Spatial patterns of Picea crassifolia driven by environmental heterogeneity and intraspecifi c interactions

Research on the spatial patterns of tree populations is critical for understanding the structure and dynamic processes of forests.However,little is known about how the underlying drivers shape these patterns and species interactions in forest systems.In this study,spatial point pattern analysis investigated the combined eff ects of intraspecifi c interactions and environmental heterogeneity on the spatial structure and internal maintenance mechanisms of Picea crassifolia in the Qilian Mountain National Nature Reserve,China.Data were obtained from a 10.2-ha dynamic monitoring plot(DMP)and sixteen 0.04-ha elevation gradient plots(EGPs).Under complete spatial randomness,both mature trees and saplings in the DMP demonstratedlarge-scale aggregation with negative correlations.In EGPs,saplings were clustered in small mesoscales,mature trees were randomly distributed,and the interactions of saplingstrees at all elevations were not correlated.By eliminating the interference of environmental heterogeneity through the inhomogeneous Poisson process,saplings in the DMP and EGPs were clustered in small scales and trees randomly distributed.Intraspecifi c associations were negatively correlated,in the DMP and at low elevations,and no correlations in high elevations of EGPs.In the vertical scale,saplings showed a small-scale aggregation pattern with increase in elevation,and the aggregation degree fi rst decreased and then increased.The interactions of saplings-trees and saplings–saplings showed inhibitions at small scales,with the degree of inhibition gradually decreasing.Spatial patterns and associations of adults–adults did not change signifi-cantly.The results revealed that intraspecifi c interactions and environmental heterogeneity regulated the spatial patterns of P.crassifolia at small and large scales,respectively.Environmental heterogeneity might be the most decisive factor aff ecting the spatial patterns of saplings,while trees were more aff ected by intraspecifi c interactions.Moreover,competition between trees in this area could be more common than facilitation for the growth and development of individuals.

Spatial distributions of tropical tree species in northern Vietnam under environmentally variable site conditions

Ecological interactions of species and thus their spatial pat- terns may differ between homogeneous and heterogeneous forests. To account for this, techniques of point pattern analysis were implemented on mapped locations of tree individuals from two 1-ha tropicalforest plots in Vietnam. We analyzed the effect of environmental heterogeneity on tree distributions; spatial distribution patterns of dominant species; inter-specific associations; and conspecific associations between life stages. Our analyses showed that： environmental conditions were homo- geneous at plot 1 but heterogeneous at plot 2; in both plots, all six domi- nant species were aggregated at various scales up to 30 m, and tree spe- cies were aggregated at larger scales in the homogeneous site than in the heterogeneous site; attraction between pairs of species was remarkably higher at the homogeneous site while negative associations were more frequent in the heterogeneous site; some species, H. kurzii, T. ilicifolia （homogeneous plot） and D. sylvatica, S. wightianum （heterogeneous plot） showed a lack of early life-stage individuals near conspecific adults. Moreover, additional clustering of young individuals was independent from conspecific adults, except D. sylvatica in both sites. These findings are consistent with the Janzen-ConneU hypothesis. Overall, habitat het- erogeneity influences spatial patterns and inter-specific associations of the tree species and evidences of self-thinning are shown in most species.

Changes in forest structure, species diversity and spatial pattern following hurricane disturbance in a Piedmont North Carolina forest, USA

Aims Large hurricanes have profound impacts on temperate forests,but owing to their infrequent nature these effects have rarely been examined in detail.In 1996,Hurricane Fran significantly damaged many long-term tree census plots in the Duke Forest on the North Carolina Piedmont,thereby providing an exceptional opportunity to examine pre-and post-hurricane forest compositional trajectories.Our goal was to examine immediate,short-term(0–4 years)and longer term(;5 year)hurricane-induced structural,spatial and compositional changes in the tree population(stem d.b.h>1 cm)in the context of our detailed,long-term knowledge of the dynamics of these forests.Methods We surveyed stem damage and tree mortality in 34 long-term permanent plots(ca.70-year record;404–1012 m^(2))and 7 large mapped tree stands(ca.20-year record;5250–65000 m^(2))representing both transition-phase,even-aged pine stands and uneven-aged upland hardwood forests.We employed three types of damage measures to quantify stand-level damage severity:percentage of stems damaged,percentage of basal area lost and a‘stand-level damage index’.Second-order spatial analysis(Ripley’s K-function)was used to investigate patterns in tree mortality.Important findings Our study found hurricane effects on the structural attributes of Piedmont forests to be variable and patchy.Changes in tree species composition,however,were modest.Uprooting was the major damage type for the overstory trees[diameter at breast height(d.b.h.)>10 cm]apparently due to the exposure of the crowns to high wind combined with heavy rainfall prior to and during the storm.Saplings,juvenile trees and small trees(1–10 cm d.b.h.)of the understory and midstory were mainly damaged by being pinned or bent by their damaged large neighbors.Hurricane-induced tree mortality varied weakly among species,was positively correlated with pre-hurricane tree size and remained up to 2-fold higher than pre-hurricane background mortality 5 years after the hurricane.Spatial point pattern analysis revealed a patchy distribution of tree mortality during the hurricane sampling interval.Hurricane Fran resulted in a dramatic increase in average gap size from ca.400 m^(2) pre-hurricane to ca 1100 m^(2) after the hurricane,whereas maximum gap sizes reached 18–34 times larger than the pre-hurricane levels.