Seedling regeneration and spatial correlation between seedlings and seed trees in Castanopsis hystrix plantation by large diameter wood cultivation in south subtropical China

Using the paired correlation equation g(r) in the spatial point patterns, we investigated the regeneration characteristics and spatial patterns of Castanopsis hystrix seedlings and the spatial correlation with the seed trees in the plantation by large diameter wood cultivation in south subtropical China. The results showed that natural seedling regeneration in C. hystrix plantation was good, which were widely distributed in the whole plantation. The seedling regeneration were mainly contributed by root sprouts, accounting for 73.6% of the total. The number distribution of C. hystrix seedlings in different age classes showed a pyramidal shape, with the contribution of diameter class1, 2 and 3 being 64.3%, 29.3% and 6.4% of the total, respectively. The C. hystrix seedlings mainly presented aggregated distribution in small scale (<15 m). With the increases of size classes and spatial scales, the aggregation strength gradually weakened and finally presented random distribution. The spatial correlation between seedlings and seed trees was not significant with the increases of size classes or spatial scale.