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Special feature: The destruction to forest ecosystems by the extremely heavy glaze and snow storms occurred in early 2008 in southern China

Storm damage in a montane evergreen broadleaved forest of Chebaling National Nature Reserve, South China

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  • 1College of Forestry, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
    2Key Laboratory of Ecological Agriculture of Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China

Received date: 2009-02-20

  Accepted date: 2009-05-15

  Online published: 2010-02-01

Abstract

Aims The forest ecosystem of north Guangdong Province, China was severely damaged by a freezing rain and ice storm in early 2008. Our aim is to assess tree damage and factors that influence it in a subtropical montane evergreen broadleaved forest.

Methods A 2-hm2 plot was set up in the storm-damaged montane evergreen broadleaved forest in Chebaling National Nature Reserve. The plot was divided into 50 subplots, each 400 m2, for sampling and measurement of plants and environmental factors. Damages to individual trees were recorded by visual estimation and then translated into a 0-6 scale of damage class. We compared the severity of damage for 12 dominant and co-dominant species. We also assessed variations in tree abundance in different diameter at breast height (DBH) classes and topographic regimes.

Important findings Significant variations in tree damage existed among species, DBH classes and topographic positions. Species of Theaceae and Lauraceae were more resistant to storm damage than species of other families. Most damaged were species of Fagaceae, such as Castanopsis fargesii and the dominant C. carlesii, which was more severely damaged than most co-dominant species. The proportion of damaged trees increased with DBH, with > 70% of the undamaged individuals being concentrated in the smallest DBH class (1-5 cm). χ2 test indicated that topographic factors, i.e., slope inclination, aspect and position, had significant effects on the severity of tree damage. Trees on the upslope position were more susceptible to damage than those on the downslope or midslope positions, which might be due to increased cooling by wind on the upper slope. For slope aspects, semi-sunny slopes generally had a significantly higher proportion of damaged trees than semi-shady slopes. For slope inclination, the highest proportion of severely damaged trees was on slope classes of 15°-25°, 25°-35° and 35°-45°. Findings have significant implications for conservation of subtropical evergreen broadleaved forest, protection of forests from possible future damage by ice storms and forest management.

Cite this article

SU Zhi-Yao, LIU Gang, OU Yu-Duan, DAI Zhao-Hui, LI Zhen-Kui . Storm damage in a montane evergreen broadleaved forest of Chebaling National Nature Reserve, South China[J]. Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology, 2010 , 34(2) : 213 -222 . DOI: 10.3773/j.issn.1005-264x.2010.02.013

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