The Forest Cycle and Tree Species Diversity Dynamics in a Tropical Montane Rain Forest of Hainan Island ,South China
海南霸王岭热带山地雨林森林循环与树种多样性动态

Since the initiatial work by Watt in 1947, it has been recognized that plant communities are mosaic-complexes of patches with dynamic properties. This is especially true in forest ecosystems.The natural disturbance is essential to maintain the structure, dynamics and diversity of the patch dynamics in forest ecosystem. Whitmore(1989)further developed Watt's patch dynamics into the theory of forest cycle in his studies on tropical rain forests. The theory emphasizes that forest cycle driven by disturbanc...