Multi-species forests of the southern Far East: resilient forest ecosystems and refugia for biodiversity
Vladimir E. SKVORTSOV
Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
A new method has been developed for delineating high conservation value forests
in the southern Far East that uses the quantity of canopy-forming woody species
as an indicator of heightened vegetative diversity. Forest inventory materials can
be analyzed for the presence of this indicator. The composition and structure of
multispecies stands (those containing more than 6 canopy-forming species) in
Korean pine-broadleaf forests of Primorsky Krai was investigated. Floristic diversity
increased proportionally with the quantity of woody, canopy-forming species and
reached its highest levels in multispecies stands. The number of finds of rare
species (including Taxus cuspidata, Galium paradoxum, Paeonia oreogeton
and Dioscorea nipponica) was disproportionally high in multispecies stands and
significantly lower in stands with less canopy-forming species, even those with
6 species. The vertical structure of the studied forest ecosystems became more
complex with increasing quantity of canopy-forming species; in multispecies stands
continuous vegetative cover (that is, without distinguishable canopy layers) was
frequently observed, similar to structures observed in undisturbed tropical forests.
Multispecies stands often have a mosaic structure with gaps of various sizes. The
herbaceous and shrub layers in multispecies stands demonstrate a lack of a clear
dominant and a complex mosaic structure.
© 2012 Organizing Committee
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