Effect of Microenvironment on Species Distribution Patterns in the Regeneration Layer of Forest Gaps and Non-Gaps in a Subtropical Natural Forest, China

Zhongsheng He,Zhe Wang,Jinfu Liu,Lan Jiang,Daowei Xu,Lijing Wang,Wei Hong

doi:10.3390/f10020090

Zhongsheng He, Zhe Wang + Show 5 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/f10020090

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Journal: Forests	Publication Date: Jan 24, 2019
Citations: 16	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore the effect of gap environmental factors on the plant population regeneration pattern in the Castanopsis kawakamii natural forest. We used the detrended canonical correspondence analysis (DCCA) method to study coupling relationships between species distribution in the regeneration layer and environmental factors. The results showed that: (1) The main environmental factors that influenced species distribution in the forest gaps and non-gaps were different, and the highest explanation rate of environmental factors was the soil temperature below the surface 10 cm (ST10); (2) The relationships between species distribution in the regeneration layer of the forest gaps and non-gaps were mainly restricted by environmental factors, given the environmental factors complied with the ecological niche hypothesis; and (3) For the endangered C. kawakamii population, there were positive and negative relationships between the environmental factors and the various species in the forest gaps and non-gaps, whilst the effects of such relationships were varied. Some management operations, including the creation of artificial gaps and adequate fertilization in the non-gaps, could more effectively promote the growth and regeneration of the C. kawakamii population.

Highlights

Forest gaps are an important interference to forests [1], where gap disturbance influences species coexistence in the forest community and biodiversity maintenance, which is an important process of forest regeneration and succession [2]
The species of Ardisia punctata, Castanopsis kawakamii, Diplospora dubia, Litsea subcoriacea, Machilus grijsii, and Symplocos lancifolia were the dominant species in 12 gaps
By selecting the main species that had relatively high importance values and strong competition with C. kawakamii, the species of C. kawakamii, Diplospora dubia, Symplocos lancifolia, Litsea subcoriacea, and Machilus grijsii were distributed in each sample plot of the forest gaps, while Sarcandra glabra, C. kawakamii, D. dubia, L. subcoriacea, and Antidesma japonicum were distributed in each sample plot of the non-gaps

Summary

Introduction

Forest gaps are an important interference to forests [1], where gap disturbance influences species coexistence in the forest community and biodiversity maintenance, which is an important process of forest regeneration and succession [2]. After gap formation, microenvironment heterogeneity plays a role in the selection of plant composition, seed germination, and seedlings recruitment [3,4,5]. This can be recognized as an essential driving factor for the dynamic balance in long-term forest succession [6], i.e., gap age, edaphic factors, environmental factors, and gap border trees could directly or indirectly affect the species density and adaptability [7,8,9]. The key to studying the maintenance mechanism between vegetation and the environment is understanding how to quantify the relationship between environmental factors and community composition

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