Abstract
The upper reaches of the Yangtze River are a very important ecological barrier in China, but the ecological benefits of large-scale Cupressus funebris Endl.plantations are low. This study investigated 12 plantations of different compositions and densities, including two densities of Cinnamomum septentrionale Hand.-Mazz. (Cs), Alnus cremastogyne Burk. (Ac), and Toona sinensis (A. Juss.) Roem. (Ts), and mixed plantations of Cs + Ac (CA), Ts + Cs (TC), Ts + Ac (TA), and Ac + Ts + Cs (ATC) and the cutting-blank (CB), and, at the same time, the unreconstructed pure C. funebris (Cf) forest was set as the control. We aimed to explore the influence mechanism of upper tree composition and density on shrub diversity, as well as the relationship between shrub diversity and niche. Our research results are as follows: (1) Among all the patterns, the TA, CA, and TC patterns are the most conducive to improving the diversity of shrubs. The composition and density of different trees have a great influence on the diversity of shrubs. (2) Niche is closely related to the diversity of shrubs. In the patterns of low niche overlap between dominant shrubs, the diversity of shrubs is greater. These results contribute to a deeper understanding of the relationship between the diversity of overstory and shrubs, and reveals the relationship between niche and diversity.
Highlights
The maintenance of biodiversity is a key issue in current forest management, and can assist human societies to guarantee the long-term persistence of forest ecosystems, services, and resources [1,2]
The results showed that the tree composition and density had a significant impact on the diversity of shrubs, and that the niche is closely related to the diversity of shrubs
Our research provides ideas for the transformation of low-efficiency plantations in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and, at the same time, contributes to a deeper understanding of the relationship between the diversity of overstory and shrubs, as well as linking shrub diversity and niche characteristics, which is important for niche theory in the formation and maintenance of diversity
Summary
The maintenance of biodiversity is a key issue in current forest management, and can assist human societies to guarantee the long-term persistence of forest ecosystems, services, and resources [1,2]. The diversity of shrubs is an important component of forest biodiversity, especially in plantations, where is critical to the development of communities and the maintenance of diversity [2,3]. Shrubs maintain the soil quality of the stand, and play an important role in forest development, the conversion of cropland to forests, etc. Investigation of the diversity differences and the niche characteristics of dominant shrub species in different forest stands is of great importance to revealing the position and the role of each shrub species and predicting the shrub diversity in the future community and the interrelationship among species. The niche theory has made a great contribution to the formation and maintenance of the diversity of plants.
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