Population structure and spatial pattern of predominant tree species in a pine–oak mosaic mixed forest in the Qinling Mountains, China

Abstract

This study investigated a typical pine-oak mosaic mixed forest in the Qinling Mountains, China. In the sample plot, the population structure and spatial distribution of the stems were analyzed for the predominant species, to identify the mechanisms of species coexistence and successional trends of the forest. The population structures of all species were bimodally distributed, with young trees (DBH <1 cm) more abundant than older trees. The population structures of Quercus aliena var. acuteserrata was bimodal and rather continuous. However, Pinus tabuliformis and Pinus armandii were discontinuously bimodal, with distinct size deficiencies. Q. aliena var. acuteserrata trees were clumped throughout the plot, although those of P. tabuliformis and P. armandii were clumped at small scales. Notable negative spatial associations between Q. aliena var. acuteserrata and P. tabuliformis were found at almost scales. P. armandii and Q. aliena var. acuteserrata were negatively spatially associated at small scales but positively associated at large scales. Our findings suggest that interspecific competition gradually develops among the predominant tree species. The dynamics of the pine-oak mosaic mixed forest formed a mosaic distribution of uniformly mixed types, with the slow infiltration of Q. aliena var. acuteserrata populations that would eventually establish a pure stand. ARTICLE HISTORY

Assessing Restoration Potential of Fragmented and Degraded Fagaceae Forests in Meghalaya, North-East India

“…Across the study sites, the range of total basal area cover varies from 16.48 to 35.3 m 2 ha -1 and the total tree density from 276 to 868 trees ha -1 were comparable to the temperate pine-Oak mixed forest of Qinling mountains in north-western China [85], tropical forest of Kenya [86] and fragmented Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 6 August 2020 doi:10.20944/preprints202008.0136.v1…”

Rodent-mediated plant community competition: what happens to the seeds after entering the adjacent stands?

“…The reciprocal relationship between rodents and plants community varies in different forest habitat, it is particularly important to understand the role of scatterhoarding animals in plant inter-community competition. Forest community junction is considered a unique environment, it is an area where the competition between plant communities is most prominent (Kang et al 2017) and animal activity is more frequent because of the greater diversity and abundance of food resources (Yu et al 2018). Many previous studies have investigated the ecological process, stand development dynamic and population characteristics of plant community junction (Gracia et al 2002;Mendes et al 2016;Kang et al 2017), whereas few have considered the relationships among animals and plant community competition according to their foraging behavior.…”

“…In general, mixed forests exhibit high species richness and distinctive species compositions, and they have essential roles in maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem functions (Stone 2006). Previous studies have indicated that competition gradually increases with the development of populations in the edge between pine and oak forests, where Pinus species are considered to be the pioneer species during succession and they are usually invaded by late successional Quercus species (Gracia et al 2002;Yu et al 2014;Kang et al 2017). However, the mechanism responsible for driving the invasion process is not well understood.…”

“…The invasion behavior of many plant species depends greatly on the propagule pressure (Lonsdale 1999;Clair et al 2016;Wróbel and Zwolak 2019), and a previous study showed that Quercus aliena var. acuteserrata forest has a natural regeneration bottleneck (Kang et al 2017). To better understand the community competition and driving forces responsible for the invasion of oak into pine forests, and how different forest communities affect the dispersal and fate of seeds from adjacent communities, we selected a mosaic region of pine-oak mixed forest in the Qinling mountains and simultaneously cross-released seeds of each type in the opposing forest stands to simulate seed dispersal, before determining the fates of the seeds that entered the stands, i.e.…”

Distribuição espacial de táxons anemocóricos e zoocóricos em fragmentos de Floresta Ombrófila Mista

“…Os padrões de distribuição espacial das plantas diferem-se com base em diversos processos e dinâmicas, como competição intra e interespecífica, além de perturbação ou heterogeneidade ambiental e dispersão de sementes -bastante dependentes da fauna e da ocorrência e frequência de ventos (Kang et al, 2017). A ação destes agentes pode determinar os três diferentes padrões de distribuição: agregado, aleatório e uniforme (Townsend et al, 2010).…”