Altitudinal zonation of evergreen broad-leaved forest on Mount Lopei, Taiwan

Evergreen broad-leaved forest was studied in a transect on the northwestern slope of Mount Lopei in order to reveal altitudinal zonation in structure and floristic composition and the decisive environmental factors. 20 plots of 20 m x 20 m at altitudes from 540 m to 1320 m were analysed. 144 woody species were found. The results of a DCA ordination clearly pointed to a single dominant altitudinal gradient. Nevertheless, wind-exposure associated topography was found to account for additional variation for a given altitudinal range. Along the altitudinal gradient, four dominance-based forest types were recognized. Tree density, species diversity and evenness of the four types differed significantly but total basal area and tree volume were not significantly different. The 95 % turnover range for woody species as measured by the Community Coefficient was calculated as 1030 m, and the 50 % turnover range as 238 m. For the understorey, the change in species composition with altitude was less obvious. Species population structures of 57 sufficiently abundant species revealed four characteristic patterns, but most species showed a good fit to the negatively exponential or power function distribution and thus appeared to have good reproduction and regular recruitment. Both ANOVA and Redundancy Analysis (RDA) showed that significant differences among forest types were found for most soil variables. Organic C, exchangeable Na and K tended to increase with altitude, while pH and available N showed a reverse trend. There was little evidence that the differences in soil pH and available N were responsible for the variation in forest growth.