Microsites for seedling establishment of subalpine conifers in a forest with moss-type undergrowth on Mt. Fuji, central Honshu, Japan

We examined microsites for the seedling establishment of Tsuga diversifolia, Abies veitchii and Abies mariesii in a subalpine coniferous forest with moss-type undergrowth dominated by Hylocomium splendens and Pleurozium schreberi on Mt. Fuji, a less-snowy mountain located on the Pacific Ocean side of the central part of Honshu Island, Japan, and compared these microsites with cases in other regions of Japan with different undergrowth vegetation (herb type, dwarf-bamboo type) under snowier conditions. L-shaped size structures with abundant seedlings and small trees were identified for all three species. Established seedlings of T. diversifolia showed remarkable preference for elevated microsites such as fallen logs and convex ground (i.e. ground raised around trunk bases), while A. veitchii and A. mariesii indicated no significant bias toward such elevated microsites in the large seedling stage. However, the relative frequency of T. diversifolia seedlings established on flat ground reached high values of 54–77%, since the relative occupation area of the flat ground was large (85–89%). Such a large share suggests that flat ground should be regarded as the most important microsite for the seedling establishment of T. diversifolia in forests with moss-type undergrowth. This preference trait for T. diversifolia observed with moss-type undergrowth has not been reported in previous studies examining forests with herb- and dwarf bamboo-type undergrowth, where T. diversifolia seedlings are scarce on the ground and restricted to elevated microsites. We conclude that the major microsite for T. diversifolia seedling establishment changes according to the undergrowth vegetation type: a large ground share for moss-type undergrowth and a small ground share for herb- and dwarf bamboo-type undergrowth.     

低丘人工林林下植被物种多样性初步研究

选取江西省泰和县狗丝茅岭低丘荒山人工造林l0a的人工生态系统中8种人工林主要类型和1个对照区,通过比较这些类型林下植被的物种多样性(物种丰富度和Shannon-Wiener指数)和相关的环境因子,揭示林下植被物种多样性的差异及其与环境因子之间的关系。结果显示：人工林类型(造林树种)、林分组成(纯林或混交林)和林分密度对物种多样性的影响较为明显,其中林分密度的影响最为显著：各人工林类型林下植被的Shannon—Wiener指数与物种丰富度具有大体相似的规律,即在相近造林密度下,不同造林树种其林下植被物种多样性以针叶纯林稍占优势,针阔混交林次之,而阔叶纯林相对较低：针叶林林下植被物种多样性虽然最高,但针叶林土壤的持水力相对较差,有机质含量也较低,而阔叶纯林相对较好,针阔混交林则最佳。