AUTHOR=Zhang Yanyan , Yuan Quan , Deng Jiaojiao , Zhou Li , Yu Dapao , Zhou Wangming , Wang Qing-Wei 

TITLE=Short-term effects of understory removal on understory diversity and biomass of temperate forests in northeast China

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Forests and Global Change

VOLUME=Volume 7 - 2024

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/forests-and-global-change/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2024.1393772

DOI=10.3389/ffgc.2024.1393772

ISSN=2624-893X

ABSTRACT=Understory removal is a traditional practice in forest management that reduces fire risk and promotes seedling regeneration. However, its effect on understory diversity, biomass and soil nutrient in temperate forest ecosystems is less known, which limits our assessment of the effectiveness of understory vegetation management. We quantified plant species composition, diversity, and biomass of the understory and its driving factors in primary mixed broadleaved-Pinus koraiensis forest (BKF), secondary Betula platyphylla forest (BF) and Larix gmelinii plantation (LF) in northeast China after a  5-years understory removal. After understory removal, the number of shrub and herb species in BKF and LF decreased, while the number of shrub species in BF increased largely and that of herb species decreased; the species with strong light preference Equisetum hyemal, Impatiens noli-tangere and Filipendula Palmata dominant the herb layer of the three forest types; Shannon-Wiener diversity, Pielou evenness, Simpson diversity of the herb layer in LF increased significantly (P < 0.05), while those of shrub and herb layers in BF and LF had no significant changes (P > 0.05); the total understory biomass of understory of BKF and LF decreased by 0.94 t• hm -2 and 1.32 t• hm -2 , respectively, while that of BF increased by 1.31 t• hm -2 ; soil NH4 + -N and TP were the key factors regulating understory vegetation diversity and biomass, respectively. These results suggest that understory removal is a beneficial management strategy for increasing shrub biomass and diversity in secondary forests, while primary forests and plantation should be avoided to reduce understory plant diversity and soil nutrient loss.