Plant and soil seed bank diversity across a range of ages of Eucalyptus grandis plantations afforested on arable lands

Soil stoichiometry and carbon storage in long-term afforestation soil affected by understory vegetation diversity

“…Tian et al (2010) documented that soil C:N, C:P, and N:P ratios in organic-rich topsoil could be good indicators of soil nutrient status during soil development. Zhang et al (2014) also demonstrated that vegetation cover, plant communities, geomorphology, and seawall all affected C, N, and P stoichiometry in soils. Despite progress made in terrestrial ecosystem restoration methods and analyses (Han et al, 2005;Manzoni et al, 2010) the stoichiometrical characteristics of C, N, and P in soils have yet to be fully described (Swift et al, 1998;Manzoni and Porporato, 2009), especially in the Loess Plateau Region (LPR) of China.…”

“…This may be due to the changed microclimatic conditions, which become the driving factor of plant species composition and diversity dynamics after afforestation. Zhang et al (2014) reported that total plant species number, density, and diversity in plantations increased in the first three years after plantation establishment, then stabilized or decreased in the next 1-2 years before increasing significantly over the following years. This is due to the microclimatic changes of limited light availability, severe competition for water and nutrients, and allelopathy decreasing the understory plant biodiversity in the 4-5 years after plantation establishment .…”

“…Brockerhoff et al (2003) reported that wider tree spacing during plantation establishment supports better maintenance of understorey vegetation. Zhang et al (2014) found that the first four years after the establishment of afforestation are associated with lower plant diversity, however, plant diversity was improved after long-term afforestation. Meanwhile, understanding plant diversity in the plantation understory is critical to investigate the ecological functions of plantations and improve their management, especially after long-term afforestation.…”

Should Exotic Eucalyptus be Planted in Subtropical China: Insights from Understory Plant Diversity in Two Contrasting Eucalyptus Chronosequences

“…Because the Zhangzhou chronosequence was established from native Chinese fir forests, it should have the similar soil seed bank under the same site preparation. A recent study also indicated that soil seed bank could facilitate regeneration of understory vegetation in Eucalyptus plantations in the first 3 years after afforestation (Zhang et al 2014). Second, resources such as light and nutrients in different plantations seem similar because of the open canopy in Eucalyptus plantations and the same applications of fertilizers.…”

“…Studies have focused on the effects of Eucalyptus plantations on forest ecosystem functions, such as fauna richness (Proença et al 2010), soil fauna and microbial community composition (Liao and Chen 1990;Cao et al 2010;Wu et al 2013), and plant diversity compared to native vegetation types Zhang et al 2014). Nevertheless, little is known about the effects of Eucalyptus plantations with different ages on the diversity of understory plants, which has been considered as an important component for forest ecosystems (Nilsson and Wardle 2005;Wu et al 2011).…”