Establishment processes and regeneration patterns of montane virgin coniferous forest in northeastern China

Abstract

Abstract. The co‐occurrence of Larix olgensis var. changpaiensis, Picea jezoensis and Abies nephrolepis in the coniferous forest of Mount Changbai, northeastern China, is discussed, and the regeneration pattern of these taxa compared on the basis of the analysis of the age structure and the age‐height relationship of the three conifers. The presence of tall individuals (ca. 30 m in height) of Larix olgensis var. changpaiensis, which does not show any regeneration, was related to the large eruption of Mount Changbai up to ca. 400 yr ago. Picea jezoensis compensates its small recruitment by a large stem size and long life span together with a continuous height growth. Abies nephrolepis recruits well, but its small stem size and short life span do not result in its dominance in the forest.

Feasibility of implementing thinning in even-aged Larix olgensis plantations to develop uneven-aged larch–broadleaved mixed forests

“…This suggests that the seedling establishment of L. olgensis in plantations is somewhat difficult. These results were consistent with other studies that reported poor natural regeneration of L. olgensis (Wang and Zhang 1990;Tsuyuzaki 1994a, b;Okitsu et al 1995;Liu 1997;Zhu et al 2008).…”

Monitoring forest dynamics using satellite imagery—a case study in the natural reserve of Changbai Mountain in China

“…This is often explained as the result of volcanic eruptions (Okitsu et al, 1995). But the last major eruption was identified to be 1600 years ago (Liu et al, 1993), and the population may have experienced several generations.…”

“…Many studies had described the structure and composition of the natural vegetation (Chen et al, 1964;Wang et al, 1980;Liu et al, 1998;Chen and Bradshawb, 1999) as well as the succession of the main forest communities by field investigation (Okitsu et al, 1995;Liu, 1997).…”

Earth observation and ecological security: An integrated multidisciplinary approach towards a regional inventory and monitoring

“…The four distinctive forest zones, from bottom to top, are needle-and broad-leaf mixed forests between 700-1100m; spruce-fir forest dominated by oldgrowth forests between 1100-1800m; subalpine birch (Betula ermanii) forests between 1800-2100m; and Alpine tundra above 2100m. The CMNR and adjacent lands have been a focus of scientific research in terms of ecosystem structure, function, change and biodiversity [26][27][28][29][30][31].…”