Effects of remnant old-growth trees on other tree stems in a secondary Betula albosinensis- Abies faxoniana forest on the eastern edge of Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, China

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1258.2014.00121

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims As one of the biological legacies in degraded forest ecosystems after severe disturbance, remnant trees have many ecological effects in biodiversity maintenance and recovery of ecosystem structure and functioning. This study aims to understand the effects of remnant old-growth trees on other tree stems in a secondary Betula albosinensis-Abies faxoniana forest on the eastern edge of Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, China.

Methods We established a 4 hm ² forest plot in a sub-alpine Betula albosinensis-Abies faxoniana stand in Miyaluo in western Sichuan, China. The species names, tree heights, diameters at breast height (DBH) (>1.3 m in height), and basal diameters (≥4 years, and ≤1.3 m in height) of all woody stems were recorded and the specific locations of all trees were mapped. Hegyi’s competition index model was used to calculate the competition intensity between remnant old-growth trees and other dominant trees of different size-classes as well as the intra- and inter-specific competition intensity of the two dominant tree species, Abies faxoniana and Betula albosinensis. We used mark correlation functions k_d(r) to explore the associations of the remnant old-growth trees with seedlings and saplings of A. faxoniana.

Important findings The value of the inter-specific competition index (Hegyi’s competition index (CI) = 2.484) between B. albosinensis and A. faxoniana was significantly greater (p < 0.05) than the values of the intra-specific competition indices of B. albosinensis (CI = 1.711) and A. faxoniana (CI = 1.548). The value of the competition index between remnant old-growth trees and the small trees of B. albosinensis was largest among the competition indices between the remnant old-growth trees and tree stems of different size-classes. The competition indices between remnant old-growth trees of B. albosinensis and small trees of A. faxoniana, between remnant old-growth trees and small trees of A. faxoniana and between remnant old-growth trees of A. faxoniana and small trees of B. albosinensis did not differ significantly, and were smallest among the competition indices between trees of different size-classes. Saplings of A. faxoniana showed a significantly positive association with remnant old-growth trees of B. albosinensis at scale 14.5-15.5 m, and a significantly negative association with remnant old-growth trees of A. faxoniana at scale 6.5-7.5 m. The seedlings of A. faxoniana showed a spatial independence to remnant old-growth trees of both B. albosinensis and A. faxoniana at all spatial scales (0-100 m).

Key words: Abies faxoniana, Betula albosinensis, competition, effects, Hegyi’s competition index;;, mark correlation functions k_d(r), remnant trees, secondary Betula albosinensis-Abies faxoniana forest

LI Mao-Ping, MIAO Ning, YU Hong, MA Jiang-Ming. Effects of remnant old-growth trees on other tree stems in a secondary Betula albosinensis- Abies faxoniana forest on the eastern edge of Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, China[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2014, 38(12): 1263-1272.

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URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.3724/SP.J.1258.2014.00121

https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2014/V38/I12/1263

Figures/Tables 4

Fig. 1 Map of the 4-hm2 forest plot showing the locations of remnant old-growth trees of Abies faxoniana and Betula albosinensis. The sizes of remnant old-growth trees are indicated by symbol sizes proportional to the diameter at breast height.

Fig. 2 Multiple comparisons of intra-specific and inter- specific competition indices of the two dominant tree species Betula albosinensis and Abies faxoniana (mean ± SE). A, A. faxoniana; B, B. albosinensis. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences at the 0.05 level of the multiple comparisons.

Fig. 3 Multiple comparisons of competition indices between remnant old-growth trees and other tree stems of different size-classes (mean ± SE). A, Between remnant old-growth trees and trees of different size-classes in Abies faxoniana and within different size-classes of A. faxoniana. B, Between remnant old-growth trees and trees of different size-classes of Betula albosinensis and within different size-classes of B. albosinensis. C, Between remnant old-growth trees and trees of different size-classes of A. faxoniana trees and B. albosinensis. D, Within different size-classes of A. faxoniana and B. albosinensis. A1, A2 and A3 denote remnant old-growth trees, medium trees, and small trees of A. faxoniana, respectively; B1, B2, and B3 denote remnant old-growth trees, medium trees, and small trees of B. albosinensis, respectively. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences at the 0.05 level of the multiple comparisons.

Fig. 4 The values of mark correlation functions kd(r), indicating the spatial relationships between remnant old-growth trees and seedlings or saplings of Abies faxoniana. A1, A4 and A5 denote remnant old-growth trees, saplings, and seedlings (≥ four years) of Abies faxoniana, respectively. B1 denotes remnant old-growth trees of Betula albosinensis. Simulation envelopes are the 5th lowest and highest values; thin dashed lines indicate the upper and lower limits of the 95% simulation envelope of the shift null model, and sold black lines indicate mark correlation function kd(r). Points above the upper envelope indicate negative associations, points between the envelopes indicate spatial independence, and points below the lower envelope indicate positive associations.

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