Positive interactions promote the maintenance of subtropical plant communities: a 5-year forest dynamics study

• Published in: Revista brasileira de botânica Vol. 48; no. 1; p. 13
• Main Authors: Xie, Lei, Xia, Yutong, Chen, Shuifei, Zheng, Xiao, Ding, Hui, Fang, Yanming
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.12.2025; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Abundance; Arbuscular mycorrhizas; Biodiversity; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Castanopsis; China; class; Community structure; Coniferous forests; decline; Discriminant analysis; Ecology & Biogeography - Original Article; Fagaceae; family; Forest communities; forest dynamics; Forest ecosystems; Forests; Habitats; Indicator species; interspecific competition; Interspecific relationships; Life Sciences; Microhabitats; mortality; Observational studies; Plant communities; Plant Systematics/Taxonomy/Biogeography; Population decline; Population studies; Relative abundance; species; species abundance; Species composition; Species diversity; Species richness; Tropical forests; vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizae; China; Ecological interactions; Subtropical Forest; Community dynamics; Evergreen broad-leaved forest
• ISSN: 1806-9959; 0100-8404; 1806-9959
• DOI: 10.1007/s40415-024-01066-z

Long-term observational studies are imperative for monitoring changes in forests dynamics. Here, we examined variations in species diversity and population abundance in a 10.24 hm 2 forest dynamics plot in the Mt. Huangshan, Southeast China. We assessed species diversity between two census’ communities using Hill numbers and computed importance values. Linear Discriminant Analysis Effect Size (LEfSe) was employed to compare species variations between microhabitats within the plots. A co-occurrence network was constructed to quantify interspecific interactions. Over the 5-year study span, the community structure exhibited a decrease in species richness, with mortality events primarily affecting small-diameter class individuals. Indicator species varied among microhabitats, contributing to significant differences in species composition. The results of the LEfSe showed that Ericoid mycorrhizal species were not consistently enriched with Arbuscular mycorrhizal species in different microhabitats. Interspecific facilitation outweighed interspecific competition. Our results highlight the role of Fagaceae species in shaping subtropical forest communities. For example, Castanopsis eyrei , which had the highest relative abundance and importance value, represents the Fagaceae family, showing a positive correlation with the species richness of most other species. These findings collectively indicate that the structure of evergreen broadleaf forests in the Huangshan area remains consistent, with no evidence of a large-scale decline phenomenon.