Abstract:

Species diversity of trees with DBH ≥1 cm and their hosted lianas were inventoried, and the liana-tree relationship was analyzed as well, in the primary evergreen forest and the post-logged forest in tropical mountains of the Bawangling Nature Reserve of Hainan Island. The results showed that the richness and abundance of trees were significantly higher ( P < 0.05) in the post-logged forest than the primary forest, but the richness and abundance of lianas were not significantly different in the two forest types. The average proportion of tree attached with lianas and the number of lianas per tree were significantly higher in the primary forest than in the post-logged forest( P < 0.05), but the number of host trees per liana was relatively lower in the primary forest( P < 0.05). In the primary forest, there was a cubic function relationship between the DBH of host trees and the mean number of lianas per tree. In the post-logged forest, there was a power function relationship between the DBH of host trees and the mean number of lianas per tree. The relationship between the height of host trees and the mean number of lianas per tree was cubic in the two forest types.

Key words: lianas, host tree, primary forest, post-logged forest, montane rain forest, Bawangling