Biodiv Sci ›› 2025, Vol. 33 ›› Issue (2): 24445.  DOI: 10.17520/biods.2024445  cstr: 32101.14.biods.2024445

• Original Papers: Plant Diversity • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Community characteristics of a 64-ha secondary forest dynamics plot in a tropical montane rainforest in Jianfengling, Hainan

Li Yanpeng(), Chen Jie(), Lu Chunyang(), Xu Han*()()   

  1. Hainan Jianfengling National Key Field Research Station for Tropical Forest Ecosystem, Research Institute of Tropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou 510520, China
  • Received:2024-10-13 Accepted:2025-01-02 Online:2025-02-20 Published:2025-03-17
  • Contact: *E-mail: ywfj@163.com
  • Supported by:
    National Non-profit Institute Research Grant of Chinese Academy of Forestry(CAFYBB2020QB003);Project of Central Finance Forestry Reform and Development in 2019(YCJSHN2020-011A)

Abstract:

Aims: Tropical rainforests are an important ecosystem because of their role in conserving species diversity and mitigating global warming. However, there have been few studies about the ability of secondary tropical forests to recover from environmental catastrophe. To fill this gap in the literature, the goal of this study was catalogue species diversity and spatial distribution in a secondary forest in Jianfengling, Hainan in order to explore the characteristics of the recovering community structure in tropical forests.

Methods: To meet this objective, a 64-ha secondary forest dynamics plot was established in a tropical montane rainforest from 2020 to 2021 in Jianfengling, Hainan. Trees with diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥ 5.0 cm were tagged and mapped, and the species of tree was identified. Finally, these survey data were analyzed based on their species diversity, importance value, and spatial distribution patterns.

Results: The results revealed that: (1) A total of 152,958 surviving trees with DBH ≥ 5.0 cm were recorded in the plot, belonging to 65 families, 153 genera, and 262 species, among which there were 80 rare species, 113 occasional species, and 69 common species. (2) There were 24 species with an importance value greater than 1.00%, with the top 5 species being Castanopsis carlesii, Gironniera subaequalis, Nephelium topengii, Cryptocarya chinensis, and Lithocarpus fenzelianus. The dominant families were Fagaceae, Lauraceae, and Symplocaceae, and the dominant genera were Castanopsis, Symplocos, and Lithocarpus. (3) The average DBH was 13.00 cm, and the DBH distribution exhibited an inverted “J” shape, indicating this secondary forest was regenerating well and maintaining its stability. (4) The dominant species in the plot exhibited aggregated distribution patterns across spatial scales from 1 m to 100 m and demonstrated a preference for certain habitats, indicating that niche differentiation plays an important role in the maintaining biodiversity in this tropical montane rainforest.

Conclusion: This study elucidates the community structure of a secondary forest in a tropical montane rainforest, which can provide scientific basis for the conservation and management of species diversity in Jianfengling, Hainan.

Key words: Jianfengling, Hainan, secondary forest, forest dynamics plot, community structure, spatial distribution pattern