African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 6 (24), pp. 2810-2820, 17 December 2007   

ISSN 1684–5315 © 2007 Academic Journals        

Full Length Research Paper

Species composition, plant cover and diversity of recently reforested wild lands near Dabao Highway in Longitudinal Range-Gorge Region of Yunnan Province, China

Dong, S. K.*, Cui, B. S., Yang, Z. F., Liu, S. L., Liu, J., Wang, J., Ding, Z. K., Gao, L. N. and Zhao, S. Q.

Environmental School of Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: dongshikui@sina.com. 

Accepted 22 November, 2007

Deforestation, over-cultivation and rural growth have severely damaged native vegetation of woodlands along roadsides in the Longitudinal Range-Gorge Region of Yunnan Province. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of different reforestation practices, which consisted of natural restoration or planting with tree seedlings that varied in species composition, coverage and diversity, on damaged roadside woodlands. Three randomly selected 10 m x 10 m plots in each reforestation practice were investigated. The results showed that the species composition, plant cover and species diversity of the planted communities varied with reforestation strategies and time since planting. A higher number of species, proportion of native species and woody plants, canopy cover and species diversity were found in naturally restored plots and in 3 - 4 year old plots that were planted with native plants. In the early stages of reforestation, herbs dominated the plant community in most plots, and woody plants became more important with time after reforestation. Preliminary results suggest that plant height can be used an auxiliary indicator of plant cover to assess ecosystem function status of the restoration project. Also, evenness may be easier to restore than species richness. Natural restoration or reforestation with native dominant plants is a good management strategy for vegetation restoration or improvement.

Key words: Vegetative characteristics, plant community, restoration, Southwest China.