Effects of stand structure, individual dominant species and environment on herb diversity in a temperate forest region

作者：Jie Li, Yin Zheng, Fushan Cheng, Klaus von Gadow, Minhui Hao, Chunyu Fan, Xiuhai Zhao, Chunyu Zhang · 发表于：Ecological Indicators · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113262 · 被引用次数：9 · 研究领域：Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies、Botany, Ecology, and Taxonomy Studies、Rangeland and Wildlife Management

• Stand structural attributes and environment shape herb diversity. • Define the herb dominance index ( HDI ) to quantify herb dominance. • Individual dominant herb species reduces herb diversity. • Stand structural attributes regulate plant–plant and plant–soil interactions. Herbaceous plants are a vital component of biodiversity in forest ecosystems. Herbs are, however, often excluded from forest diversity experiments, which limits our understanding of the structure and dynamics of entire ecosystems. We measured the diversity of understory herbaceous communities and stand structural attributes. The herb dominance index ( HDI ) was used to quantify herb dominance, incorporating both the cover and height of individual dominant species. Using linear mixed-effects models and structural equation modelling, we examined the direct effects of stand structure (stand density and variation of tree heights), dominant herb species and environmental factors on herb diversity, and the indirect effects via HDI . The diversity of herbaceous communities is reduced by the presence of a few dominant herbs. Increasing forest density reduced the HDI and thus indirectly enhanced herb diversity. The diversity of herbaceous communities was negatively correlated with an increase in the variation of tree heights. Environmental factors directly and indirectly influenced herb diversity by affecting the variation of tree heights and the HDI . Significant interactions between stand density–soil nutrients...