Spatial variations in species diversity of mid-subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest community in gutianshan national nature reserve

Abstract

Many studies have examined the patterns and mechanisms underlying the structure of mid-subtropical forest community, but spatial variation in species diversity has rarely been investigated. We examined spatial variations in α- and β-diversity among and between 24 subplots of 1-ha each within the 24 ha forest dynamics plot in Gutianshan National Nature Reserve. We found that (1) the top two dominant species were the same for almost all the subplots, but the third dominants differed greatly; (2) α-diversity varied greatly among subplots: total number of individuals showed the largest differences, followed by species richness, Shannon-Wiener index, and Pielou evenness index; (3) species richness showed no correlation with total abundance and Pielou evenness index but was positively correlated with Shannon-Wiener index, which was positively correlated with Pielou evenness; (4) there was high species turnover between neighboring subplots, but these patterns were not consistent with the spatial variation in species richness. Our results highlight the importance of spatial scales for assessing community structure and mechanisms of community assembly. Since forest communities are influenced by ecological processes at multiple scales, large-scale plots may be better than small-scale plots to explore multiple mechanisms of community assembly.