Abstract

Wuyishan National Nature Reserve is a key area for biodiversity in SE China. We investigated the species composition and species diversity of the evergreen broad-leaved forests, a widely distributed vegetation type in the reserve. Our study was conducted on two 2400-m2 plots, the permanent plots of the China State Forestry Administration. A total of 311 vascular plant species, belonging to 138 genera and 67 families, were recorded. Among them, there were 160 tree species, 89 shrubs, 25 lianas, and 37 herbs. Based on importance value, Castanopsis carlesii, C. eyrei, Adinandra millettii, Dendropanax dentiger, C. fabri, Engelhardtia fenzelii, C. fargesii, and Cyclobalanopsis glauca are the top eight dominant species. Based on relative basal area (RBA), Castanopsis, Cyclobalanopsis and Adinandra are the dominant genera in the tree layer, with RBA values of 52.0%, 6.4%, and 4.5%, respectively. Fagaceae and Theaceae are the dominant families, with the RBA value being 60.1% and 12.2%, respectively. The Shannon-Wiener index (H′) of the tree layer is about 3.0. The indicies of H′and Pielou evenness index (E) both increased with sampling area, and stabilized at 1500 m2 and 1000 m2, respectively. The species-area curve indicated that specie richness stabilized when sampling area was above 4500 m2. The trees with DBH less than 10 cm accounted for 76.3% of the total trees. The forest community is dominated by evergreen tree species although deciduous species are frequent.