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Forest landscapes’ spatial point patterns and associations based on Ripley L and O-ring functions.

DONG Ling-bo1, LIU Zhao-gang1, ZHANG Bo2, YUAN Ye1, SUN Yun-xia1   

  1. (1College of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China; 2Forest Saevey and Design Institute of Jilin Province, Changchun 130022, China)
  • Online:2014-12-18 Published:2014-12-18

Abstract: Based on the data of forest resource inventory in Pangu Forest Farm of Great Xing’an Mountains in northeastern China, the spatial distribution pattern and associations of the main forest landscape types [natural Larix gmelini forest (NLG), natural Betula platyphylla forest (NBP), natural coniferous mixed forest (NCM) and natural mixed broadleafconifer forest (NCB)] were studied by the two main spatial point pattern analysis methods (Ripley L and O-ring functions). The results showed that the spatial distribution pattern of the four forest landscape types were all consistent with each other the whole, which were all significantly clumped at small scale, and then mainly the obvious characteristics of random distribution with the increase of scale. Spatial associations of the four forest landscape types differed significantly with the Ripley L and O-ring functions. The results of Ripley L function showed that NLG and NCB, NBP and NCB had the obvious negative correlations at small and medium scales, and then mainly showed the trend of noncorrelations or even positive correlations at medium and large scales, however, there were significantly negative correlations for the other forest landscape types at all the research scales. Unlike the results of Ripley L function, the results of O-ring function showed that the main forest landscape types were all significantly negative at small scale, no at medium scale, and positive at large scale with each other. Meanwhile, there were also significant differences for the spatial distribution patterns and associations for the same forest landscape type (or group) at the same level of scale with two different methods, and the rate of consistency of the two methods  at all levels of scale mainly exist three forms, i.e. basically remain unchanged, reduced firstly and then increased, and almost always reduced, respectively.