Niches and Interspecific Association of Dominant Tree Populations of Taxus chinensis in Wuling Damu Mountain Nature Reserve

Using the Pearson correlation coefficient and Spearman rank correlation coefficient, the interspecific association of 13 species in different communities in Wuling Damu Mountain Nature Reserve were investigated, and the niche breadth and niche overlap of 13 species were studied. The results showed that the utilization ability of resources of Taxus chinensis community was relatively stronger, and the value of niche breadth was relatively larger. Comparing with other species, Taxus chinensis had a difference on ecological characteristics, and the value of niche overlap was relatively smaller. Besides, the independence between each population was relatively weaker, and the Taxus chinensis community had a positive correlation with other species. The species, which had a larger value of niche breadth, had a larger value of niche overlap. Moreover, the species, which had a larger value of niche overlap, showed a great significantly difference in interspecific ssociation.