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Decadal Effects Of Thinning On Understory Light Environments And Plant Community Structure In A Subtropical Forest, Ho-Chen Tsai, Jyh-Min Chiang, Ryan Mcewan, Teng-Chiu Lin

Ryan McEwan

Canopy-opening disturbance such as thinning has immediate and substantive effects on understory microclimate and therefore the establishment and growth of understory plants. A large number of studies have reported the effects of thinning on tree growth, but few studies have examined long-term effects of thinning on understory light environments and species and functional diversity of understory plants. Even less is known whether the change in understory plant community structure observed following canopy disturbance is short-lived and would diminish as the canopy closes or a long lasting due to legacy effects. We examined the effects of an experimental removal of 25% …