Effect of thinning intensity on understory herbaceous diversity and biomass in mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests of Changbai Mountain

Background:Herbs are an important part of the forest ecosystem,and their diversity and biomass can reflect the restoration of vegetation after forest thinning disturbances.Based on the near-mature secondary coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest in Jilin Province Forestry Experimental Zone,this study analyzed seasonal changes of species diversity and biomass of the understory herb layer after different intensities of thinning.Results:The results showed that although the composition of herbaceous species and the ranking of importance values were affected by thinning intensity,they were mainly determined by seasonal changes.Across the entire growing season,the species with the highest importance values in thinning treatments included Carex pilosa,Aegopodium alpestre,Meehania urticifolia,and Filipendula palmata,which dominated the herb layer of the coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest.The number of species,Margalef index,Shannon-Wiener index and Simpson index all had their highest values in May,and gradually decreased with months.Pielou index was roughly inverted“N”throughout the growing season.Thinning did not increase the species diversity.Thinning can promote the total biomass,above-and below-ground biomass.The number of plants per unit area and coverage were related to the total biomass,above-and below-ground biomass.The average height had a significantly positive correlation with herb biomass in May but not in July.However,it exerted a significantly negative correlation with herb biomass in September.The biomass in the same month increased with increasing thinning intensity.Total herb biomass,above-and below-ground biomass showed positive correlations with Shannon-Winner index,Simpson index and Pielou evenness index in May.Conclusions:Thinning mainly changed the light environment in the forest,which would improve the plant diversity and biomass of herb layer in a short time.And different thinning intensity had different effects on the diversity of understory herb layer.The findings provide theoretical basis and reference for reasonable thinning and tending in coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forests.

Dynamics of nitrogen nutrition of coexisting dominant trees in mixed broad-leaved/Korean pine forest

Chemical analysis of ammonium, nitrate and total nitrogen in tree leaves and roots and anin-vivo bioassay for nitrate reductase activity (NRA) were used to monitor the seasonal variations in nitrogen assimilation among four coexisting dominant tree species, includingPinus koraiensis, Tilia amurensis, Fraxinus mandshurica andAcer mono, in a virgin mixed broad-leaved/Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) forest. The soil study included individual horizons of L+F (0–5 cm), Ah (5–11 cm) and Aw (11–25 cm). All four species had nitrate and ammonium in their roots and leaves, and also NRA in leaves. This indicated that these coexisting species were adapted to ammonium + nitrate nutrition. A negative correlation existed between nitrate use and ammonium use. Ammonium concentration was higher than that of nitrate in tree leaves and roots, and also in soils, which indicated climax woody species had a relative preference for ammonium nutrition. There was a positive relationship between tree nitrogen nutrition use and soil nitrogen nutrient supply. Utilization of ammonium and nitrate as well as the seasonal patterns differed significantly between the species. Peaks of ammonium, nitrate, NRA and total nitrogen in one species were therefore not necessarily synchronous with peaks in other species, and which indicated a species-specific seasonal use of nitrogen. The species-specific temporal differentiation in nitrogen use might reduce the competition between co-existing species and may be an important mechanism promoting stability of virgin mixed broad-leaved//Korean pine forest.

Responses of soil Collembolans to vegetation restoration in temperate coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forests

A total of 900 soil samples were collected from five habitats,including primary coniferous broad-leaved mixed forests,secondary coniferous broad-leaved mixed forests,secondary broad-leaved forests,secondary shrub forests,and cutover lands in spring,summer,and autumn to quantify responses of soil Collembolans(springtails)to the restoration of vegetation of temperate coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forests.The results reveal that the taxonomic composition of Collembolans varied in the different stages of vegetation restoration.Seasonal variations were in regard to their abundance and richness.High similarities existed in Collembola communities at different stages of vegetation restoration,and distribution patterns of Collembola taxa displayed an evenness throughout all habitats.Soil Collembolans tended to gather on litter layers and soil surface;the highest abundance was found in the upper 5 cm soil layer during the initial stages of vegetation recovery.Tomocerus,Proisotoma,and Folsomia genera responded positively to the restoration of vegetation.However,responses of Ceratophysella and Parisotoma genera were negative.In addition,the Onychiuridae family did not respond to the vegetation restoration process.It was concluded that restoration of vegetative cover can increase the abundance of soil Collembolans,but different genera respond differently.

NITROGEN NUTRIENT MECHANISM IN SECONDARY SUCCESSION PROCESS OF THE MIXED BROAD-LEAVED/ KOREAN PINE (PINUS KORAIENSIS) FOREST

Chemical and biochemical analysis methods were used to monitor the vedations of nitrogen nutrient among the dominance trees species in secondary succession process of the mixed broad - leaved/Korean pine forest on Changbai Mountains, Northeast China. Amounts of total nitrogen, anunonium and NRA in soils of virgin broad-leaved/Korean pine forest which is in climax were higher than those of secondary birch forests those are in succession Stage. The amount of nitrate was in the other hand. In climax, dominance trees species are tolerant mesophytic trees such as Pinus Koraiensis, Tilia amurensis, Acer mono and also Fraxinus mandshurica, they are all ammonium + nitrate adapted species, but they show a preference for the anunonium rather than those of the pioneer trees species in secondary birch forest, such as Populus davidiava and Betula platyphylla. Because they have more ammonium in their leaves and roots, especially Pinus koraiensis. Populus davidvana and Betula plaaphlla are intolerant trees, amounts of nitrate and total nitrogen is higher in their leaves and roots and also NRA in their leaves, so they preference for the nitrate rather than the others.In secondary birch forest, the regeneration trees species adapt their nitroggn nutrient to the variation of nitrogen nutrient situation in soil, finally they could survival well and the secondary birch forest would succession to climax. In climax, dominance trees species adapt their Nitrogen nutrient to the situation in soil and there are not strong competition in nitrogen nutrient among them, so they can coexist well and keep the climax as stable vegetation.

Recovery of species diversity after disturbance of broad-leaved Korean pine mixed forest in Changbai Mountain

Recovery of species diversity after catastrophic disturbance was influenced by a few factors, such as intensity of disturbance, availability of propagules, and the environmental conditions, In this paper, we examined pattems of species development after nearly 60a succession in bumed broad-leaved Korean pine mixed forest on northem slope of ChangbaiMountain. We aasessed the recovery of plant species diversity in 3 types of forests under the contition with gradient of soil moisture. Results revealed that recovery of plant species (liversity varied greatly under different environmental conditions.Species richness of secondary forests greatly related to the site condition. Secondary birch forest on mesic site had the greatest number of plant species and the following was poplar-birch forest and larch-birch forest.Most of characteristic taxa couldbe found in birch forest after 60a succession. For larch-birch forest on hydra site, most of climax species were still not able to invade, so it had the lowest species diversity.

Meteorological control on CO_2 flux above broad-leaved Korean pine mixed forest in Changbai Mountains

The impacts of temperature, photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) and vapor pressure deficit (VPD) on CO2 flux above broad-leaved Korean pine mixed forest in the Changbai Mountains were studied based on eddy covariance and meteorological factors measurements.The results showed that, daytime CO2 flux was mainly controlled by PAR and they fit Michaelis-Menten equation. Meanwhile VPD also had an influence on the daytime flux. Drier air reduced the CO2 assimilation of the ecosystem, the drier the air, the more the reduction of the assimilation. And the forest was more sensitive to VPD in June than that in July and August. The respiration of the ecosystem was mainly controlled by soil temperature and they fit exponential equation. It was found that this relationship was also correlated with seasons; respiration from April to July was higher than that from August to November under the same temperature. Daily net carbon exchange of the ecosystem and the daily mean air temperature fit exponential equation. It was also found that seasonal trend of net carbon exchange was the result of comprehensive impacts of temperature and PAR and so on. These resulted in the biggest CO2 uptake in June and those in July and August were next. Annual carbon uptake of the forest ecosystem in 2003 was -184 gC. m-2.

Community Dynamics of Seed Rain in Mixed Evergreen Broad-leaved and Deciduous Forests in a Subtropical Mountain of Central China

Seed dispersal is a key process within community dynamics. The spatial and temporal variations of seed dispersal and the interspecific differences are crucial for understanding species coexistence and community dynamics. This might also hold for the mixed evergreen broadleaved and deciduous forests in the mountains of subtropical China, but until now little existing knowledge is available for this question. In 2001, we chose to monitor the seed rain process of our mixed evergreen broad-leaved and deciduous forest communities in Mount Dalaoling National Forest Park, Yichang, Hubei Province, China. The preliminary analyses show obvious variations in seed rain density, species compositions and timing of seed rain among four communities. The average seed rain densities of the four communities are 2.43 ± 5.15, 54.13 ±182.75, 10.05 ±19.30 and 24.91 ± 58.86 inds/m^2, respectively; about one tenth the values in other studies in subtropical forests of China. in each community, the seed production is dominated by a limited number of species, and the contributions from the others are generally minor. Fecundity of evergreen broadleaved tree species is weaker than deciduous species. The seed rain of four communities begins earlier than September, and stops before December, peaking from early September to late October. The beginning date, ending date and peak times of seed rain are extensively varied among the species, indicating different types of dispersal strategies. According to the existing data, the timing of seed rain is not determined by the climate conditions in the same period, while the density of seed rain may be affected by the disturbances of weather variations at a finer temporal resolution.