Abstract: Interconnection among the 19 dominant species, 171 species pairs in tree layer of Castanopsis community in Three Gorges Reservoir region was studied by using variance analysis, together with χ² test, percentage co-occurrence (PC) and association coefficient (AC). The results indicated that Castanopsis carlesii var. spinulosa was the constructive species of Castanopsis community in Three Gorges Reservoir region. The overall associations between dominant species in the community were not significantly negative, suggesting that the Castanopsis community was not mature and in the phase of active succession. The χ² test showed that among these 19 dominant species, 12 species pairs exhibited significantly positive association and 7 species pairs showed that significant negative association. However, most of the total 171 species pairs did not show significant interconnection, reflecting that the plant communities tended to distribute independently and still were in the unstable succession.

Key words: Castanopsis community, interspecific association, tree species, Three Gorges Reservoir region