Species Diversity of Deadwood in Chinese Fir Plantations Differs between Mixed Planting and Thinning Treatments

Abstract

The occurrence of deadwood is inevitable during the process of plantation conversion, but the influences of conversion and the potential environmental effect on deadwood species diversity remain unclear. We established two fixed plots in Chinese fir thinned forest (TF) and Chinese fir and Michelia macclurei Dandy mixed forest (MF) (100 × 80 and 120 × 60 m2, respectively). We classified the deadwood into groups based on origin and by status, and analyzed deadwood species diversity using four common diversity indices. We also investigated the contribution of topographic factors to tree mortality using redundancy analysis. The species composition of deadwood differed markedly between the MF and TF. The species diversity and variety of deadwood status were greater for the TF than MF, although abundance was lower. Topography was poorly correlated with deadwood in the MF, while in the TF, altitude was strongly correlated with deadwood from Chinese fir, shade-intolerant late-coming populations, and fallen wood. Slope was negatively correlated with late-coming populations and fallen wood, but deadwood correlations with convexity were weak. These results indicate that cultivation methods strongly alter the species composition, status, abundance and diversity of deadwood in plantations. Topographic factors and targeted cultivation practices promote the formation of deadwood.