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Lowland rainforests in southern Taiwan and Lanyu, at the northern border of Paleotropics and under the influence of monsoon wind

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Abstract

In order to reveal the characteristics of the vegetation affected by monsoons at the northern border of Paleotropics, a tree-by-tree census was conducted in the lowland forests in the southernmost Taiwan (Nanjenshan) and an adjacent islet (Lanyu). The census recorded a total of 109,060 individuals (≥1-cm diameter at breast height) belonging to 255 vascular tree species in 1330 quadrats (10 × 10 m). Two-way Indicator Species Analysis first classified forest types into two groups, Lanyu and Nanjenshan, reflecting biogeographical differences. Five subgroups were further classified, showing correlations with topographic position indices. Forests located on wind-exposed slopes, regardless of elevations, were characterised by low canopy height, high stem density, high proportion of small stems, and high proportion of warm-temperate-related species, compared with the wind-sheltered communities. However, there were no significant differences in basal area and species diversity. In comparison with other tropical forests, our forests are characterised by high stem density, low diversity and a lack of the pan-Paleotropical dominant Dipterocarpaceae. In conclusion, vegetation in the studied regions not only showed a transition characteristic between Paleotropics and Holarctic Kingdoms in terms of composition, but also showed differentiations caused by their biogeographical history and the interaction between topographic positions and wind stress from monsoons.

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Abbreviations

DCA:

Detrended Correspondence Analysis

DBH:

Diameter at breast height

IVI:

Importance value index

TWINSPAN:

Two-way Indicator Species Analysis

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Acknowledgements

Valuable contributions were made in the field by numerous volunteers. We thank the editor and anonymous reviewers for their crucial comments. We also thank the financial support of Kenting National Park and the National Science Council, Taiwan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, National Taiwan University, 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd, Taipei, 106, Taiwan

    Wei-Chun Chao, Guo-Zhang M. Song, Su-Wei Fan, Shan-Huah Wu & Chang-Fu Hsieh

  2. Department of Life Science, National Taitung University, 684, Sec. 1, Chunghua Rd, Taitung, 950, Taiwan

    Wei-Chun Chao

  3. International Master Program of Agriculture, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 40227, Taiwan

    Kuo-Jung Chao

  4. Department of Life Science, Chinese Culture University, 55, Hwa-Kang Rd. Yang-Ming-Shan, Taipei, 111, Taiwan

    Chi-Cheng Liao

  5. Department of Biological Sciences and Technology, National University of Tainan, 33, Sec. 2. Su-Lin St, Tainan, 700, Taiwan

    Tsung-Hsin Hsieh

  6. Department of Life Science, Tunghai University, 181 Sec. 3, Taichung-Kan Rd, Taichung, 407, Taiwan

    I-Fang Sun

  7. Department of Forestry, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, 1 Hsuehfu Rd., Neipu, Pingtung, 912, Taiwan

    Yau-Lun Kuo

Authors
  1. Wei-Chun Chao
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  2. Guo-Zhang M. Song
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  3. Kuo-Jung Chao
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  4. Chi-Cheng Liao
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  5. Su-Wei Fan
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  6. Shan-Huah Wu
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  7. Tsung-Hsin Hsieh
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  8. I-Fang Sun
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  9. Yau-Lun Kuo
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  10. Chang-Fu Hsieh
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kuo-Jung Chao.

Additional information

Nomenclature source: Huang & Editorial Committee of the Flora of Taiwan (1993–2003).

Appendix

Appendix

See Tables 6 and 7.

Table 6 The ten most dominant species (IVI) and the accumulated IVI % values of the five vegetation types
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Table 7 Synoptic table of species with constancy ≥80 for each vegetation type
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Chao, WC., Song, GZ.M., Chao, KJ. et al. Lowland rainforests in southern Taiwan and Lanyu, at the northern border of Paleotropics and under the influence of monsoon wind. Plant Ecol 210, 1–17 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-009-9694-0

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