Effects of dwarf bamboo, Fargesia nitida (Mitford) Keng f. ex Yi, on bark stripping by ungulates in a subalpine Abies faxoniana Rehder & E. H. Wilson forest, southwest China
YONG-JIAN WANG1, XUE-PING SHI1, JIAN-PING TAO2
1Huazhong Agricultural University, 430070, Chinа, Wuhan
2Southwest University, 400715, Chinа, Chongqing
Keywords: bark stripping, Fargesia nitida, ungulates activity, regeneration, subalpine forest
Abstract
Incidence and intensity of bark stripping of trees by ungulates was investigated at no bamboo (Fargesia nitida (Mitford) Keng f. ex Yi) (B–) site and understory bamboo dominant (B+) site of a subalpine Abies faxoniana forest, southwest China. The percentage of damaged trees in B– site was higher than in B+ site. Bark stripping obviously occurred more frequently on Abies faxonian а Rehder & E. H. Wilson compared to other tree species. Appearance of stripped bark and dead stems of the trees in different size-classes of A. faxoniana strongly depended on the density of dwarf bamboo at the site, and also on the size and bark structure of the trees, with highest damage rates occurring on the smaller DBH classes (10–40 cm) in B– site. The bark stripping intensity of A. faxonian а decreased significantly with higher density and coverage of F. nitida around damaged trees. Therefore, there is an indirect negative effect of the distribution of dwarf bamboo, F. nitida , on bark stripping of tree species. We suggest the indirect effects of dwarf bamboo species should be taken into account while considering the succession and regeneration of natural forests.
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