Effects of gap size, gap age, and bamboo Fargesia denudata on Abies faxoniana recruitment in South-western China
Abstract
Aim of study: to study the effects of gap size, gap age and bamboo Fargesia denudata on natural regeneration of Abies faxoniana, both of which are the ubiquitous dominants in our research area.
Area of study: subalpine coniferous forests in Wanglang Natural Reserve in Southwestern China.
Material and Methods: 10 transect belts were randomly established, and a total of 97 gaps were recorded and used.
Main results: (1) the number of bamboos with coverage of <17% significantly increased with increases of gap size and age, but the latter had little influence on the numbers of F. denudata with coverage of >17%. (2) F. denudata strongly inhibited A. faxoniana seedlings and saplings in small, young and old gaps, where the amount of A. faxoniana recruitment was relatively abundant, than in other types of gap. (3) The numbers of A. faxoniana seedlings in A-gaps, significantly decreased with the increases in gap size. However, in gaps where F. denudate was also present, A. faxoniana seedlings and saplings were insensitive to gap size or age. Research highlights: thick F. denudata would not be influenced by gap size or age. Because of the low occurrences of A. faxoniana seedlings and saplings, the negative effect of gap size, gap age and F. denudata on A. faxoniana recruitment was unclear.
Key words: Abies faxoniana; Fargesia denudata; gap age; gap size; regeneration.
Downloads
References
References
Albanesi E, Gugliotta OI, Mercurio I, Mercurio R, 2008. Effects of gap size and within-gap position on saplings establishment in silver fir stands. iFor Biogeosci For 1: 55-59
Barik SK, Pandey HN, Tripathi RS, Rao P, 1992. Microenvironmental variability and species-diversity in treefall gaps in a subtropical broadleaved forest. Vegetatio 103: 31-40
Beckage B, Clark JS, 2003. Seedling survival and growth of three southern Appalachian forest tree species: the role of spatial heterogeneity. Ecology 84: 1849-1861 http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(2003)084[1849:SSAGOT]2.0.CO;2
Beckage B, Clark JS, Clinton BD, Haines BL, 2000. A long-term study of tree seedling recruitment in southern Appalachian forests: the effects of canopy gaps and shrub understories. Can J For Res 30: 1617-1631. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/x00-075
Brokaw NVL, 1985. Gap-phase regeneration in a tropical forest. Ecol Lett 66: 682-687. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1940529
Bullock JM, 2000. Gaps and seedling colonization. In: Michael Fenner (ed). Seeds: The Ecology of Regeneration in Plant Communities. Wallingford, UK: CABI Publishing: 375-395. http://dx.doi.org/10.1079/9780851994321.0375
Caccia FD, Chaneton EJ, Kitzberger T, 2009. Direct and indirect effects of understorey bamboo shape tree regeneration niches in a mixed temperate forest. Oecologia 161: 771-780. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00442-009-1412-z
Campanello PI, Gatti MG, Ares A, Montti L, Goldstein G, 2007. Tree regeneration and microclimate in a liana and bamboo-dominated Semi-deciduous Atlantic Forest. Forest Ecol Manag 252: 108-117. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2007.06.032
Chandrashekara UM, Ramakrishnan PS, 1994. Successional patterns and gap phase dynamics of a humid tropical forest of the Western Ghats of Kerala, India: ground vegetation, biomass, productivity and nutrient cycling. For Ecol Manag 70: 23-40.
Connell JH, 1989. Some processes affecting the species composition in forest gaps. Ecology 70: 560-562. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1940205
Dang HS, Zhang YJ, Zhang KR, Jiang MX, Zhang QF, 2010. Age structure and regeneration of subalpine fir (Abies fargesii) forests across an altitudinal range in the Qinling Mountains, China. Forest Ecol Manag 259: 547-554. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2009.11.011
Darabant A, Rai PB, Tenzin K, Sangay T, and Gratzer G, 2007. Bamboo competition and favorable microsites determine recruitment of Tsuga dumosa seedlings at different spatial scales. RNR-RC Jakar, Bumthang, Bhutan.
De Chantal M, Leinonen K, Kuuluvainen T, Cescatti A, 2003. Early response of Pinus sylvestris and Picea abies seedlings to an experimental canopy gap in a boreal spruce forest. For Ecol Manag 176(1-3): 321-336.
de Lima RAF, 2005. Gap size measurement: the proposal of a new field method. Forest Ecol Manag 214: 413-419. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2005.04.011
Denslow JS (1987) Tropical rainforest gaps and tree species diversity. Annu Rev Ecol System 18: 431-451. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev.es.18.110187.002243
Ehrenfeld JG, 1980. Understory response to canopy gaps of varying size in a mature oak forests. Bulletin Torrey Botanical Club 107: 29-41. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2484848
Embaye K, Weih W, Ledin S, Christersson L, 2005. Biomass and nutrient distribution in highlands bamboo forest in southwest Ethiopia: implications for management. Forest Ecol Manag 204: 159-169. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2004.07.074
Gaudio N, Balandier P, Marquier A, 2008. Light-dependent development of two competitive species (Rubus idaeus, Cytisus scoparius) colonizing gaps in temperate forest. Ann For Sci 65: 104. http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/forest:2007076
Gonzalez ME, Veblen TT, Donoso C, Valeria L, 2002. Tree generation response in a lowland Nothofagus-dominated forest after bamboo die-back in south-central Chile. Plant Ecology 161: 59-73. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1020378822847
Griscom BW, Ashton MS, 2003. Bamboo control of forest succession: Guadua sarcocarpa in Southeastern Peru. Forest Ecol Manag 175: 445-454. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(02)00214-1
Gray A, Spies TA, 1997. Microsite controls on tree seedling establishment in conifer forest canopy gaps. Ecology 78(8): 2458-2473. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(1997)078[2458:MCOTSE]2.0.CO;2
Guo YX, Li G, Hu YN, Kang D, Wang DX, Yang GH, 2013. Regeneration of Betula albosinensis in Strip Clearcut and Uncut Forests of the Qinling Mountains in China. Plos one 8(3): e59375. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0059375
Harmon ME, Franklin JF, 1989. Tree seedlings on logs in Picea-Tsuga forests of Oregon and Washington. Ecology 70: 48-59. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1938411
Holz A, Veblen TT, 2006. Tree regeneration responses to Chusquea montana bamboo die-off in a subalpine Nothofagus forest in the southern Andes. J Veg Sci 17: 19-28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1658/1100-9233(2006)017[0019:trrtcm]2.0.co;2
Huenneke LF, 1983. Understory response to gaps caused by the death of Ulmus americana in central New York. B Torrey Botanic Club 110: 170-175. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2996338
Kinny M, McElhinny C, Smith G, 2012. The effect of gap size on growth and species composition of 15-year-old regrowth in mixed blackbutt forests. Australian Forestry 75(1): 3-15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00049158.2012.10676380
Kirchner K, Kathke S, Bruelheide H, 2011. The interaction of gap age and microsite for herb layer species in a near natural spruce forest. J Veg Sci 22: 85-95. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1654-1103.2010.01234.x
Larpkern P, Moe SR and Totland O, 2010. Bamboo dominance reduces tree regeneration in a disturbed tropical forest. Oecologia 165: 161-168. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00442-010-1707-0
Li J, Pei LY, Kang W, Zhao S, Yang HW, Li JQ, 2012. Study on Mosses Diversity in Wanglang National Nature Reserve, Sichuan Province. Acta Bot Boreali-Occidentalia Sinica 32(11): 2344-2351 [in Chinese with English abstract].
Li QZ, Bogaert J, Nijs I, 2005. Gap pattern and colonization opportunities in plant communities: effects of species richness, mortality, and spatial aggregation. Ecography 28: 777-790. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.2005.0906-7590.04261.x
Liu Q, Hytteborn H, 1991. Gap structure, disturbance and regeneration in a primeval Picea abies forest. J Veg Sci 2: 391-402. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3235932
Liu Q, Wu Y, 2002. Effects of gap size on regeneration of subalpine coniferous forests in northwest Yunnan. Chin J Appl Environ Biol 8(5): 453-459 [in Chinese with English abstract].
Lusk CH, 2001. When is a gap not a gap? Light levels and leaf area index in bamboo-filled gaps in a Chilean rain forest. Gayana Bot. 58: 25-30. http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0717-66432001000100003
McGuire JP, Mitchell RJ, Moser EB, Pecot SD, Gjerstad DH, Hedman CW, 2001. Gaps in a gappy forest: plant resources, longleaf pine regeneration, and understory response to tree removal in longleaf pine savannas. Can J For Res 31: 765-778. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/x01-003
Montti L, Campanello PI, Gatti MG, Blundo C, Austin AT, Sala OE, Goldstein GH, 2011. Understory bamboo flowering provides a very narrow light window of opportunity for canopy-tree recruitment in a neotropical forest of Misiones, Argentina. Forest Ecol Manag 262: 1360-1369. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2011.06.029
Nakashizuka T, 1987. Regeneration dynamics of beech forests in Japan. Vegetatio 69: 169-175. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00038698
Nakashizuka T, 1988. Regeneration of beech (Fagus crenata) after the simultaneous death of undergrowing dwarf bamboo (Sasa kurilensis). Ecol Res 3: 21-35. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02348692
Nakashizuka T, 1989. Role of uprooting in composition and dynamics of an old-growth forest in Japan. Ecology 70: 1273-1278. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1938186
Nakashizuka T, Numata M, 1982a. Regeneration process of climax beech forest. I. Structure of beech forest with the undergrowth of Sasa. Jpn J Ecol 32: 57-67.
Nakashizuka T, Numata M, 1982b. Regeneration process of climax beech forest. II. Structure of beech forest under influence of grazing. Jpn J Ecol 32: 473-482.
Narukawa Y, Yamamoto S, 2001. Gap formation, microsite variation and the conifer seedling occurrence in a subalpine old-growth forest, central Japan. Ecol Res 16: 617-625. http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1440-1703.2001.00424.x
Narukawa Y, Yamamoto S, 2002. Effects of coniferous and broad-leaved trees in a Japanese temperate mixed forest. J Veg Sci 2: 413-418.
Ostertag R, 1998. Belowground effects of canopy gaps in a tropical wet forest. Ecology 79(4): 1294-1304. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(1998)079[1294:BEOCGI]2.0.CO;2
Pearson TRH, Burslem DFRP, Goeriz RE, Dalling JW, 2003. Interactions of gap size and herbivory on establishment, growth and survival of three species of Neotropical pioneer trees. J Ecol 91: 785-796. http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2745.2003.00803.x
Rao KS, Ramakrishnan PS, 1989. Role of bamboo in nutrient conservation during secondary succession following slash and burn agriculture (Jhum) in Northeast India. J Appl Ecol 26: 625-634. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2404087
Rousset O, Lepart J, 2000. Positive and negative interactions at different life stages of a colonizing species (Quercus humilis). J Ecol 88: 401-412. http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2745.2000.00457.x
Runkle JR, 1981. Gap regeneration in some old-growth forests of the eastern United States. Ecology 62: 1041-1051. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1937003
Runkle JR, 1985. Disturbance regimes in temperate forests. The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and Patch Dynamics (Ed by S.T.A. Pickett and P.S. White), Academic Press, New York: 17-33.
Sapkota IP, Oden PC, 2009. Gap characteristics and their effects on regeneration, dominance and early growth of woody species. J Plant Ecol 2(1): 21-29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jpe/rtp004
Schnitzer SA, Carson WP. 2001. Treefall gaps and the maintenance of species diversity in a tropical forest. Ecology 82: 913-919. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(2001)082[0913:TGATMO]2.0.CO;2
Singh AN, Singh JS, 1999. Biomass, net primary production and impact of bamboo plantation on soil redevelopment in a dry tropical region. Forest Ecol Manag 119: 195-207. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(98)00523-4
Takahashi K, 1997. Regeneration and coexistence of two subalpine conifer species in relation to dwarf bamboo in the understory. J Veg Sci 8: 529-536. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3237203
Takahashi KS, Uemura S, Suzuki JI, Hara T, 2003. Effects of understory dwarf bamboo removal on soil water and the growth of overstory trees in a dense secondary Betula ermanii forest, northern Japan Ecol Res 18: 767-774. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11284-003-0594-9
Takahashi L, 1994. Effect of size structure, forest floor type, and disturbance regime on tree species composition in a coniferous forest in Japan. J Ecol 82: 769-773. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2261442
Taylor AH, Jang SW, Zhao LJ, Liang CP, Miao CJ, Huang JY, 2006. Regeneration patterns and tree species coexistence in old-growth Abies-Picea forests in southwestern China. Forest Ecol Manag 223: 303-317. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2005.11.010
Taylor AH, Qin Z, 1988a. Regeneration patterns in old-growth Abies-Betula forests in the Wolong Natural Reserve, Sichuan, China J Ecol 76: 1204-1218. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2260643
Taylor AH, Qin Z, 1988b. Tree replacement patterns in subalpine Abies-Betula forests in Wolong Natural Reserve, China. Vegetation 78: 141-149. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00033423
Taylor AH, Qin Z, 1989. Structure and composition of selectively cut and uncut Abies-Tsuga forest in Wolong natural reserve and implications for panda conservation in China. Biol Conserv 47: 83-108. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0006-3207(89)90093-1
Taylor AH, Qin ZS, Jie L, 1996. Structure and dynamics of subalpine forests in the Wang Lang Natural Reserve, Sichuan, China. Plant Ecol 124: 25-38. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00045141
Tripathi SK, Sumida A, Shibata H, Uemura S, Ono K, Hara T, 2005. Growth and substrate quality of fine root and soil nitrogen availability in a young Betula ermanii forest of northern Japan: effects of the removal of understory dwarf bamboo (Sasa kurilensis). Forest Ecol Manag 212: 278-290. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2005.03.030
Tsvuura Z, Griyths ME, Gunton RM, Franks PJ and Lawes MJ, 2010. Ecological filtering by a dominant herb selects for shade tolerance in the tree seedling community of coastal dune forest. Oecologia 164: 861-870. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00442-010-1711-4
Veblen TT, 1982. Growth patterns of Chusquea bamboos in the understory of Chilean Nothofagus forests and their influences in forest dynamics. B Torr Bot Club 109: 474-487. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2996488
Veblen TT, 1989. Tree regeneration responses to gaps along a transandean gradient[J]. Ecology 70: 541-543. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1940197
Veblen TT, Donoso C, Schlegel FM, Escobar B, 1981. Forest dynamics in south-central Chile. J Biogeogr 8: 211-247. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2844678
Wang W, Franklin SB, Ren Y, Ouellette JR. 2006. Growth of bamboo Fargesia qinlingensis and regeneration of trees in a mixed hardwood-conifer forest in the Qinling Mountains, China. Forest Ecol Manag 234: 107-115. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2006.06.028
Wang YJ, Tao JP, Zhong ZC, 2009. Factors influencing the distribution and growth of dwarf bamboo, Fargesia nitida, in a subalpine forest in Wolong Nature Reserve, southwest China. Ecol Res 24(5): 1013-1021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11284-008-0573-2
Yamamoto S, 1993. Gap characteristics and gap regeneration in a subalpine coniferous forest on Mt. Ontake, central Honshu, Japan. Ecol Res 8: 277-285. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02347187
Yamamoto S, 1995. Gap characteristics and gap regeneration in subalpine old-growth coniferous forests, central Japan. Ecol Res 10: 31-39. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02347653
Zhang C, Zou CJ, Peltola H, Wang KY, Xu WD, 2013. The effects of gap size and age on natural regeneration of Picea mongolica in the semi-arid region of Northern China. New Forests 44: 297-310. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11056-012-9318-8
Zhao ZJ, Eamus D, Yu Q, Li Y, Yang HW, Li JQ, 2012. Climate constraints on growth and recruitment patterns of Abies faxoniana over altitudinal gradients in the Wanglang Natural Reserve, eastern Tibetan Plateau. Aust J Bot 60: 602-614. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/BT12051
© CSIC. Manuscripts published in both the printed and online versions of this Journal are the property of Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, and quoting this source is a requirement for any partial or full reproduction.
All contents of this electronic edition, except where otherwise noted, are distributed under a “Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International” (CC BY 4.0) License. You may read here the basic information and the legal text of the license. The indication of the CC BY 4.0 License must be expressly stated in this way when necessary.
Self-archiving in repositories, personal webpages or similar, of any version other than the published by the Editor, is not allowed.
