Comparative Analysis of the Diversity of Undergrowth Plants in Secondary Forest and Eucalyptus Plantations

TLDR: There were 64 undergrowth species in common between the secondary forest and Eucalyptus plantations, indicating that species structure was different between these two forest types.

Abstract: This study investigated the diversity of undergrowth plants growing under secondary broadleaf forest and under Eucalyptus plantations in southern China. Under secondary forest 123 undergrowth species were found and these represented 52 families whilst in Eucalyptus plantations 102 undergrowth species were found these represented 49 families. There were 64 undergrowth species in common between the secondary forest and Eucalyptus plantations, indicating that species structure was different between these two forest types. Measures of diversity for the understory species including richness index, evenness index and diversity index for secondary forest were slightly higher than those for Eucalyptus plantations. Analyses of variance revealed significant differences between the understory plants of these two habitats. There were only three species in common between the top 10 species ranked by Importance Value in each of the two habitats. Even so, the diversity of undergrowth plants of Eucalyptus plantations was similar to secondary forest.