089	-0.124
岷江冷杉²⁾		0.292^*	0.056
铁杉³⁾			0.060

更新物种 Regeneration species	PC₁	PC₂	PC₃	PC₄	PC₅
桦木¹⁾	-0.048	-0.011	-0.275^*	0.010	-0.048
岷江冷杉²⁾	-0.111	0.563^**	-0.143	-0.079	-0.210
铁杉³⁾	-0.024	-0.056	0.093	-0.020	0.121
杜鹃⁴⁾	-0.048	0.196	0.351^**	0.298^*	0.025