Patterns in Tree Cavities (Hollows) in Euphrates Poplar (Populus euphratica, Salicaceae) along the Tarim River in NW China

作者：Tayierjiang Aishan, Reyila Mumin, Ümüt Halik, Wen Jiang, Yaxin Sun, Asadilla Yusup, Tongyu Chen · 发表于：Forests · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.3390/f15030421 · 被引用次数：8 · 研究领域：Tree Root and Stability Studies、Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics、Tree-ring climate responses

Populus euphratica Oliv., an indicator species for eco-environmental change in arid areas, plays a key role in maintaining the stability of fragile oasis–desert ecosystems. Owing to human interference as well as to the harshness of the natural environment, P. euphratica forests have suffered severe damage and degradation, with trunk cavities (i.e., hollows) becoming increasingly pronounced, and thus posing a great threat to the growth, health, and survival of the species. Currently, there is a gap in our understanding of cavity formation and its distribution in P. euphratica. Here, cavities in the trunks and branches of a P. euphratica in a typical transect (Arghan) along the lower Tarim River were studied based on field positioning observations combined with laboratory analysis. The results revealed a large number of hollow-bearing P. euphratica stands in the study area; indeed, trees with hollows accounted for 56% of the sampled trees, with approximately 159 trees/ha. Sixty-six percent of hollow trees exhibited large (15 cm ≤ cavity width (CW) < 30 cm) or very large (CW > 30 cm) hollows. The main types of cavities in the trees were trunk main (31.3%), trunk top (20.7%), branch end (19.5%), and branch middle (19.5%). Tree parameters, such as diameter at breast height (DBH), tree height (TH), east–west crown width (EWCW), height under branches (UBH), and crown loss (CL) were significantly different between hollow and non-hollow trees. Both cavity height and width were s...