Comparative Analysis of Plant Diversity of Pinus tabulaeformis Forests in Ten Regions of Beijing Mountainous Areas

Abstract

Based on investigations during 1998 2003, shrubs and herbs, as well as indicators of similarity and diversity in Pinus tabulaeformis forests of ten regions around Beijing were compared and analyzed, and protection measures were suggested. Generally, the shrubs and herbs in P. tabulaeformis forests of Shidu, Mutianyu, and Yunfengshan are rich in species diversity and have great similarities. The percentages of common species in each of these three paired regions are above 50%, while many peculiar plant species that could not be found in the other nine regions exist in Labagoumen. As for plant diversity indices, plants in theP. abulaeformis forests of Baihuashan, Shidu, and Labagoumen occur more frequently than in other regions, while the number of plants in Tanjiesi and Miaofengshan are far less. Some endangered orchid species were found distributed in P. tabulaeformis forests with a clumped spatial pattern but rarely appeared in other forest types, indicating that P. tabulaeformis forests are ideal habitats for orchid species.