Abstract
Seedling recruitment ofChamecyparis obtusa andSciadopitys verticillata in different microenvironments in an old-growthS. verticillata forest was studied for five years. Exposed mineral soil beneath a gap, which was newly created by a typhoon, supported the best seedling emergence forC. obtusa. S. verticillata seemed to require no specific microenvironment for its seedling emergence. Mortality of seedlings was higher for both species beneath a closed canopy, where all new seedlings ofC. obtusa died within a year after their emergence. Beneath the gap, mortality of seedlings was generally lower for both species, regardless of the presence of litter on the ground. The occurrence of saplings was more frequent forC. obtusa beneath the gaps and forS. verticillata beneath a closed canopy. Difference of seedling recruitment behaviour could maintain the coexistence ofC. obtusa andS. verticillata in the canopy layer of this forest in a non-equilibrium state caused by occasional disturbance.
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Abbreviations
- ha:
-
hectare (=10,000 m2)
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Yamamoto, SI. Seedling recruitment ofChamaecyparis obtusa andSciadopitys verticillata in different microenvironments in an old-growthSciadopitys verticillata forest. Bot. Mag. Tokyo 101, 61–71 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02488394
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02488394