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Effect of selective logging on stand structure and tree species diversity in a subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest

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Abstract

•Context

Selective logging followed by natural regeneration is rarely employed for restocking subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests in East Asia compared with the use of clear-cutting.

•Aims

To clarify the succession of these forests, the effects of selective logging on stand structure, species diversity, and community similarity were studied in a mature and regenerating forest in Okinawa, Japan.

•Methods

Four study plots were established, and trees ≥1.2 m height were identified by species name, tree height, and diameter at breast height.

•Results

The results showed that the species composition of regenerating forest was similar to mature forest; however, the former had a greater species density and Shannon–Wiener index than the latter. Castanopsis sieboldii and Distylium racemosum, the predominant trees in the mature forest, continued to dominate the regenerating forest, with a broad layer distribution. High Sørensen and Jaccard community similarity indices for mature and regenerating forest indicated that the regeneration occurred in a progressive succession.

•Conclusion

The similar species composition and stand structure for both mature and regenerating forest, and the higher species diversity for the latter, provided no evidence of forest degeneration and suggested that the regenerating forest may develop into a stand similar to preselective logging forest.

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Acknowledgments

We thank all the staff of Yona Field, Subtropical Field Science Center, Faculty of Agriculture, University of the Ryukyus, for assistance in the field census. We are indebted to Takakazu Shinzato, Emeritus Professor, University of the Ryukyus, for offering us the opportunity to conduct this study and invaluable advice and field support. We extend special thanks to Mr Masahiro Asato, a technical worker at the Subtropical Field Science Center, for his help with the field work.

Funding

Financial support was partly provided by the National Department Public Benefit Research Foundation of State Forestry Administration of China (201104016) and a grant-in-aid for JSPS fellows in Japan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Cultivation and Protection for Non-Wood Forest Trees of National Ministry of Education, College of Forestry, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Shaoshan South Road, No. 498, Changsha, 410004, China

    Lichao Wu & Jie Liu

  2. Subtropical Field Science Center, Faculty of Agriculture, University of the Ryukyus, 685 Yona, Kunigami, Okinawa, 905-1427, Japan

    Atsushi Takashima

  3. Iriomote Station, Tropical Biosphere Research Centre, University of the Ryukyus, Taketomo-Cho, Okinawa, 907-1541, Japan

    Keiichi Ishigaki & Shin Watanabe

Authors
  1. Lichao Wu
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  2. Jie Liu
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  3. Atsushi Takashima
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  4. Keiichi Ishigaki
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  5. Shin Watanabe
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shin Watanabe.

Additional information

Handling Editor: Douglass Jacobs

Contribution of co-authors

Lichao Wu: Writing the paper, field work

Jie Liu: Running the data analysis

Atsushi Takashima: Supervising the work

Keiichi Ishigaki: Field work

Shin Watanabe: Supervising the work, coordinating the research project

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Wu, L., Liu, J., Takashima, A. et al. Effect of selective logging on stand structure and tree species diversity in a subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest. Annals of Forest Science 70, 535–543 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13595-013-0292-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13595-013-0292-x

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