Man-made Versus Natural Forests in Mid-Yunnan, Southwestern China: Plant Diversity and Initial Data on Water and Soil Conservation

• Published in: Mountain research and development 2007-08, Vol.27 (3), p.242-249
• Main Authors: Tang, Cindy Q, Hou, Xiuli, Gao, Kai, Xia, Tiyuan, Duan, Changqun, Fu, Denggao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Broadleaved evergreen forests; China; Climax forests; Community structure; Deciduous forests; Evergreen trees; Field study; floristic composition; Forest communities; Forest ecology; Forest restoration; Forest soils; Forests; Height; Herbivores; Interception; Leaching; mid-subtropics; Mountain regions; Pine trees; Plant communities; Plant diversity; Plantations; Reforestation; Secondary forests; Seminatural ecosystems; Shrublands; Soil conservation; soil nutrients; Species diversity; vegetation restoration; water use efficiency; Yunnan
• ISSN: 0276-4741; 1994-7151
• DOI: 10.1659/mrd.0732

Plant diversity, water, and soil conservation of man-made versus natural forests in Mouding (25°24′09″ N, 101°28′18″ E), mid-Yunnan, were investigated and analyzed. Various plant communities exist in this mountainous region: 4-year-old shrubland, a 10- to 14-year-old plantation of Eucalyptus smithii, a 35- to 45-year-old plantation of Pinus yunnanensis, a 35- to 45-year-old semi-natural forest of Keteleeria evelyniana and Pinus yunnanensis, a 35- to 55-year-old natural secondary forest of Keteleeria evelyniana and Cyclobalanopsis glaucoides, and a climax forest of Cyclobalanopsis glaucoides, Castanopsis orthacantha and Castanopsis delavayi as the original mid-subtropical, semi-moist, evergreen broad-leaved trees in the region. The species diversity and the regenerative quality were poorest under the Eucalyptus forest. The Pinus forest had the lowest interception and stemflow (26.4%) of rainfall, followed by the Eucalyptus forest (29.5%). The leaching loss of nutrients was greater in the two planted forests than in the natural ones. The soil under the Eucalyptus forest was impoverished and showed deterioration of its chemical characteristics, as compared to the shrubland, semi-natural, natural, secondary, and climax forests in the same area.