Minimum sampling area and α biodiversity of riparian broad-leaved/Korean pine forest in Erdaobaihe forested watershed, Changbai Mountain

Abstract

Riparian zone is an important component of forested watershed. Species component, structure, and distribution pattern of plant community in riparian zone are different from those of forest far away from the riparian zone because of edge effect and influence of river, and their minimum sampling areas are also different. To study the minimum area and α biodiversity of broad-leaved/Korean pine forest in riparian zone, three 8 m×32 m sampling belts were selected and distributed at elevation of 800 m, 900 m, and 1 000 m. In the riparian broad-leaved/Korean pine forest, mean minimum sampling areas including 60%, 80%, and 90% of total species were 80 m2 (8 m×10 m), 180 m2 (12 m×15 m), and 320 m2 (16 m×20 m) respectively; The corresponding mean minimum areas of non-riparian forest were about 260 m2, 380 m2, and 480 m2; and the former were smaller than the latter. In the riparian zone, species richness, Shannon-Weiner index and species evenness were also higher than those in non-riparian forest. On the contrary, species dominance in forest community was higher than that in riparian zone.