Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Effects of management on vegetation dynamics and associated nutrient cycling in a karst area, Yunnan, SW China

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Landscape and Ecological Engineering Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The legacies of land use (such as plantations, pastures and coppices) in the Shilin karst area of central Yunnan, SW China have strongly influenced the plant communities’ structure, dynamics, species diversity, litter nutrients inputs, and soil chemical properties. To evaluate the effects of various restoration approaches on ecosystem recovery in the area, we analyzed vegetation characteristics of a Pinus plantation, natural successional plant communities (the shrubland, the secondary forest and the natural premature forest), and their leaf litter nutrients and soil chemical properties. The natural successional plant communities had better regeneration, higher species diversity, higher litter nutrient input, and higher soil fertility as compared with the Pinus plantation. The results indicate that the natural secondary succession facilitates regeneration to young and old secondary forests, promotes recovery of plant diversity and cycling of litter-soil-nutrients, yielding greater ecological benefits. The study will provide guidance for restoration of the vegetation and for forest management planning in this fragile mountainous ecosystem.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Arunachalam A, Arunachalam K, Pandey HM, Tripathi RS (1998) Fine litterfall and nutrient dynamics during forest regrowth in the humid subtropics of north-eastern India. For Ecol Manag 110:209–219

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ashton PMS, Gamage S, Gunatilleke IAUN, Gunatilleke CVS (1997) Restoration of a Sri Lankan rainforest: using Carribean pine Pinus caribaea as a nurse for establishing late-successional tree species. J Appl Ecol 34:915–925

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bazzaz FA (1990) Plant-plant interactions in successional environments. In: Grace JB, Tilman D (eds) Perspectives on plant competition. Academic Press, New York, pp 239–263

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Cao JH, Yuan DX, Pan GX (2003) Some soil features in a karst ecosystem. Adv Earth Sci 18:37–44 (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Chazdon RL (2008) Beyond deforestation: restoring forests and ecosystem services on degraded lands. Science 320:1458–1460

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Deng CZ, Hou JP, Li SC, Zhao HK, Fu Y (1993) Researches on litterfall distributed in seven forests at varied altitudes, on Ailao Mountain, Yunnan. Acta Phytoecol Geobot Sin 17:364–370 (in Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Drake JA (1990) The mechanics of community assembly and succession. J Theor Biol 147:213–233

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eckstein RL, Donath TW (2005) Interactions between litter and water availability affect seedling emergence in four familial pairs of floodplain species. J Ecol 93:807–816

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Facelli JM, Pickett S (1991) Plant litter: light interception and effects on an old-field plant community. Ecol 72:1024–1031

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • FAO (2007) State of the world’s forests 2007. FAO, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • Forestry Bureau of China (1999) Forest soil analysis methods. Chinese Standard Press, Beijing (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Foster BL, Tilman D (2000) Dynamic and static views of succession: testing the descriptive power of the chronosequence approach. Plant Ecol 146:1–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Golley FB, Mcginnis JT, Clements RG, Child GI, Duever MJ (1975) Mineral cycling in a tropical moist forest ecosystem. University of Georgia Press, Athens

    Google Scholar 

  • Haase R (1999) Litterfall and nutrient return in seasonally flooded and non-flooded forest of the Pantanal, Mato Grosso, Brazil. For Ecol Manag 117:129–147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holland EA, Coleman DC (1987) Litter placement effects on microbial and organic matter dynamics in an agroecosystem. Ecology 68:425–433

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hou X, Duan C, Tang CQ, Fu D (2010) Nutrient relocation, hydrological functions, and soil chemistry in plantations as compared to natural forests in central Yunnan, China. Ecol Res 25:139–148

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hu ZL, Pan GX, Li LQ, Du YX, Wang XZ (2009) Changes in pools and heterogeneity of soil organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus under different vegetation types in karst mountainous area of central Guizhou Province, China. Acta Ecol Sin 29:4187–4195 (in Chinese with English abstract)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ito S, Nakagawa K, Buckley GP, Nogaqmi K (2003) Species richness in Sugi (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) plantations in southeastern Kyushu, Japan: the effects of stand type and age on understorey trees and shrubs. J For Res 8:49–57

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jiang Y, Kang MY, Gao QZ, He LH, Xiong M, Jia ZB, Jin ZP (2003) Impact of land use on plant diversity and measures for biodiversity conservation in the Loess Plateau in China-a case study in a hilly-gully region of the Northern Loess Plateau. Biodivers Conserv 12:2121–2133

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones ER, Wishnie MH, Deago J, Sautu A, Cerezo A (2004) Facilitating natural regeneration in Saccharum spontaneum (L.) grasslands within the Panama Canal watershed: effects of tree species and tree structure on vegetation recruitment patterns. For Ecol Manag 191:171–183

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee CS, You YH, Robinson GR (2002) Secondary succession and natural habitat restoration in abandoned rice fields of central Korea. Restor Ecol 10:306–314

  • Li W, Yu L-J, Yuan D-X, Wu Y, Zeng X-D (2005) A study of the activity and ecological significance of carbonic anhydrase from soil and its microbes from different karst ecosystems of Southwest China. Plant Soil 272:133–141

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mellinger MV, McNaughton SJ (1975) Structure and function of successional vascular plant communities in central New York. Ecol Monogr 45:161–182

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Molles MCJ (2002) Ecology: concepts and applications. McGraw-Hill, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Nagaike T (2000) A review of ecological studies on plant species diversity in plantation ecosystems. J Jpn For Sci 82:407–416 (in Japanese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Navarro-Cano JA, Barberá GG, Castillo VM (2010) Pine litter from afforestations hinder the establishment of endemic plants in Semiarid scrubby habitats of Natura 2000 Network. Rest Ecol 18:165–169

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nektarios PA, Economou G, Avgoulas C (2005) Allelopathic effects of Pinus halepensis needles on turfgrasses and biosensor plants. Hortic Sci 40:246–250

    Google Scholar 

  • Oberhauser U (1997) Secondary forest regeneration beneath pine (Pinus kesiya) plantations in the northern Thai highlands: a chronosequence study. For Ecol Manag 99:171–183

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Odum EP (1960) Organic production and turnover in old field succession. Ecol 41:34–49

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ohsawa M (1984) Differentiation of vegetation zones and species strategies in the subalpine region of Mt. Fuji. Vegetatio 57:15–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oliver CD, Larson BC (1990) Forest stand dynamics. McGraw-Hill, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Peet RK (1992) Community structure and ecosystem function. In: Glenn-Lewin DC, Peet RK, Veblen TT (eds) Plant succession: theory and prediction. Chapman and Hall, London, pp 103–151

    Google Scholar 

  • Pielou EC (1969) An introduction to mathematical ecology. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Proctor J (1983) Tropical forest litterfall. I. Problems of data comparison. In: Sutton SL, Whitmore TC, Chadwick AC (eds) Tropical rain forest: ecology and management, Blackwell, Oxford, pp 267–273

  • Shen Y, Liu W, Li Y, Cui J (2005) Community ecology study on karst semi-humid evergreen broad-leaved forest at the central part of Yunnan. Guihaia 25(4):321–326

    Google Scholar 

  • Silver WL, Kueppers LM, Lugo AE, Ostertag R, Matzek V (2004) Carbon sequestration and plant community dynamics following reforestation of tropical pasture. Ecol Appl 14:1115–1127

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Su ZM, Li XK (2003) The types of natural vegetation in karst region of Guangxi and its classified system (in Chinese with English abstract). Guihaia 23(4):289–293

    Google Scholar 

  • Sundarapandian SM, Swamy PS (1999) Litter production and leaf-litter decomposition of selected tree species in tropical forests at Kodayar in the Western Ghats, India. For Ecol Manag 123:231–244

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swift MJ, Heal OW, Anderson JM (1979) Decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems. Studies in ecology volume 5. University of California Press, Berkeley

  • Tang CQ (2010) Subtropical montane evergreen broad-leaved forests of Yunnan, China: diversity, succession dynamics, human influence. Front Earth Sci China 4(1):22–32

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tang CQ, Ohsawa M (2009) Ecology of subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests of Yunnan, southwestern China as compared to those of southwestern Japan. J Plant Res 122:335–350

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tang CQ, Hou X, Gao K, Xia T, Duan C, Fu D (2007) Man-made versus natural forests in mid-Yunnan, southwestern China: plant diversity and initial data on water and soil conservation. Mt Res Dev 27:242–249

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tang CQ, Li Y-H, Zhang Z-Y (2010a) Species diversity patterns in natural secondary plant communities and man-made forests in a subtropical mountainous karst area, Yunnan, SW China. Mt Res Dev 30:244–251

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tang CQ, Zhao MH, Li XS, Ohsawa M, Ou XK (2010b) Secondary succession of plant communities in a subtropical mountainous region of SW China. Ecol Res 25:149–161

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tang CQ, Chiou C-R, Lin C-T, Lin J-R, Hsieh C-F, Tang J-W, Su W-H, Hou X (2013) Plant diversity patterns in subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests of Yunnan and Taiwan. Ecol Res 28:81–92

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uotila A, Kouki J (2005) Understorey vegetation in spruce-dominated forests in eastern Finland and Russian Karelia: successional pattern after anthropogenic and natural disturbances. For Ecol Manag 215(1–3):113–137

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vitousek PM (1984) Litter fall, nutrient cycling and nutrient limitation in tropical forests. Ecol 65:285–298

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vitousek PM, Sanford RL Jr (1986) Nutrient cycles in moist tropical forest. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 17:137–167

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vogt KA, Grier CC, Vogt DJ (1986) Production, turnover and nutrient dynamics of the above- and below-ground detritus of world forests. Adv Ecol Res 15:303–377

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang S, Liu Q (2004) Karst rocky desertification in southwestern China: geomorphology, land use, impact and rehabilitation. Land Degrad Dev 15:115–121

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu ZY, Zhu CY, Jiang HQ (eds) (1987) The vegetation of Yunnan. Science Press, Beijing (in Chinese)

  • Xu XN, Hirata E (2002) Forest floor mass and litterfall in Pinus luchuensis plantations with and without broad-leaved trees. For Ecol Manag 157:165–173

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yu LF, Zhu SQ, Ye JZ, Wei LM, Chen ZR (2002) Dynamics of degraded karst forest in the process of natural restoration (in Chinese with English abstract). Sci Silv Sin 38:1–7

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang B, Xiao F, Wu H, Mo S (2006) Combating the fragile karst environment in Guizhou, China. Ambio 35:94–96

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang K, Dang H, Tan S, Wang Z, Zhang Q (2010) Vegetation community and soil characteristics of abandoned agricultural land and pine plantation in Qinling Mountains, China. For Ecol Manag 259:2036–2047

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We are indebted to two anonymous reviewers who provided constructive suggestions on our earlier versions of our paper. We specially thank Professor Thomas Montgomery who improved the English of our typescript. This study is supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (Project 41262013), IGCP598, and Grant No. S0801024 from Tokyo University of Information Sciences, Japan.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Ecology and Geobotany, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650091, China

    Cindy Q. Tang, Zhi-Ying Zhang & Long-Yuan He

  2. Department of Tourism and Geography, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, 650091, China

    Yu-Hui Li

  3. Department of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University, Kunming, 650214, China

    Xiuli Hou

  4. Department of Environmental Information, Tokyo University of Information Sciences, 4-1 Onaridai, Wakaba-ku, Chiba, 260-8501, Japan

    Keitarou Hara & Mizuki Tomita

  5. Kunming Institute of Forestry Survey and Design, Chinese Forestry Bureau, Kunming, 650216, China

    Xiao-Shuang Li

Authors
  1. Cindy Q. Tang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yu-Hui Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Zhi-Ying Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Xiuli Hou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Keitarou Hara
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Mizuki Tomita
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Long-Yuan He
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Xiao-Shuang Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Cindy Q. Tang or Yu-Hui Li.

Appendix

Appendix

See Table 4

Table 4 Woody species (H ≥ 1.3 m high) composition in the overstory of each plant community
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Tang, C.Q., Li, YH., Zhang, ZY. et al. Effects of management on vegetation dynamics and associated nutrient cycling in a karst area, Yunnan, SW China. Landscape Ecol Eng 11, 177–188 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11355-014-0258-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11355-014-0258-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation