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Spatial distribution pattern of main populations and gap makers in Picea koraiensis and Abies nephrolepis forest of Xiaoxing’an Mountains, Northeast China.

JING Xin1, DUAN Wen-biao1, CHEN Li-xin1, WANG Ting1, DU Shan2, ZHANG Yu-shuang1, CHEN Qi-min1   

  1. (1College of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China; 2Department of Construction Engineering, Dazhou Vocational and Technical College, Dazhou 635000, Sichuan, China)
  • Online:2015-10-18 Published:2015-10-18

Abstract: Species composition and diameter class structure were investigated in 1.5 hm2 (100 m×150 m) permanent plot in Picea koraiensis and Abies nephrolepis forest of Xiaoxing’an Mountains. The spatial distribution pattern and spatial association of main populations and gap makers were analyzed by using point pattern analysis. The results showed that there were a total of 13 species with diameters at breast height greater than 2 cm in tree layer, and great differences were observed in the densities of main populations. The importance values of A. nephrolepis, P. koraiensis, Betula platyphylla and Acer ukurunduense were ranked in the first 4 in the plot. The diameter class structure of their populations presented an inverse ‘J’ curve. The spatial distribution patterns for A. nephrolepis and P. koraiensis were similar, which changed from aggregated, random to uniform distribution with the spatial scale. For B. platyphylla, the distribution was aggregated at ≤40 m scale, and random at >40 m scale, whereas A. ukurunduense presented an aggregated distribution pattern at the whole research scale. Except that the negative correlation between B. platyphylla and A. ukurunduense existed at the whole research scale, positive correlation between the other populations at small scale and negative correlation at large scale were observed. Only A. nephrolepis and B. platyphylla had significant positive correlation, and generally no significant correlation existed between other populations. Spatial distribution pattern of gap makers was characterized as aggregated distribution at small and middle scales, and random distribution with increasing scale. Spatial point pattern of gap makers formed by uprooting exhibited unimodal type distribution, and random, aggregated, and uniform distribution also occurred. Spatial point pattern of gap makers formed by breaking overall presented a little fluctuation, random and aggregated distributions alternatively appeared at small scale, and random distribution happened at large scale. Their spatial correlation analysis indicated that significant positive correlation existed at ≤32 m scale, and nonsignificant negative correlation at >32 m scale.