Abstract
The change in the stand structure with recovery after gap formation was analyzed by using the diffusion equation for a primary warm-temperate evergreen rain forest on Yakushima Island of southern Kyushu, Japan. The tree density in dbh classes, the mean growth rate of dbh and the variance of dbh growth rate in closed stands and gaps were expressed as functions of dbh. The change in dbh frequency calculated from these functions and the observed tree mortality clarified the fact that the dbh distribution in the closed stands is rather stable but becomes more positively skewed with time. Attention was also paid to the change in stand basal area (BA) in 20m×20m plots. The log-normal distribution expressed the frequency distribution of BA in the forest as a whole. The growth rate of BA in plots without new gap formation was formulated as a function of BA. Gap formation rate observed in 0.8 ha closed stands in recent four years was 1.3% per year. This rate agreed with the result of calculations based on the assumption that the frequency distribution of BA is stationary with time.
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To the memory of Dr. Kazuo Naka, who has been one of the most active researchers in this field of study and who passed away at the age of thirty-five in February 1987.
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Kohyama, T. Stand dynamics in a primary warm-temperate rain forest analyzed by the diffusion equation. Bot. Mag. Tokyo 100, 305–317 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02492837
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02492837