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Spatial patterns of trees in a south subtropical Pinus yunnanensis var.tenuifoliaforest after selective logging of large sized trees.

LI Yuan-fa, HE Ji-an, YU Su-fang, LIAO Liang-ning, WANG Hong-xiang, YE Shao-ming*   

  1. (Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Conservation, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China).
  • Online:2019-12-10 Published:2019-12-10

Abstract:

Selective logging is an important way for sustainable management in multi-age forests. It not only changes the composition and proportion of tree species, but also alters their spatial distribution and correlation. Little attention has been paid to the restoration of forest community structure after selective logging of big trees at a long-term scale. In this study, pair correlation function g(r) and mark correlation function kmm(r) were used to analyze the spatial pattern of a pinefir secondary forest that was formed from a forest with large-sized trees (DBH≥20 cm) being intensely harvested 46 years ago, in Nanpan River basin, southwest China. The results showed that: (1) This community showed no obvious habitat heterogeneity and presented a random distribution on the whole; (2) The small-sized trees were clustered together at very small scales (r=0-1 m), while the aggregation degree of same species was relatively high; (3) The spatial distribution of the six dominant species (n≥30) tended to be random with the increases of scale. Among them, Pinus yunnanensisvar. tenuifolia, Quercus variabilis andKeteleeria davidiana showed a mild aggregation distribution at small and medium scales (r=0-8 m), Betula alnoides had a strong aggregative pattern, whileSpiraea thunbergii and Rhus chinensiswere clumped at most scales (r=0-20 m); (4) There was no-obvious interspecific exclusion or competition. Our results indicated that the large-sized trees logged forest had formed a relatively stable spatial structure after long-term restoration and that intraspecific competition has become the main force for community succession.
 

Key words: climate change scenario, Inner Mongolia grassland, net primary productivity, CENTURY modeling.