Abstract
In this study, Yangmeikeng mountain area with a long-term natural restoration status (communities 1, 2, and 3) and Chiao mountain area with an artificially disturbed status (communities 4 and 5) in Shenzhen in China were subjected to plant community composition and diversity statistical analysis on the basis of the following indices: plant height; density; tree layer DBH; coverage; number of family, genus, and species; calculated diversity indices; richness; similarity coefficients of family, genus and species; and species evenness. The diversity levels of each index in each community were compared, and the relationships of family, genus, and species in the communities with one another were determined. The integrated diversity levels in the two areas were also analyzed. Results showed that the composition status of three communities, especially communities 2 and 3, which were located at high elevation, in Yangmeikeng with the long-term natural restoration status was better. The diversity values were also evidently higher. The vegetation composition in Yangmeikeng was also greater than that in Chiao. The integration status of numerous diversity indices, such as evenness and richness, was higher than that of the latter. These data could be used as a basis for arguments regarding the status of natural and artificial forest biodiversities. Many species in the community in artificial forests were shrubs and herbs. The richness and proportion of tree species were distinctly low. Thus, shrubs and herbs were the main components of the artificial interference community. The number and richness of the tree species in natural or long-term natural restoration forests were higher than those of the former. The family diversity Df of the three communities in Yangmeikeng was slightly lower than that of the two communities in Chiao. By contrast, the genus diversity Dg, family richness, and genus richness in Yangmeikeng were higher than those in Chiao. In terms of α-diversity and similarity coefficient, family, genus, and species were not directly related to one another. Therefore, species, genus, and family composition should be combined with their diversity status in the statistical and biodiversity analysis of a community. Synthetic diversity indices should be further analyzed to evaluate the diversity status of a community objectively.
Highlights
With the rapid economic development in Shenzhen for more than 30 years, the ecosystem and biodiversity in this city have been greatly affected, but the specific effects have yet to be determined
Biodiversity has emerged as an issue because of an increase in extinction rates caused by human activities [1], and several extensive experiments [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] have addressed the relationship between biodiversity measured as species richness and ecosystem function
All communities were in subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests, and community names were given according to the dominant species that were of important value in the three layers
Summary
With the rapid economic development in Shenzhen for more than 30 years, the ecosystem and biodiversity in this city have been greatly affected, but the specific effects have yet to be determined. Huston [7] failed to provide evidence on the improvement of ecosystem functions by increasing biodiversity and on the determination of both local species diversity and rate of ecosystem processes, such as productivity, in terms of the amount and variability of the fundamental environmental resources that regulate plant growth and ecosystem processes. The ecosystem structure of highly diverse plant communities is more complex than that of poorly diverse plant communities. Productivity increases under certain circumstances that have distinct difference of geographical environment or species characteristic factors. Some are the situations that are curve of the second degree progressive increase or power exponent progressive increase, but diversity and productivity simultaneously reach a constant status when community succession is reached within a certain period [8]-[14]
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