Effect of overstory on the seasonal variability of understory herbs in primary broad-leaved Korean pine forest of Changbai Mountain

Abstract

In order to study the structure of herbaceous biodiversity and its effect factors in broadleaved Korean pine forest, a total of 100 1-m2 subplots were established in the 1 ha site which was monthly investigated from May to September in 2009. Data on soil attributes were also investigated (soil organic matter, available nitrogen, available phosphorus, available potassium, soil, water and pH) without light environment (leaf area index (LAI), photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) and, canopy presence). In this paper, the relationships between different layers (tree, shrub and herbaceous), soil attributes and light environment were analyzed. The effects of tree and shrub layers, soil attributes and light environment on the structure of herbaceous diversity were also discussed. Therefore, it could be concluded that, the influence of the tree layer on the structure of herbaceous biodiversity carried out through the direct effect on light environment, precipitation and litter.