Review Reports

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

This paper is aimed at identifying distribution mechanisms of woody plants in monsoon regions. The data include quadrat sampling within five plots and a host of sophisticated analyses. 

The case study has a great ecological and conservational importance. It uses a very detailed dataset, and describe well the current scientific knowledge of this topic in the Discussion.

Line 60-62 This should be in Materials and Methods.

Line 96-98 Why this data are in Materials and Methods Section? These are results.

Author Response

Please see the attachmen

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Dear authors,

This manuscript constitutes an interesting and well performed study about distribution mechanism of woody plants in a mountain forest ecosystem influenced by  topography and monsoons. The overall idea is interesting, and the methodology is well described. The manuscript, in general, is clear and well-structured. Discussion needs to be restructured and enriched.

Please see my suggestions that I hope will be helpful

 

Title: Maybe the word “mechanism” could be replaced by the word “pattern”

Lines 61-62 and 88-90. Please rephrase  ”five 1 hm2 (100 m × 100 m) plots were randomly established on the south and north aspects, respectively, with a total of 10 hm2” to ”five 1 hm2 (100 m × 100 m) plots were randomly established on each aspect, the south and north respectively, with a total of 10 hm2”

Lines 207-208. Please add here relative references dealing with what you mention in this sentence.

Lines 212-215. Please add relative references

Lines 221-222. This sentence belongs to Results

Lines 229-230. Please add here relative references dealing with what you mention in this sentence.

Lines 233-234. Please add relative references dealing with what you mention in this sentence: “indicating that the community stability of the south aspect was higher than that of the north aspect”

Lines 237-238. Please add relative references for this conclusion: This result may indicate “that forest ecosystems on the north aspect of Funiu mountain are more vulnerable to environmental change than those on the south aspect”

Lines 239-242. This sentence belongs to Results

Tables 1 and 2 could be moved to a Supplementary file

Author Response

Please see the attachment

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

Dear authors,

I think that the revised version of this manuscript can be accepted for publication in Forests.