Biodiversity Science ›› 2019, Vol. 27 ›› Issue (4): 449-456.

• Methodology •

### Comparison of distinguish ability on seven tree size diversity indices

Lou Minghua1, Bai Chao2, *(), Hui Gangying3, Tang Mengping4

1. 1 Ningbo Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Ningbo, Zhejiang 315040
2 Ningbo Scientific Research and Design Institute of Environmental Protection, Ningbo, Zhejiang 315010
3 Key Laboratory of Tree Breeding and Cultivation of State Forestry Administration, Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091
4 Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Carbon Cycling in Forest Ecosystems and Carbon Sequestration, Zhejiang A & F University, Hangzhou 311300;
• Received:2018-12-26 Accepted:2019-03-19 Online:2019-06-05
• Bai Chao E-mail:506064788@qq.com

Tree size diversity directly reflects forest ecosystem health and stability. Objective and appropriate evaluation of tree size is essential for understanding the economic, ecological and social value of natural forests or plantations as well as for effective forest stand management. Four distance-free diversity indices (simpson size diversity index, DN; shannon size diversity index, HN; gini coefficient index of basal area, GC; diameter coefficient of variation index, CVd) and three distance-related indices (simpson size differentiation index, DT; shannon size differentiation index, HT; mean size differentiation index, $\bar{T}$) were selected to analyze the tree size diversity of six types of simulated stands and four measured stand plots with different diameter distribution and spatial patterns. The results show that regardless of extreme that such as compared stands have the same diameter composition but have different size mingling, GC, CVd, $\bar{T}$, DT and HT can distinguish tree size diversity between stand types which have different diameter distributions objectively and properly. CVd had the best result followed by GC. Accounting for extreme, the distance-related indices, namely $\bar{T}$, DT and HT can distinguish the difference between different size mingling stands. CVd and GC can be used as the preferred indices in the practical application for calculating simple facilitate. $\bar{T}$can be used to analyze the dynamic changes of forest structural characteristics for its high distinction ability of spatial difference that due to its sensitivity to regeneration.