Abstract: Luozha River is a first branch of Lancang River in its middle section . A less known deciduous monsoon forest was recently discovered on the dry-hot banks of Luozha River. The deciduous monsoon forest is 15 - 20m tall with Lannea coromandelica、Colona floribunda、Mallotus philippensis as the dominant tree species, and Microstegium ciliatum、Eupatorium odoratum、Ageratum conyzoides are the dominant species in the shrub-herb layer . The species richness is higher in the shrub-herb layer than in the tree layer .Most of the trees have DBH ( diameter breast height) between 5 - 10 cm, and
big trees with large DBH are fewer .Compared with the tropical montane rain forest and the evergreen broad-leaved forest in southern Yunnan , the deciduous monsoon forest has lower species richness index than the tropical montane rain forest , but close to the monsoon evergreen broad-leaved forest .

Key words: Deciduous monsoon forest