Forests 2017, 8(3), 84; doi:10.3390/f8030084
Prevalence of Inter-Tree Competition and Its Role in Shaping the Community Structure of a Natural Mongolian Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica) Forest
1
Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China
2
Research Center of Cold Temperate Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Harbin 150086, China
3
Key Laboratory of Tree Breeding and Cultivation, State Forestry Administration, Beijing 100091, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 27 January 2017 / Revised: 2 March 2017 / Accepted: 8 March 2017 / Published: 16 March 2017
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Successional Dynamics of Forest Structure and Function)
Abstract
Inter-tree competition is considered one of the most important ecological processes of forest development. However, its importance in structuring the spatial patterns of plant communities remains controversial. We collected observational data from two plots in a natural Mongolian Scots pine forest to study the contribution of competition to tree growth, mortality, and size inequality. We used the nearest neighbour method to determine the presence of competition, and unmarked and marked spatial point pattern analyses to test the density-dependent mortality effects and the spatial autocorrelation of tree size. We identified significant positive correlations between tree canopy diameter and nearest neighbour distance in both plots, which were more evident in the denser plot. The pair correlation functions of both plots indicated regular distribution patterns of living trees, and trees living in more crowded environments were more likely to die. However, the mark differentiation characteristics showed weak evidence of a negative spatial autocorrelation in tree size, particularly in the high-density plot. The high mortality rate of suppressed trees and weak asymmetric competition may have accounted for the lack of dissimilarity in tree size. This study showed that inter-tree competition is an important determinant of the development of Mongolian Scots pine forests.View Full-Text
Keywords:
inter-tree competition; nearest neighbour analysis; spatial point pattern analysis; regular spacing; sizes dissimilarity; Mongolian Scots pine
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MDPI and ACS Style
Wang, H.; Wan, P.; Wang, Q.; Liu, L.; Zhang, G.; Hui, G. Prevalence of Inter-Tree Competition and Its Role in Shaping the Community Structure of a Natural Mongolian Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica) Forest. Forests 2017, 8, 84.
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