[Community characteristics in Hongchiba area of Wuxi County during ecological restoration after controlled burning]

Abstract

This paper studied the species composition and the structure and species diversity of communities in Hongchiba area of Wuxi County after controlled burning and aerial-sowing afforestation. The results showed that after burning and afforestation, pure Pinus armandii forest was not developed, but various mixed needle board-leaved forests which comprised P. armandii and native board-leaved trees grew. Various native species contributed to the communities with great species diversity. Shannon-Wiener index was 2.305-3.145, ecological dominance was 0.063-0.151, and evenness was 0.600-0.749. The natural regeneration of P. armandii population was very poor, and there was a trend that P. armandii would be gradually replaced by other native board-leaved trees. It was demonstrated that P. armandii should not be taken as a unique afforest tree, and controlled burning was not a favorite ecological measure in subtropical area. Native trees should play more important roles in the process of ecological restoration.