Spatial pattern analysis of dominant species in Exochorda giraldii community in Xingtang Temple of Taiyue Mountains, Shanxi, China

Abstract

Aims The Exochorda giraldii community is a secondary shrubland developed following destruction of warm temperate and deciduous broad-leaved forests. The objective of this study was to explore the distribution and in- ter-relationships of dominant species in E. giraldii communities in Taiyue Mountains, Shanxi, China. Methods Based on the vegetation survey data on a 50 m × 50 m plot, point pattern analysis (O-ring) and fractal analyses (including box-counting dimension analysis, information dimension analysis and correlation dimension analysis) were performed to determine the spatial patterns of dominant species in a E. giraldii community. Important findings In the E. giraldii community, most of the dominant species showed the characteristics of aggregated distribution at smaller scales. However, Periploca sepium and Spiraea salicifolia showed an aggrega- tion distribution at all scales. With increases in scale, the distributions of E. giraldii and Forsythia suspensa changed from aggregation to random and to uniform. Based on the point pattern analysis, the dominant species in the E. giraldii community showed aggregation distribution characteristics at different scales. The box-counting dimension analysis indicated that the ability of dominant species to occupy the space in the E. giraldii community was in the order of E. giraldii > F. suspensa > S. salicifolia > P. sepium. The information dimension analysis in- dicated that the degree of changes in pattern intensity of dominant species with scale in the E. giraldii community was in the order of P. sepium > S. salicifolia > E. giraldii > F. suspensa. The correlation dimension analysis showed that the spatial correlations of dominant species in the E. giraldii community was in the order of P. sepi- um > E. giraldii > F. suspensa > S. salicifolia. On a smaller scale, the E. giraldii population showed aggregated distribution; the F. suspensa population and the E. giraldii population had a positive correlation; the S. salicifolia population and the E. giraldii population had a positive correlation; the P. sepium population and the E. giraldii population had a negative correlation. Point pattern analysis and fractal analyses produced consistent results, re- vealing the spatial distribution patterns of secondary shrubs following destruction of the warm temperate and de- ciduous broad-leaved forests.