Floristic Diversity of the Experimental Watersheds, Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest

While tree species succession and response to disturbance has been extensively researched, little similar effort has focused on understory herbaceous communities. This study conducted the first complete botanical inventories, with ranked abundance estimates, of the experimental watersheds of the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (HBEF), compared their relative floristic characters, and provided baseline data for long-term diversity monitoring at HBEF. Five of these watersheds were composed of mature (90 - 100 year old) secondary-growth forest, while two were young (16 and 26 year old) tertiary-growth forests recovering from conventional clear-cutting treatments. Floristic similarities were analyzed using ANCOVA, dominance-diversity curves, and similarity matrices. These data were gathered as part of the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study (HBES). The HBES is a collaborative effort at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, which is operated and maintained by the USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station.

尽管林木物种演替及其对干扰的响应已得到广泛研究，但针对林下草本群落的同类研究却相对匮乏。本研究首次对哈伯布鲁克实验林（Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, HBEF）的所有实验流域开展了完整的植物学普查，并附带分级丰度估算；研究对比了各流域的相对区系特征，同时为HBEF的长期生物多样性监测提供了基线数据。其中5个流域由林龄90-100年的成熟次生林构成，剩余2个流域则为经传统皆伐作业恢复的幼龄三代次生林，林龄分别为16年与26年。本研究采用协方差分析（ANCOVA）、优势度-多样性曲线以及相似性矩阵对流域间的区系相似性进行了分析。本研究数据采集自哈伯布鲁克生态系统研究（Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study, HBES）项目，HBES是哈伯布鲁克实验林的协同研究计划，该实验林由美国农业部林务局北部研究站运营维护。