Comparative Effects of Clump-Based and Traditional Selective Harvesting on Understory Biodiversity in Sympodial Bamboo Forests

Zhang, Ying; Zhang, Chaohang; Wang, Zuming; Li, Haoting; Bao, Haofeng; Guan, Fengying; Hui, Chaomao; Liu, Weiyi

doi:10.3390/plants14162578

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Comparative Effects of Clump-Based and Traditional Selective Harvesting on Understory Biodiversity in Sympodial Bamboo Forests

by

Ying Zhang

¹,

Chaohang Zhang

¹,

Zuming Wang

¹,

Haoting Li

¹,

Haofeng Bao

¹,

Fengying Guan

²,

Chaomao Hui

^1,* and

Weiyi Liu

^1,*

¹

College of Forestry, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China

²

International Center for Bamboo and Rattan, Beijing 100102, China

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Plants 2025, 14(16), 2578; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14162578

Submission received: 9 July 2025 / Revised: 8 August 2025 / Accepted: 17 August 2025 / Published: 19 August 2025

(This article belongs to the Section Plant–Soil Interactions)

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Abstract

To improve the efficiency and reduce the cost of traditional sympodial bamboo harvesting, this study evaluated the effects of four harvesting intensities—selective harvesting, one-third clump, one-half clump, and complete clump harvesting—on understory plant diversity in pure Dendrocalamus giganteus stands over a five-year recovery period. A total of 36 species were recorded in the first year, increasing to 71 in the third year and stabilizing at 74 species by year five. Understory α-diversity showed an increasing trend followed by a decline. In the early recovery stage, species diversity was significantly correlated with soil chemical properties (p < 0.05), but no significant correlation was observed in the later stage. Fuzzy membership function analysis indicated that the 1/2 clump harvesting treatment outperformed others, ranking as follows: 1/2 clump > 1/3 clump > selective > complete clump harvesting. These results suggest that 1/2 clump harvesting is optimal for promoting understory vegetation growth, but its positive effects on biodiversity are time-limited, with the plant community showing a trend toward simplification over time.

Keywords: D . giganteus; clump-based harvesting; species diversity; soil chemical properties

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MDPI and ACS Style

Zhang, Y.; Zhang, C.; Wang, Z.; Li, H.; Bao, H.; Guan, F.; Hui, C.; Liu, W. Comparative Effects of Clump-Based and Traditional Selective Harvesting on Understory Biodiversity in Sympodial Bamboo Forests. Plants 2025, 14, 2578. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14162578

AMA Style

Zhang Y, Zhang C, Wang Z, Li H, Bao H, Guan F, Hui C, Liu W. Comparative Effects of Clump-Based and Traditional Selective Harvesting on Understory Biodiversity in Sympodial Bamboo Forests. Plants. 2025; 14(16):2578. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14162578

Chicago/Turabian Style

Zhang, Ying, Chaohang Zhang, Zuming Wang, Haoting Li, Haofeng Bao, Fengying Guan, Chaomao Hui, and Weiyi Liu. 2025. "Comparative Effects of Clump-Based and Traditional Selective Harvesting on Understory Biodiversity in Sympodial Bamboo Forests" Plants 14, no. 16: 2578. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14162578

APA Style

Zhang, Y., Zhang, C., Wang, Z., Li, H., Bao, H., Guan, F., Hui, C., & Liu, W. (2025). Comparative Effects of Clump-Based and Traditional Selective Harvesting on Understory Biodiversity in Sympodial Bamboo Forests. Plants, 14(16), 2578. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14162578

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Comparative Effects of Clump-Based and Traditional Selective Harvesting on Understory Biodiversity in Sympodial Bamboo Forests

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