Chin J Plan Ecolo ›› 1987, Vol. 11 ›› Issue (3): 212-219.

• Research Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

A Preliminary Study on the Fokienia hodginsii Forests in Sichuan Province

Liu Yu-cheng, Miao Shi-li   

  • Published:1987-03-10
  • Contact: Liu Lun-hui

Abstract: The geographical distribution, ecological features of sites, structure of communities, and measures for the development of the Fokienia hodginsii on the Simian Mountain of Jiangjing County, Sichuan Province were examined. Generally speaking, plants of Fokienia hodgrinsii are scattered in evergreen broadleaved forests and Phyllostachys pubescens forests, and they rarely form pure forests. On the simian Mountain, mixing in the evergreen broadleaved forests, Fokienia hodginsii aggregates and dominates the forests locally. Sichuan Province is its northern limit of distribution.Within a 3,500 square-meter area, there are 72 vascular plants, belonging to 58 genera of 44 families. Among them 34 species are trees. In communities, the tree layer can be divided into three sublayers. Fokienia hodginsii, 18—22m in height, dominates the first sublayer. Although the deciduous broadleaved synusia occassionally occurs due to the differentiation of microsite and the source of species, the evergreen broadleaved trees in each sublayer and the evergreen needleleaved ones in the first sublayer are dominants. The shrub layer, altogether 14 species, is low about 3m in height. In the herbaceous layer the pteridophytic species are somewhat diversified, and the layer is made up of deciduous herbs synusia, and the herbs of spermatophyte in it mainly belong to shadetolerant ones.According to lifeform spectrum of Raunkiaer, the phanerophytes (including 0.7% lianas phanerophytes) account for 75% of the total, among which needleleaved and broadleaved ones are 7.4% and 92.6%, respectively. Geophytes is 12.5%, chamaephyte is 11.11%, hemicryptophyte only 1.38%, and without therophyte. However, combined with abundance or dominance data, the dominance of needleleaved phanerophyte accounts for 55% of the total, while broadleaved one for 45%. This shows the key position and role of the Fokienis hodginsii in communities. The same conclusion can be reached by the analysis of important value as well. With regard to leaf size, it is shown that meso-and microphyllous leaves are 36.11% and 41.61%, respectively, macrophyllous leaves are 13.89%, and both nano-and leptophyllous ones are 4.17% by Raunkiaer′s leaf size.