Chin J Plant Ecol ›› 2024, Vol. 48 ›› Issue (11): 1459-1470.DOI: 10.17521/cjpe.2024.0018  cstr: 32100.14.cjpe.2024.0018

• Research Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Influencing factors of biomass accumulation and allocation of Abies fargesii var. faxoniana seedlings in the subalpine region of western Sichuan, China

TAO Qiong1,2, MIAO Ning1,*(), YUE Xi-Ming1,3, LUO Jian-Qiong1, XUE Pan-Pan1, WANG Hui4   

  1. 1College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Key Laboratory of Bio-resource and Eco-environment of Ministry of Education, Chengdu 610065, China
    2Sichuan Natural Forest Protection Center, Chengdu 610081, China
    3Comprehensive Administrative Enforcement Detachment of Ecology and Environment Protection of Luzhou City, Sichuan Province, Luzhou, Sichuan 646018, China
    4Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China
  • Received:2024-01-23 Accepted:2024-08-23 Online:2024-11-20 Published:2024-08-23
  • Contact: *MIAO Ning (miaoning@scu.edu.cn)
  • Supported by:
    National Key R&D Program of China(2022YFD2200504-02)

Abstract:

Aims The natural regeneration of Abies fargesiivar. faxoniana is crucial for the ecological restoration of natural secondary forests in the subalpine region of western Sichuan. The study of the key factors in the biomass accumulation and allocation of seedlings is helpful to understand the mechanism of regeneration. Therefore, our objective is to reveal the critical factors for the biomass accumulation of A. fargesiivar. faxoniana seedlings in the Betula albosinensis broadleaf forests (BB), B. albosinensis- A. fargesii var. faxoniana needleleaf-broadleaf forests (BA), and A. fargesii var. faxoniana primary forests (AP).

Methods We compared the biomass allocation patterns of A. fargesiivar. faxoniana seedlings in different forest types and investigated allometric relationships between different organs by a standardized major axis regression analysis. We revealed the relationships between seedlings’ biomass and habitat factors through a redundancy analysis followed by a quantitative decomposition of the contribution of influencing factors.

Important findings The root biomass fraction (30.3%) and stem biomass fraction (43.3%) in the AP forest were significantly higher than that in the BA and BB forests. Correspondingly, leaf biomass fraction (26.4%) in the AP forest was significantly lower than that in the BA and BB forests. Seedlings in the BB forest showed an isometric relationship among three organs: roots, stems, and leaves. In the BA and AP forests, seedlings exhibited an isometric relationship between leaves and roots. In contrast, allometric relationships were observed between leaves and stems and between roots and stems. The annual biomass increment of seedlings was the highest in the western slope habitats compared to those on the northeast, north, and northwest slopes. The contribution rate of the slope aspect (20.9%) to seedling biomass accumulation and allocation surpassed that of altitude (18.1%), with substrate type (15.8%), moss cover density (11.7%) and thickness (7.7%), and canopy coverage (7.4%) ranking the top four among microhabitat factors. This study can assist in the management of Minjiang fir regeneration and the technical optimization of structures of secondary subalpine forests in western Sichuan.

Key words: Abies fargesii var. faxoniana seedlings, biomass allocation, allometric growth, redundancy analysis, microhabitat factors