Differences in tree community among secondary deciduous oak forests in rural and residential areas in the Hokuriku District of Japan

Tree communities of secondary deciduous oak forests were surveyed in 13 forests (two in residential and 11 in rural areas) in the warm temperate Hokuriku District of Japan to understand the effects of fragmentation, location (residential or rural), and logging history. The rural forest logged most recently, where diameter at breast height was smallest, had a distinct canopy tree (>12 m) community due to an increase of trees from wind-dispersed seeds. The rural forest with gaps and the two residential forests also had different canopy tree communities from the other rural forests. In contrast, the tree community in the shrub layer (≤6 m) was not influenced by logging history and the existence of gaps but by location only. This was caused by an increase in evergreen trees (consequently causing poor light conditions on the forest floor) and a decrease in trees from wind-dispersed seeds in the residential forests. Among the rural forest patches, no negative effects of forest size and isolation on density of tree individuals were detected for any seed dispersal mode. This may be because many forest patches were arranged at distances of 10–50 m from neighboring patches in rural areas, which enables tree species with low dispersal ability to disperse their seeds to neighboring forests. However, as found in the residential forests, long-term abandonment and extensive fragmentation may gradually reduce tree diversity through loss of tree species with shade intolerance and low seed dispersal ability.