Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Spatial patterns and storage composition of woody debris in a natural secondary forest dominated by Pinus tabulaeformis on Loess Plateau, China

  • Published:
Journal of Mountain Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Woody debris (WD) is an important part of natural Pinus tabulaeformis mixed stands, and it affects the forest ecosystem stability and development. The WD spatial patterns are especially important structural characteristics that can provide insights into forest dynamics. In this paper, the WD storage, WD spatial patterns and WD associations among the main species were examined in the natural secondary forest on Loess Plateau in northwest China. Data were collected in a 1 ha (100 m × 100 m) permanent plot, and all the trees with a diameter at breast height of more than 3 cm were measured and stem-mapped. Ripley’s K functions from the spatial-point-pattern-analysis method were used to analyze the spatial distribution and associations. The results showed that: (1) The total storage of WD was 10.73 t/ha, fallen wood was the main source of WD, and the majority diameters were greater than 20 cm, and in intermediate levels of decay; (2) The overall spatial pattern was closely related to the spatial scale, which exhibited an aggregated pattern on a small scale, and a random pattern on a large scale. The spatial patterns of coarse woody debris also gradually transitioned from an aggregated pattern in fine scales to a random pattern in broader spatial scales, which matched the overall spatial pattern. The spatial intensity was gradually decreased with the increasing diameters, and increased with the decomposition classes; (3) The WD of Pinus tabulaeformis species was negatively associated with Betula platyphylla and Populus davidiana on a small scale but positively associated with these species on a large scale. The spatial pattern and interspecies relations were the results of long-term interactions between the natural secondary forest community and the surrounding natural environment. These findings would provide a scientific basis for the sustainable management and protection of natural secondary forest ecosystems on Loess Plateau.

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

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Besag J (1977) Contribution to the discussion on Dr. Ripley’s paper. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series BStatistical Methodology 39: 193–195.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carmona RC, Juan JA, Juan CA, et al. (2002) Coarse woody debris biomass in successional and primary temperate forests in Chiloe Island, Chile. Forest Ecology and Management 164(1–3): 265–275. http://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(01) 00602-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen H, Harmon ME (1992) Dynamic study of coarse woody debris in temperate forest ecosystems. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology 3(2): 99–104. (In Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen H, Xu ZB (1991) Current, situation and tendency of coarse woody debris ecological research. Institute of applied ecology, Academia sinica 2(1): 89–91. (In Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark DB, Clark DA, Brown S, et al. (2002) Stocks and flows of coarse woody debris across a tropical rain forest nutrient and topography gradient. Forest Ecology and Management 164(1–3): 237–248.http://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(01)00597-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Delaney M, Browns S, Lugo AE, et al. (1998) The quantity and turnover of dead wood in permanent forest in six life zones of Venezuela. Biotropica 30(1): 2–11. http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7429.1998.tb00364.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edman M, Jonsson BG (2001) Spatial pattern of downed logs and wood-living fungi in an old-growth spruce forest. Journal of Vegetation Science 12(5): 609–620. http://doi.org/10.2307/3236900

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feroz SM, Yoshimura K, Hagihara A (2008) Stand stratification and woody species diversity of a subtropical forest in limestone habitat in the northern part of Okinawa Island. Journal of Plant Research 121: 329–337. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10265-008-0162-z

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Getis A, Franklin J (1987) Second-order neighborhood analysis of mapped point pattern. Ecology 68(3): 473–477. http://doi.org/10.2307/1938452

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greig-Smith P (1964) Quantitative plant ecology. Butter Worth and Co., Ltd., London, Grit Britain, 1964, 256.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hao ZQ, Zhang J, Song B, et al. (2007) Vertical structure and spatial association of dominant tree species in an old-growth temperate forest. Forest Ecology and Management 252(1–3): 1–11. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2007.06.026

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harmon ME, Franklin JF (1986) Ecology of coarse woody debris in temperate Ecosystems. Advances in Ecological Research 15

    Google Scholar 

  • Harmon ME, Franklin JF (1986) Ecology of coarse woody debris in temperate Ecosystems. Advances in Ecological Research 15: 133–302. http://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2504(03)34002-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • He F, Wang DX, Zhang SZh, et al. (2011) Reserves of litter and woody debris of two main forests in Xiaolong Mountains, Gansu, China. Journal of Application and Environment 17(1): 46–50. (In Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hood IA, Beets PN, Kimberley MO, et al. (2004) Colonisation of podocarp coarse woody debris by decomposer basidiomycete fungi in an indigenous forest in the central North Island of New Zealand. Forest Ecology and Management 196(2-3): 311325. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2004.03.024

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hou JH, Mi XC, Liu CR, et al. (2004) Spatial patterns and associations in a Quercus-Betula forest in northern China. Journal of Vegetation Science 15(3): 407–414. http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1654-1103.2004.tb02278.x

    Google Scholar 

  • Keller M, Palace M, Asner GP et al. (2004) Coarse woody debris in undisturbed and logged forests in the eastern Brazilian Amazon, Global. Change Biology 10(5): 784–795. http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1529-8817.2003.00770.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koukoulas S, Blackburn GA (2005) Spatial relationships between tree species and gap characteristics in broad-leaved deciduous woodland. Journal of Vegetation Science 16(5): 587–596. http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1654-1103.2005.tb02400.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu YY, Jin GZ (2010) Spatial point pattern analysis for coarse woody debris in a mixed broadleaved-Korean pine forest in Xiaoxing’an Mountains, China. Acta ecology sinica 30(22): 6072–6081. (In Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Moeur M (1993) Characterizing spatial patterns of trees using stem mapped data. Forest Science 39: 756–775.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer P (1999) Totholzuntersuchungen in nordwestdeuts chen Naturwadern: Methodik und erste Ergebnisse. European Journal of Forest Research 118(1): 167–180. http://doi.org/10.1007/BF02768985

    Google Scholar 

  • Müller-Using S, Bartsch N (2003) Totholzdynamik eines buchenbestandes (Fagus sylvatica L.) im solling. nachlieferung, ursache, und zersetzung von totholz. Allgemeine Forst Und Jagdzeitung, 174: 122–130. (In German)

    Google Scholar 

  • Parish R, Antos JA, Fortin MJ (1999) Stand development in an old growth subalpine forest in southern interior British Columbia. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 29(9): 1347−1356. http://doi.org/10.1139/cjfr-29-9-1347

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pedlar JH, Pearce JL, Venier LA et al. (2002) Coarse woody debris in relation to disturbance and forest type in boreal Canada, Forest Ecology and Management 158(1–3): 189–194. http://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(00)00711-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rademacher C, Winter S (2003) Totholz im Buchen-Urwald: Generische Vorhersagen des Simulations modells before coarse woody debris zur Menge, ramlichen Verteilung und Verfvgbarkeit. European Journal of Forest Research 122: 337–357. (In German) http://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-003-0002-6

    Google Scholar 

  • Rejmanek M, Leps J (1996) Negative association can reveal interspecific competition and reversal of competitive hierarchies during succession. Oikos 76(1): 161–168. http://doi.org/10.2307/3545758

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ripley D (1977) Modeling spatial pattern. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society (Series B) 3: 172–212.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rouvinen S, Kouki J (2002) Spatio temporal availability of dead wood in protected old-growth forests: a case study from boreal forests in eastern Finland. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research 17(4): 317–329. http://doi.org/10.1080/02827580260138071

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Siitonen J, Martikainen P, Punttilac P, et al. (2000) Coarse woody debris and stand characteristics in mature managed and old-growth boreal mesic forests in southern Finland. Forest Ecology and Management 128(3): 211–225. http://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(99)00148-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sollins P, Cline SP, Verhoeven T, et al. (1987) Patterns of log decay in old-growth Douglas-fir forests. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 17: 1585–1595. http://doi.org/10.1139/x87-243

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sollons P (1982) Input and decomposition of coarse woody debris in coniferous stands in western Oregon and Washington. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 12: 18–28. http://doi.org/10.1139/x82-003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Song ZW, Tang JW (2008) Coarse woody debris marls and its nutrients stock in tropical seasonal rain forest in Xishuangbanna. Chinese Journal of Ecology 27(12): 2033–2041. (In Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Stevens V (1997) The Ecological Role of Coarse Woody Debris: an Overview of the Ecological Importance of CWD in BC Forests. Research Program, BC Ministry of Forests, Victoria, BC, Canada Working Paper.

    Google Scholar 

  • Storry KA, Weldrick CK, Mews M, et al. (2006) Intertribal coarse woody debris: A spatial subsidy as shelteror feeding habitat forgastropods. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 66: 197–203. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2005.08.005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thioulouse J, Chessel D, Doledec S, et al. (1997) ADE-4: a multivariate analysis and graphical display software. Stat Compute 7(1): 75–83. http://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018513 530268

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tian P, Zhai JQ, Zhao GJ, Mu XM (2016) Dynamics of Runoff and Suspended Sediment Transport in a Highly Erodible Catchment on the Chinese Loess Plateau. Land degradation &Development 27(3): 839–850. http://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2373

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ulyshen MD, Hanula JL, Horn S, et al. (2004) Spatial and temporal patterns of beetles associated with coarse woody debris in managed bottomland hardwood forests. Forest Ecology and Management 199(2–3): 259–272. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2004.05.046

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • von Oheimb G, Westphal C, Härdtle W (2007) Diversity and spatio-temporal dynamics of dead wood in a temperate nearnatural beech forest (Fagus sylvatica). European Journal of Forest Research 126: 359–370. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-006-0152-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yan ER, Wang XH, Hang JJ (2005) Concept and classification of coarse woody debris in forest ecosystem. Acta Ecological Sinica 25(1): 158–167. (In Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Yuan K, Cheng F, Zhao P, et al. (2014) Characteristics in coarse woody debris mediated by forest developmental stage and latest disturbances in a natural secondary forest of Pinus tabulaeformis. Acta Ecologica Sinica 34: 232–238. (In Chinese)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang HL, Yang WQ, Wang M, et al. (2015) Carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus storage of woody debris in headwater streams in an alpine forest in the upper reaches of the Minjiang River. Acta Ecological Sinica 36(7): 1–8. (In Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 31300538, 31400540 and 31170587), the Special Foundation of Basic Scientific Research Professional Expenses in Northwest A&F University (Grant No. QN2013082), and the Youth development projects of the second basic scientific research business expenses of Northwest A&F University (Grant No. 2452015335). The authors thank all the individuals who provided helpful suggestions and critical comments on this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Forestry, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China

    Li Gu & Wei-zhong Li

  2. College of Economics & Management, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China

    Zhi-wen Gong

Authors
  1. Li Gu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Zhi-wen Gong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Wei-zhong Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wei-zhong Li.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Gu, L., Gong, Zw. & Li, Wz. Spatial patterns and storage composition of woody debris in a natural secondary forest dominated by Pinus tabulaeformis on Loess Plateau, China. J. Mt. Sci. 14, 1839–1851 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-016-4141-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-016-4141-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation