title: Should Exotic Eucalyptus be Planted in Subtropical China: Insights from Understory Plant Diversity in Two Contrasting Eucalyptus Chronosequences.
abstract: Although Eucalyptus is widely planted in South China, whose effects on native biodiversity are unclear. The objective of this study was to quantify the richness and composition of understory plants in two contrasting Eucalyptus chronosequences in South China. One was in Zhangzhou City with plantation age of 2, 4, and 6 years after clear-cutting Chinese fir forests, while the other was in Heshan City with plantation age of 2, 3, and 24 years that reforested on barren lands. Results showed that the richness of understory plants and functional groups was not significantly altered in the Zhangzhou chronosequence, while increased in the 24-year-old plantations, with a significantly larger proportion of woody plants than the younger plantations for the Heshan chronosequence. Moreover, a higher richness of woody plants accompanied by a lower richness of herbaceous species was detected in the Zhangzhou chronosequence compared with the Heshan one. To balance the need for pulp production and plant diversity conservation, we suggest that intercropping approaches between exotic Eucalyptus plantations and native forests should be considered in the fast rotation Eucalyptus plantations. However, Eucalyptus plantations may be used as pioneer species to sustain ecosystem functioning for the degraded lands.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ecology and Environmental Science, Nanchang Institute of Technology, Nanchang, 330099, China.
authors.forename: Jianping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ecology and Environmental Science, Nanchang Institute of Technology, Nanchang, 330099, China. hbfan@nit.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Houbao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ecology and Environmental Science, Nanchang Institute of Technology, Nanchang, 330099, China.
authors.forename: Wenfei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, University of Western Sydney, Richmond, NSW, 2753, Australia.
authors.forename: Guomin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Fujian Tianma Forest Centre, Zhangzhou, 363704, China.
authors.forename: Jianfu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Fujian Tianma Forest Centre, Zhangzhou, 363704, China.
authors.forename: Ruijin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ecology and Environmental Science, Nanchang Institute of Technology, Nanchang, 330099, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China. liuzf@scbg.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Zhanfeng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D044822:Biodiversity; D002681:China; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D005052:Eucalyptus / Q000502:physiology*; D016468:Forestry / Q000379:methods*; D065928:Forests; D058865:Introduced Species; D014934:Wood
keywords: Age sequence; Biodiversity; Eucalyptus; South China; Understory plants