The ecological interaction between endangered, precious and rare woody species in rich forest community of Tanphu protection forest, Vietnam

Abstract

The present study was conducted to explore the ecological relationship between endangered, precious, and rare tree species and other woody tree species in the rich forest in Tanphu protection forest, Southeastern region, Vietnam. Thirty 2500 m2 study plots (50 × 50 m) were established in the rich forest in Tanphu protection forest. The results revealed that: the rich forest comprised 38 species of woody trees, in which Dipterocarpus alatus Roxb was the dominant species, Shorea guiso Blume, Shorea roxburghii G.Don and Vitex ajugiflora Dop were co-dominant species; Afzelia xylocarpa (Kurz) Craib, Dalbergia oliveri Gamble ex Prain, Pterocarpus macrocarpus Kurz and Dalbergia cochinchinensis Pierre were four endangered, precious and rare species. In the study area, the eight pairs of species viz. D. oliveri-D. alatus; A. xylocarpa-D. alatus; A. xylocarpa-S. guiso; D. cochinchinensis-D. alatus; D. cochinchinensis-S. roxburghii; P. macrocarpus-D. alatus; P. macrocarpus-V. ajugiflora and P. macrocarpus-S. guiso were positively correlated; while two pairs of species were negatively correlated viz. S. guiso-D. oliveri; S. guiso-D. cochinchinensis. Hence, the findings from this study suggested that when choosing plant combinations, the first priority has to be the species that were positively correlated with endangered, precious, and, rare species, and to avoid the selection of negatively associated species.