title: Forest dynamics and its driving forces of sub-tropical forest in South China.
abstract: Tree mortality and recruitment are key factors influencing forest dynamics, but the driving mechanisms of these processes remain unclear. To better understand these driving mechanisms, we studied forest dynamics over a 5-year period in a 20-ha sub-tropical forest in the Dinghushan Nature Reserve, South China. The goal was to identify determinants of tree mortality/recruitment at the local scale using neighborhood analyses on some locally dominant tree species. Results show that the study plot was more dynamic than some temperate and tropical forests in a comparison to large, long-term forest dynamics plots. Over the 5-year period, mortality rates ranged from 1.67 to 12.33% per year while recruitment rates ranged from 0 to 20.26% per year. Tree size had the most consistent effect on mortality across species. Recruitment into the ≥1-cm size class consistently occurred where local con-specific density was high. This suggests that recruitment may be limited by seed dispersal. Hetero-specific individuals also influenced recruitment significantly for some species. Canopy species had low recruitment into the ≥1-cm size class over the 5-year period. In conclusion, tree mortality and recruitment for sixteen species in this plot was likely limited by seed dispersal and density-dependence.
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, No. 135, Xingang Xi Road, Guangzhou, 510275, P.R. China.|Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, No. 135, Xingang Xi Road, Guangzhou, 510275, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xingke Road 723, Guangzhou, 510650, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Juyu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lian
authors.affiliation: Changjiang Water Resources Protection Institute, Qintai Road 515, Wuhan, 430051, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Guojun
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xingke Road 723, Guangzhou, 510650, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Honglin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xingke Road 723, Guangzhou, 510650, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhongliang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, No. 135, Xingang Xi Road, Guangzhou, 510275, P.R. China.|Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, No. 135, Xingang Xi Road, Guangzhou, 510275, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Dongsheng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Guan
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D004463:Ecology; D017753:Ecosystem; D065928:Forests; D008954:Models, Biological; D012639:Seeds / Q000502:physiology*; D013045:Species Specificity; D013997:Time Factors; D014197:Trees / Q000502:physiology*; D014329:Tropical Climate