Abstract:
To explore the impact of Chimonobambusa utilis management on species diversity and dominant
populations structure of Castanopsis platyacantha community in Jinfo Mountain, the natural and the managed
community of Castanopsis platyacantha in Jinfo Mountain were used as the research object to analyze species
composition characteristics, species diversity and dominant populations structure in two communities. The results
were as follows: (1) A total of 84 vascular plants in the plots were found, belonging to 40 families and 63 genera,
dominated by Lauraceae, Rosaceae, Fagaceae and Theaceae; Castanopsis platyacantha was the dominant species
in the community, Schima sinensis and Lithocarpus henryi were the subordinates and Chimonobambusa utilis was
the dominant species in the shrub layer, which the species composition of Castanopsis platyacantha community in
Jinfo Mountain was similar to other subtropical regions. (2) The species richness of the shrub layer of the
managed community was significantly lower than that of the natural community, the Shannon-wiener index and
Pielou index of the herb layer was significantly lower than that of the natural community. (3) Dominant tree
species Castanopsis platyacantha and Lithocarpus henryi in the natural community were of stable populations, but those were of declining populations in the managed community, and Schima sinensis in two communities
appeared to be in decline. (4) The ratio of total sprouts to total individuals, number of multi-stemmed
individuals/number of all individuals and seedling relative dominance value of Castanopsis platyacantha, Schima
sinensis and Lithocarpus henryi in the natural community were higher than in the management community. In
conclusion, the Chimonobambusa utilis management have a negative impact on the species diversity with the
strongest on the shrub and herb layers of Castanopsis platyacantha community in Jinfo Mountain, indicating
managed activities significantly affect the renewal and maintenance of the dominant species in Castanopsis
platyacantha community.