TY - JOUR
T1 - Structure and composition of selectively cut and uncut Abies-Tsuga forest in Wolong natural reserve and implications for Panda conservation in China
AU - Taylor, Alan H.
AU - Zisheng, Qin
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was funded through an agreement between the Forest Ministry of the People's Republic of China and World Wildlife Fund International (Project 1929, Giant Pandas). Laboratory and computing facilities were provided by the Giant Panda Research and Conservation Centre in Wolong Natural Reserve and the University of Colorado to whom we are grateful. Wang Menghu, Qing Jianghua, Hu Tieqin, Bi Fengshou, Gong Tongyang, Lai Binghui, Li Chengyu, and Hu Jinchu provided support and permission to work in Wolong Natural Reserve. Help in fieldwork was provided by Cai Xucheng, Huang Jinyan, Li Lianghua, and K. Taylor. Comments on this manuscript were kindly provided by N. Caine, D. Greenland, J. Ives, Y. Linhart, T. Veblen, D. Reid, and G. Schaller.
PY - 1989
Y1 - 1989
N2 - Giant pandas Ailuropoda melanoleuca David inhabit cool temperate, montane, and subalpine conifer forests with a bamboo understorey in Sichuan, Gansu, and Shaanxi provinces, China. Clearcutting of subalpine conifer forest in panda habitat stimulates vegetative growth of bamboos. This impedes tree regeneration and hardwoods dominate sites after clearcutting, with conifers rarely becoming established. This study assesses the effects of selective cutting on patterns of forest regeneration through analyses of the age and size structure of tree populations in selectively cut and uncut forest. Conifer regeneration after selective cutting was adequate to produce a forest similar in structure and composition to uncut subalpine conifer forest. A selective cutting regime in production forest with pandas would strike a balance between panda conservation and needs for wood products, and would contribute to management initiatives aimed at preserving existing panda populations outside the protection of natural reserves.
AB - Giant pandas Ailuropoda melanoleuca David inhabit cool temperate, montane, and subalpine conifer forests with a bamboo understorey in Sichuan, Gansu, and Shaanxi provinces, China. Clearcutting of subalpine conifer forest in panda habitat stimulates vegetative growth of bamboos. This impedes tree regeneration and hardwoods dominate sites after clearcutting, with conifers rarely becoming established. This study assesses the effects of selective cutting on patterns of forest regeneration through analyses of the age and size structure of tree populations in selectively cut and uncut forest. Conifer regeneration after selective cutting was adequate to produce a forest similar in structure and composition to uncut subalpine conifer forest. A selective cutting regime in production forest with pandas would strike a balance between panda conservation and needs for wood products, and would contribute to management initiatives aimed at preserving existing panda populations outside the protection of natural reserves.
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U2 - 10.1016/0006-3207(89)90093-1
DO - 10.1016/0006-3207(89)90093-1
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0024527716
VL - 47
SP - 83
EP - 108
JO - Biological Conservation
JF - Biological Conservation
SN - 0006-3207
IS - 2
ER -