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Dynamics of major forest vegetations in Tiantong National Forest Park during the last 30 years.

WU Yang-yang1,2,3, GUO Chun-zi1,2, NI Jian1,2,3   

  1. (1Department of Environmental Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China; 2Tiantong National Station of Forest Ecosystem, Chinese National Ecosystem Observation and Research Network, Ningbo 315114, Zhejiang, China; 3State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang 550002, China)
  • Online:2014-06-18 Published:2014-06-18

Abstract:

The study of vegetation succession and development is not only one of the hot spots of modern ecology, but also a key issue of the sustainable development of human society, especially under the circumstances of climate change and anthropogenic disturbance. A  comparison of forest communities in the Tiantong National Forest Park (TNFP) in Zhejiang Province, eastern China from 1982 to 2012 was performed. Six forests in the park were investigated, including the typical evergreen broadleaved forest (EBLF, three subassociations), evergreen and deciduous broadleaved mixed forest (EDBLMF), evergreen conifer forest (ECF) and bamboo forest (BF). Data from two field investigations in 1982 and 2012, respectively, were used to analyze the changes of species composition, community structure and species diversity during the past 30 years. The spatial pattern and community structure of the forest vegetation in the TNFP did not obviously change. The spatial distribution of plant communities did not significantly shifted. The proportion of young trees and individuals in small diameters increased. The regeneration status of communities was healthy and the natural regeneration ability of communities was enhanced. The species diversity of the TNFP forests showed an increasing trend in the tree layer and a decreasing trend in the shrub and herb layers. Meanwhile, the evergreen component increased. Along with the changed climate, forest vegetation in the TNFP was developing towards the forward succession. Species diversity, especially the trees, increased with the increase of temperature. This demonstrated that, on one hand, forest vegetation in Tiantong had been well protected; on the other hand, there was a potential positive relationship between the EBLF succession and climate change.