Plant Diversity ›› 2009, Vol. 31 ›› Issue (1): 49-56.DOI: 10.3724 SP.J.1143.2009.08116

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Gradient Variations in Landscape Pattern from Northwest to Southeast in Tangjiahe Nature Reserve, Sichuan Province

HUANG You-You1 , 2 , LIU Shou-Jiang3 , HU Jin-Yao4 , QIAO Bo1 , 2 ,
CUI Shi-Fa1 , 2 , XU Xiao1 , 2

  

  1. 1 Sichuan Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental and Biodiversity Conservation , Nanchong 637002 , China ; 2 College of Life Sciences, China West Normal University , Nanchong , 637002 , China; 3 Land and Resources College, China West Normal University , Nanchong , 637002 , China ;
    4 College of Life Science, Mianyang Normal University , Mianyang 621000 , China
  • Received:2008-06-15 Online:2009-02-25 Published:2009-02-25
  • Contact: XU Xiao

Abstract: To explore gradient variations of landscape pattern in Tangjiahe nature reserve , the belt transect (width of 2 km and length of 22 km) was set from northwest to southeast on the remote sensing vegetation image by employing GIS technology. Our results indicate that: (1) as a well-developed vegetation type , the woodland distributes widely in the nature reserve
and occupies approximately 91 .65% of the total study area . In detail, the evergreen broad-leaved and deciduous broad-leaved mixed forest is considered as background of landscape in the reserve because of biggest distribution area . In contrast, sub-alpine shrub meadow and farmland have lower heterogeneity degree because of small area and simple patch edge . (2) With space change from northwest to southeast , the landscape indices vary in three different ways at the landscape scale : increasing, decreasing and no consistent trend . In general , value of some indices, such as edge density, mean proximity index, landscape shape index and mean patch fractal dimension , maintains a increasing trend along the belt transect, but the value of mean patch size index and mean nearest neighbor distance index decrease obviously . The other indices such as Shannon′s diversity index, Shannon′s evenness index, largest patch index and interspersion juxtaposition index keep a steady fluctuate . ( 3) On the other hand, secondary deciduous broad-leaved forest , evergreen broad-leaved and deciduous broad-leaved mixed forest, coniferous and broad- leaved mixed forest and coniferous forest are dominant classes at the patch scale , and have obvious peaks in variation of landscape indices value along belt transect in the reserve .

Key words: Gradient analysis

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