Spatial patterns of species diversity in the herb layer of early post-fire regeneration in mixed Pinus yunnanensis forests

doi:10.17521/cjpe.2015.0161

Abstract

Abstract: Aims

Herb layer plays an important role in maintaining ecosystem functioning of forests. The aims of this study were to determine the pattern of species diversity in early post-fire regeneration of the herb layer in mixed Yunnan pine forests and to identify the effects of topography, fire severity, pre-fire vegetation and herb species life-history feature on post-fire regeneration.

Methods

We conducted field investigations of post-fire regeneration by randomly setting 47 transects of 10 m × 100 m in a burned forest stand in Qinfeng Township, Lufeng County, Yunnan Province, from September to October, 2013. The Two-Way Indicator Species Analysis (TWINSPAN) was used to classify the herb community types from the 47 transects, and species richness and two indexes of β-diversity were used to analyze herb species diversity and compositional change within sampling transects. Generalized linear model and hierarchical variation partitioning were applied to estimate factors affecting the pattern of herb species diversity of the post-fire communities.

Important findings

Four herb community types were identified for the 47 transects, which are differentiated by topographic features and fire severities. The species richness in the herb layer of early post-fire regeneration was primarily affected by elevation, topography, fire severity and the pre-fire forest canopy. Specifically, the species richness decreased with increasing elevation, and was positively correlated with biomass of the standing trees and steepness of site slope and negatively correlated with slope position. However, the species richness of herbs was not correlated with fire severity significantly. The within community β-diversity of the post-fire herb layer had a positive correlation with both basal area of pre-fire canopy trees and fire severity. Moreover, the β-diversity was lower at higher elevations. The results also highlighted the differences between annual and perennial species in their distribution patterns.

http://jtp.cnki.net/bilingual/detail/html/ZWSB201603002

Key words: post-fire regeneration, herb diversity, species composition, pre-fire vegetation, topography, fire severity

Jie HAN, Ling-Xiao YING, Gui-Xiang LI, Ze-Hao SHEN. Spatial patterns of species diversity in the herb layer of early post-fire regeneration in mixed Pinus yunnanensis forests[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2016, 40(3): 200-211.

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URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.17521/cjpe.2015.0161

https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2016/V40/I3/200

Figures/Tables 7

Fig. 1 The geographical location, climate, geomorphic feature of the burnt area (in 2013) and the distribution of sampling sites.

Table 1 Variables of post-fire vegetation and habitat investigations

类型 Type	变量 Variable	定义及范围 Definition & value range
火烧烈度 Fire severity	火烧比例 Burn ratio	0-1
火前植被 Pre-fire vegetation	ln(胸面积和) ln(Sum of basal area)	样方中死树胸面积和的自然对数值 Natural logarithm of sum of basal area of dead trees in sample plot
地形 Topography	海拔 Elevation (m)	1 928-2 331 m
	坡度 Slope gradient (°)	5°-52°
	坡向 Slope aspect (°)	0°(N) -180°(S)
	坡位 Slope position	2-下坡位; 3-中坡位; 4-上坡位; 5-山顶 2-lower slope; 3-midslope; 4-upper slope; 5-top
	坡形 Slope shape	1-凹; 2-平; 3-凸 1-concave; 2-flat; 3-convex

Fig. 2 The classification diagram of TWINSPAN for the herb layer of post-fire regenerated communities. N represents the number of transects. A, B, C, and D designate four types of post-fire regenerated herb communities. A, Pteridium aquilinum var. latiusculum + Ageratina adenophora + Gentiana cephalantha community; B, Arundinella hookeri + Digitaria violascens + Bothriochloa ischaemum community; C, Kummerowia striata + Bulbostylis densa + Bothriochloa ischaemum community; D, Arthraxon hispidus + Kummerowia striata + Bothriochloa ischaemum community. (+) means it is positive with classification; (-) means it is negetive with classification.

Fig. 3 The canonical correspondence analysis ordination pattern for the annual (∆) and perennial (○) plant species in the early post-fire regenerated communities.

Fig. 4 The relationships between habitat factors and the species richness in herb layer of the transects of post-fire plant communities. The letters a and b above all box-plots refer to significantly different levels in t-test. A, B, C, and D designate four types of post-fire regenerated herb communities. A, Pteridium aquilinum var. latiusculum + Ageratina adenophora + Gentiana cephalantha community; B, Arundinella hookeri + Digitaria violascens + Bothriochloa ischaemum community; C, Kummerowia striata + Bulbostylis densa + Bothriochloa ischaemum community; D, Arthraxon hispidus + Kummerowia striata + Bothriochloa ischaemum community.

Fig. 5 The patterns of β-diversity in herb layer of post-fire plant communities. The letters a and b above all box-plots refer to significantly different levels in t-test. A, B, C, and D in the first graph panel designate four types of post-fire regenerated herb communities. A, Pteridium aquilinum var. latiusculum + Ageratina adenophora + Gentiana cephalantha community; B, Arundinella hookeri + Digitaria violascens + Bothriochloa ischaemum community; C, Kummerowia striata + Bulbostylis densa + Bothriochloa ischaemum community; D, Arthraxon hispidus + Kummerowia striata + Bothriochloa ischaemum community.

Table 2 Effects of habitat factors on the species diversity in herb layer of post-fire plant communities

生境因子 Habitat factor	α多样性 α diversity		β多样性 β diversity
生境因子 Habitat factor	样方尺度 Plot scale	样带尺度 Transect scale	Jaccard系数 Jaccard index	Morisita-Horn系数 Morisita-Horn index
海拔 Elevation	3.8	12.0	16.8^*	1.9
坡向 Aspect	1.6	1.9	1.6	9.2
坡形 Slope shape	17.9^*	6.4	1.5	5.3
坡位 Slope position	54.7^*	30.6^*	20.7^*	13.4
乔木胸面积对数 ln(sum of tree basal area)	3.4	26.6^*	38.6^*	41.6^*
坡度 Slope	8.7^*	20.9^*	11.9^*	19.5^*
火烧强度 Fire severity	9.9^*	1.5	8.9^*	9.0
调整的决定系数 Adjusted coefficient of determination	0.172	0.645	0.678	0.638

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