A PRIMARY STUDY ON THE STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS OF CASTANOPSIS FARGESII POPULATION ON JINYUN MOUNTAIN, SICHUAN PROVINCE
四川省缙云山栲树种群结构和动态的初步研究

Castanopsis fargesii is one of community species and a dominant species of evergreen broad-leaved forests in the middle subtropics of China. The study of its population is of great significance for studying the forest communities and ecosystems in subtropic China. In this paper, with the "time specific" method for life-table analysis, the Tree class structure and spatial patterning and their respective dynamic rules of Castanopasis fargesii population on Jinyun Mountain were analyzed. The quadrat method and the technique of censusing every individual are both used in fieldwork. The result shows that the Tree class structure replacing the age structure is suitable for studying the structure and dynamics of Castanopsis fargesii population. The results of the research on the Tree class structure and the survival curve suggest that the Castanopsis fargesii population is characterized by the increasing type. The spatial patterning of the population is of the clump type. However, spatial patterning alters with different Tree classes of the population. It is found that the seedling, sapling and small tree classes show the clump type, while the middle and large tree classes exhibit the random type. This regularity reflects the dynamic change of spatial patterning with time in the development of the population. This change is related to the quantitative dynamics of the population. The chief factors causing this change are the self-thining and the alien-thining cau sed by intraspecific interpecific struggle in the stand.