Tree diversity change in remaining primary mixed-broadleaved Korean pine forest under climate change and human activities

Abstract

Studying biodiversity change in existing typical ecosystems of the world under possible global climate change and local human activities is important for diversity conservation. An adapted forest dynamics model is used to simulate tree diversity change of the remaining primary mixed-broadleaved Korean pine forest (RPMKPF) in northeast China under global climate change and local human activities for the next 50 years. Human activities include logging, which removes all big trees (DBH > 50 cm), removing all individuals of each single species and all species of each functional type (shade tolerant, shade intolerant and medium type tree species). As results for RPMKPF, the α index of tree diversity decreases under climate change, but it increases significantly under a combination of climate change and logging. Removing all individuals of each single species significantly affects the tree diversity of the ecosystem. After the removal of shade tolerant species, both α and βc indices of tree diversity experience a significant change. The α index decreases significantly under climate change when shade intolerant or medium type tree species are removed, but the βc index does not change significantly. The results of this study have implications for tree diversity management in RPMKPF under climate change and human activities.