The effect of snow damage on self-organization in a primary subtropical evergreen broadleaved forest in Southwest China

Abstract At the beginning of 2015, a primary subtropical evergreen broadleaved forest in Southwest China experienced an extreme snow anomaly. We used a thermodynamic approach to evaluate the self-organization of the forest in response to snow disturbance. We found that the snow disturbance induced severe vegetation damage, as indicated by LAI significantly decreased by 33.19% and 40.85% in 2015 than the pre-disturbance years (2013–2014), respectively. The forest had the higher self-organization in 2015 with the higher ability of capture exergy (Rn/DR) and dissipation exergy (TRNc). The changes in vegetation patterns of the primary subtropical evergreen forest enhanced the ecosystem self-organization. Our finding was inconsistent with the general theory that the disturbance of natural systems reduces exergy capture ability and increases exergy dissipation.