Abstract:

Human disturbance is one of the key concepts in ecological study. In this paper, human disturbances in the Songshan National Level Nature Reserve were distinguished into three types:the dot form, the line form and the patch form. The influences of different types of human disturbances on the deciduous broadleaved forests and Pinus tabulaeformis forest, which were the conservation objects in Songshan National Level Natural Reserve, were investigated. The dot form disturbance occured near the hostels,hotels and administrative buildings in the reserve. It was caused by strong trampling and characterized by strong intensity and small areas of damages. The vegetation had changed thoroughly into pioneer communities dominated by some androphiles. These places become the source of the androphiles to invade the other part of the reserve. The line form disturbance occured along the roads and trails. The construction of the roads had changed the vegetation into pioneer communities in a range of 3 m outside of the roads. The human disturbance near the trails for tourism had a range of effect up to 1～2 m. A negative effect on the regeneration of Pinus tabulaeformis forest at the roadside as well as the number of species and the coverage in the shrub layer had been demonstrated. But a positive effect occured in the herbaceous layer, which was probably due to the diversification of the habitat caused by boundary effect.The patch form disturbance was referred to the cut of the forests by the residents of a village inside of the reserve. The Quercus mongolica forest was damaged and changed into shrublands under this type of disturbance. Although the cutting activities had been forbidden, the existence of the village inside of the reserve had other negative effects to the management of the reserve. Strategies for decreasing the negative effects of human disturbance in Songshan National Natural Reserve, as well as those for a real ecotourism were also discussed.

Key words: Human disturbance, Songshan National Level Nature Reserve, Vegetation