Prevalence of Inter-Tree Competition and ItsRole in Shaping the Community Structure of a Natural Mongolian Scots Pine(Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica) Forest

作   者：王宏翔，万盼, 王千雪,刘灵,张弓乔，惠刚盈
期刊名称：Forests
影响因子：1.951
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关键词：inter-tree competition; nearest neighbour analysis; spatial point pattern analysis; regular spacing; sizes dissimilarity; Mongolian Scots pine
论文摘要：
Inter-tree competition is considered one of the most important ecological processes of forest
development. However, its importance in structuring the spatial patterns of plant communities
remains controversial. We collected observational data from two plots in a natural Mongolian Scots
pine forest to study the contribution of competition to tree growth, mortality, and size inequality.
We used the nearest neighbour method to determine the presence of competition, and unmarked
and marked spatial point pattern analyses to test the density-dependent mortality effects and the
spatial autocorrelation of tree size. We identified significant positive correlations between tree canopy
diameter and nearest neighbour distance in both plots, which were more evident in the denser plot.
The pair correlation functions of both plots indicated regular distribution patterns of living trees,
and trees living in more crowded environments were more likely to die. However, the mark
differentiation characteristics showed weak evidence of a negative spatial autocorrelation in tree
size, particularly in the high-density plot. The high mortality rate of suppressed trees and weak
asymmetric competition may have accounted for the lack of dissimilarity in tree size. This study
showed that inter-tree competition is an important determinant of the development of Mongolian
Scots pine forests.