Continental Subtropical Forest in China Compared with an Insular Subtropical Forest in the Caribbean.

摘要

The Dinghushan Biosphere Reserve, in subtropical continental China, is compared with the Luquillo Experimental Forest Biosphere Reserve, in subtropical insular Puerto Rico. Long-term research histories in both locations allow for pairing of data sets on climate, topography, geology, soils, disturbance regimes, flora, microbial communities, and ecosystem structural and functional parameters for the dominant plant association in each location. The two forest associations that were compared are the tabonuco forest in Puerto Rico, and the monsoon evergreen broadleaf forest in China. Physiognomy, biomass, leaf area index, primary productivity, and water and nitrogen cycling parameters for these forest types are compared. Both forest types are subject to similar human and natural disturbances, with the difference being that the continental forest had a longer history of human intervention and was subjected to lower temperatures than the insular forest. However, the forests shared similar community structure as measured by species dominance curves. Comparisons such as these are a first step towards understanding the factors that regulate forest structure, function, and species composition, and they are useful for elucidating the degree to which insularity or continentality can be used as a factor for explaining the structure and functions of ecosystems.