Species presence frequency and diversity in different patch types along an altitudinal gradient: Larix chinensis Beissn in Qinling Mountains (China).

ABSTRACT: Forest communities are mosaic systems composed of patches classified into four different developmental patch types: gap patch (G), building patch (B), mature patch (M) and degenerate patch (D). To study the mechanisms maintaining diversity in subalpine coniferous forests, species presence frequency and diversity in the four distinct patch types (G, B, M and D) of Larix chinensis conifer forests at three altitudinal gradients in the Qinling Mountains were analyzed. Our results were as follows: (1) Different species (or functional groups) had distinct presence frequencies in the four different patch types along the altitudinal gradient; (2) Some species or functional groups (species groups sharing similar traits and responses to the environment) only occurred in some specific patches. For se

SUBMITTER: Huang M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4797764 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature