Variation in three community features across habitat types and scales within a 15-ha subtropical evergreen-deciduous broadleaved mixed forest dynamics plot in China

The evergreen and deciduous broadleaved mixed forests (EDBMFs) belong to one of the ecosystems most sensitive to environmental change, however, little is known about the environmental determinants for their plant diversity and forest structure at different habitat types and spatial scales. Here, we used data from a 15-ha (300×500 m) forest dynamic plot (FDP) of an old-growth EDBMF to examine the patterns and determinants of the three community features (stem abundance, rarefied species richness and basal area) in three habitat types (ridge, hillside and foothill) and at three spatial scales (20×20 m, 50×50 m and 100×100 m). We found that the three community features significantly changed with habitat type, but only one of them (rarefied richness) changed with scale. Among spatial scales, the principle environmental factors that widely affected community features were pH, SOM and TP, while these effects only taken place at certain habitat. Variations in the three community features expla...