| Orginal Article |
|
|
|
|
| Effect of competition on spatial patterns of oak forests on the Chinese Loess Plateau |
Di KANG1,2, Jian DENG2,3, Xiaowei QIN4, Fei HAO5, Shujuan GUO2,3, Xinhui HAN2,3,*( ), Gaihe YANG2,3,*() |
1 College of Forestry, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China;
2 The Research Center of Recycle Agricultural Engineering and Technology of Shaanxi Province, Yangling 712100, China
3 College of Agronomy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China;
4 Spice and Beverage Institute Research, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Wanning 730070, China
5 Yunnan Baiyao Group CO., LTD, Kunming 650500, China |
|
|
|
Abstract Reforestation or natural forest regeneration is an alternative measure for controlling soil erosion in degraded land on the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP). However, our understanding of the temporal dynamics and the spatial patterns of forest regeneration remains inadequate. Two oak forests at different development stages were investigated to determine the spatial patterns of competitions (intraspecies and interspecies) during different successional stages. The intraspecies and interspecies spatial relationships among different tree diameters at breast height were analyzed at multiple scales by Kriging interpolation method and univariate and bivariate O-ring statistics. Our analytical results indicated that self-correlation and competition intensity were relatively high between oak and pine trees in the early development stage of oak forests due to their clumped distributions of heavy seeds. Birch trees had a lower competition in comparison to oak trees although birch was the dominant species. Therefore, asymmetric competition of oak trees was most likely to have led to their edge dispersal and their success in replacing the pioneer species. Asymmetric competition means that larger individuals obtained a disproportionately large share of the resources and suppressed the growth of smaller individuals. Kriging interpolation analysis showed a tendency towards homogenization caused by interspecies competition during the succession of oak forests. Our results demonstrated that the competition was the driving factor in the spatial distribution of oak forests on the CLP.
|
|
Received: 01 March 2016
Published: 31 July 2017
|
|
Corresponding Authors:
|
|
|
| 1 | An L J, Zhu Z H, Wang X A, et al.2007. Stability analysis of major communities in Malan forest region of Ziwuling Mountain. Acta Botanica Boreali-Occidentalia Sinica, 27(5): 1000-1007. (in Chinese) | | 2 | Barot S, Gignoux J. Menaut J C.1999. Demography of a savanna palm tree: Predictions from comprehensive spatial pattern analyses. Ecology, 80(6): 1987-2005. | | 3 | Bayraktar H, Turalioglu F S.2005. A Kriging-based approach for locating a sampling site-in the assessment of air quality. Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment, 19(4): 301-305. | | 4 | Berger U, Piou C, Schiffers K, et al.2008. Competition among plants: concepts, individual-based modelling approaches, and a proposal for a future research strategy. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 9(3-4): 121-135. | | 5 | del Río M, Condés S, Pretzsch H.2014. Analyzing size-symmetric vs. size-asymmetric and intra- vs. inter-specific competition in beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) mixed stands. Forest Ecology and Management, 325: 90-98. | | 6 | Fraver S, D’Amato A W, Bradford J B, et al.2014. Tree growth and competition in an old-growth Picea abies forest of boreal Sweden: influence of tree spatial patterning. Journal of Vegetation Science, 25(2): 374-385. | | 7 | Gao L X, Bi R C, Yan M.2011. Species abundance distribution patterns of Pinus tabulaeformis forest in Huoshan Mountain of Shanxi Province, China. Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology, 35(12): 1256-1270. (in Chinese) | | 8 | Getzin S, Dean C, He F L, et al.2006. Spatial patterns and competition of tree species in a Douglas-fir chronosequence on Vancouver Island. Ecography, 29(5): 671-682. | | 9 | Goldberg D E, Barton A M.1992. Patterns and consequences of interspecific competition in natural communities: a review of field experiments with plants. The American Naturalist, 139(4): 771-801. | | 10 | Guo H, Wang X A.2012. Population structure analysis of Pinus tabulaeformis in Malan forest region on Ziwuling Mountain. Journal of Shaanxi Normal University: Natural Science Edition, 40(1): 67-71. (in Chinese) | | 11 | Hegyi F.1974. A simulation model for managing jack-pine stands. In: Fries J. Growth Models for Tree and Stand Simulation. Stockholm: Royal College of Forestry Research Notes, 74-90. | | 12 | Houston A, Clark C, McNamara J, et al.1988. Dynamic models in behavioural and evolutionary ecology. Nature, 332(6159): 29-34. | | 13 | Kang D, Guo Y X, Ren C J, et al.2014. Population structure and spatial pattern of main tree species in secondary Betula platyphylla forest in Ziwuling Mountains, China. Scientific Reports, 4: 6873. | | 14 | Li Y B, Wang H, Fu J.2008. Regeneration niche of main tree species in Quercus liaotungensis forest gaps in Ziwuling Mountain. Chinese Journal of Ecology, 27(12): 2062-2066. (in Chinese) | | 15 | Li Y Y, Shao M G.2004. The change of plant diversity during natural recovery process of vegetation in Ziwuling area. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 24(4): 252-260. (in Chinese) | | 16 | Li Y Y, Zheng J Y, Shao M A.2005. Comparison of the attributes of natural forests and plantations in Ziwuling Mountain. Acta Botanica Boreali-Occidentalia Sinica, 25(12): 2447-2456. (in Chinese) | | 17 | Liang J, Wang X A, Yu Z D, et al.2010. Effects of vegetation succession on soil fertility within farming-plantation ecotone in Ziwuling Mountains of the Loess Plateau in China. Agricultural Sciences in China, 9(10): 1481-1491. | | 18 | Linkevi?ius E, Kulie?is A, R?hle H, et al.2014. The impact of competition for growing space on diameter, basal area and height growth in pine trees. Baltic Forestry, 20(2): 301-313. | | 19 | Pedersen R ?, Bollands?s O M, Gobakken T, et al.2012. Deriving individual tree competition indices from airborne laser scanning. Forest Ecology and Management, 280: 150-165. | | 20 | Peng K S.2013. Process of control and research on soil and water loss of loess plateau the loess plateau area water and soil loss characteristics, management stage and thinking research. Journal of Capital Normal University (Natural Science Edition), 34(5): 82-90. (in Chinese) | | 21 | Petritan I C, Marzano R, Petritan A M, et al.2014. Overstory succession in a mixed Quercus petraea-Fagus sylvatica old growth forest revealed through the spatial pattern of competition and mortality. Forest Ecology and Management, 326: 9-17. | | 22 | Pillay T, Ward D.2012. Spatial pattern analysis and competition between Acacia karroo trees in humid savannas. Plant Ecology, 213(10): 1609-1619. | | 23 | Qin J, Liu Y, Shangguan Z P.2006. Photosynthetic physiological and ecological characteristics of Betula platyphylla-Quercus liaotungensis mixed forests in Ziwuling forest area. Acta Botanica Boreali-Occidentalia Sinica, 26(11): 2331-2337. (in Chinese) | | 24 | Qin J, Shangguan Z P.2006. Physiological-ecological effects of Populus davidiana-Quercus liaotungensis mixed forest in Ziwuling forest area. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology, 17(6): 972-976. (in Chinese) | | 25 | Rees M, Bergelson J.1997. Asymmetric light competition and founder control in plant communities. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 184(3): 353-358. | | 26 | Saha S, Kuehne C, Bauhus J.2014. Intra- and interspecific competition differently influence growth and stem quality of young oaks (Quercus robur L. and Quercus petraea (Mattuschka) Liebl.). Annals of Forest Science, 71(3): 381-393. | | 27 | Sandoval S, Cancino J.2008. Modeling the edge effect in even-aged Monterrey pine (Pinus radiata D. Don) stands incorporating a competition index. Forest Ecology and Management, 256(1-2): 78-87. | | 28 | Shao F L, Yu X X, Wu H L, et al.2012. Spatial distribution pattern of Populus davidiana and Betula platyphylla populations in a typical natural secondary forest in rocky mountain area of northern Hebei. Scientia Silvae Sinicae, 48(6): 12-17. (in Chinese) | | 29 | Shao S A, Zheng F L, Zhang Fet al.2008. Soil quality degradation processes along a deforestation chronosequence in the Ziwuling area, China. Catena, 75: 248-256. | | 30 | Su D K, Xie X K, Liu Z G, et al.2009. Quantitative characteristics of a secondary Betula platyphylla forest in Changbai Mountains. Journal of Northeast Forestry University, 37(10): 1-4. (in Chinese) | | 31 | Sun W Y, Song X Y, Mu X M, et al.2015. Spatiotemporal vegetation cover variations associated with climate change and ecological restoration in the Loess Plateau. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 209-210: 87-99. | | 32 | Tilman D.1994. Competition and biodiversity in spatially structured habitats. Ecology, 75(1): 2-16. | | 33 | Wang W T, Zhang T F, Pu J Y, et al.2009. Study on the characteristic of ecoclimate effect in forest zone of Ziwuling on Loess Plateau. Pratacultural Science, 26(4): 6-11. (in Chinese) | | 34 | Weiner J.1990. Asymmetric competition in plant populations. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 5(11): 360-364. | | 35 | Wiegand T, Moloney K A.2004. Rings, circles, and null-models for point pattern analysis in ecology. Oikos, 104(2): 209-229. | | 36 | Zhang J, Huang S M, He F L.2015. Half-century evidence from western Canada shows forest dynamics are primarily driven by competition followed by climate. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 112(13): 4009-4014. | | 37 | Zhang X J, Zhao X H, Kang F F, et al.2010. Spatial pattern of the trees in a natural Pinus tabulaeformis forest in Taiyue Mountain. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 30(18): 4821-4827. (in Chinese) | | 38 | Zhao C X.1991. Land Resources of Loess Plateau Area. Beijing: Science Press, 129-139. (in Chinese) |
|
|
Viewed |
|
|
|
Full text
|
|
|
|
|
Abstract
|
|
|
|
|
Cited |
|
|
|
|
| |
Shared |
|
|
|
|
| |
Discussed |
|
|
|
|
