Effects of life-history components on population dynamics of the rare endangered plant Davidia involucrata

Haimei You, Yanhong Liu, Kazue Fujiwara

Department of City and Environment, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou, China;.
Key Laboratory for Silviculture and Conservation of Ministry of Education and Beijing, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China.
Yokohama City University, Graduate School in Nanobioscience, Endowed Laboratory for Restoration of Terrestrial Environments, Yokohama, Japan.

DOI: 10.4236/ns.2013.51011                

Abstract

In order to estimate the most effect stage and process on population growth and effective conserve the rare endangered plant Davidia involucrata, we analyzed the dynamics and the contributions of life-history components on population dynamics based on Lefkovitch matrix model and sensitivity analysis. The life cycle of Davidia involucrata was divided into six stages (seed, seedling, juvenile, immature, early adult and late adult) based on the species characteristics and published literature data, the survival rates in each life-history stage were simulated using a static life table, and the fecundity of each stage was determined according to sample information. The results showed that the structure of the observed population was not ideal, and the numbers of seedlings and coppice shoots was similar. The population growth rate was influenced largely by individual growth process, and asexual reproduction made a larger contribution to population growth than sexual reproduction. However, sexual reproduction was more important than asexual reproduction, because most asexual reproducing individuals (the coppice shoots) were derived mainly from human destruction (e.g. felling trees). The most important stage was stage V (late adult), associated with seed production and germination. Therefore, conservation of Davidia involucrata populations should focus on stage V and sexual reproduction, in order to improve the seed production and germination rate, and to promote population stability and development.

Keywords

Davidia involucrata; Lefkovitch Matrix model; Life-History Stage; Population Ecology; Sensitivity Analysis

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Li, B., Yuan, D.-L., Ban, J.-D., Song, J.-Z., Gou, D.-G., Wang, B.-Q. and Su, C.-J. (1990) Dovetree community of Mt. Seven-sister in western Hubei & its protective strategies. Journal of Central China Normal University (Natural Science), 21, 323-334.
[2]	Wu, G., Han, S.-H., Wang, H.-C., Luo, Y.-C., Deng, H.-B. and Zhao, J.-Z. (2004) Living characteristics of rare and endangered species—Davidia involucrata. Journal of Forestry Research, 15, 39-44. doi:10.1007/BF02858008
[3]	Zhang, Q.-H. (1992) Investigation of Dove tree’s natural distribution. In: The Propagation Technology of Rare and Endangered Tree Species Editorial Committee, Ed., The Propagation Technology of Rare and Endangered Tree Species, China Forestry Publishing House, Beijing, 25-30.
[4]	Tao, J.-C., Zong, S.-X. and Yang Z.-B. (1986) The geographical distribution and introduction of Davidia involucrata. Journal of Zhejiang Forestry College, 3, 25- 33.
[5]	Yang, Y.-C. and Li, T.-J. (1989) Preliminary studies on the phytocommunity of Davidia involucrata in Omei Mountain of Sichuan. Acta Phytoecologica et Geobotanica Sinica, 13, 270-276.
[6]	Zhang, J.-X., Li, J.-Q. and Zhou, B.-S. (1995) Natural distribution of Davidia involucrata and introduction analysis. Journal of Beijing Forestry University, 17, 25-30.
[7]	Hu, J.-Y., Su, Z.-X. and Li, Y.-X. (2003) Research advance on Dove tree biology. Chinese Wild Plant Resources, 22, 15-19.
[8]	Wu, J.-G. and Lu, J.-J. (2009) Potential effects of climate change on the distribution of Dove trees (Davidia involucrata Baill.) in China. Research of Environmental Sciences, 22, 1371-1381.
[9]	Zhang, J.-X., Li, J.-Q. and Lian, X.-R. (1994) Morphology and biological characteristics of Davidia involucrata. Journal of Beijing Forestry University, 16, 33-37.
[10]	Fan, C. and Li, X.-W. (2004) Progress in Davidia involucrata research. Forestry Science & Technology, 29, 55- 58.
[11]	Si, J.-Y., Lei, N.-Y., Si, P.-Y. and Li, J.-Q. (2009) Review of studies on Davidia involucrata Baill. Science Technology and Engineering, 19, 3713-3719.
[12]	Li, Y.-M. (2003) Population viability analysis in conservation biology: Precision and uses. Biodiversity Science, 11, 340-350.
[13]	Yu, Y.-T., Xu, G.-B. and Wang, X.-P. (2006) Literature review of researches on Davidia involucrata Baill. Nonwood Forest Research, 24, 92-94.
[14]	Ai, X.-R. and Tan, J.-X. (1999) On the population structure of in Xingdoushan protected region. Journal of Hubei Institute for Nationalities, 17, 12-15.
[15]	Dang, H.-S., Jiang, M.-X., Tian, Y.-Q., Huang, H.-D. and Jin, X. (2004) Population structure and distribution pattern of rare plant communities in Houhe nature reserve. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology, 15, 2206-2210.
[16]	Ma, Y.-F. and Li, J.-Q. (2005) Population structure of Davidia involucrata in Mt. Seven-sister nature reserve of central China’s Hubei province. Journal of Beijing Forestry University, 27, 12-16.
[17]	Zhang, Y.-S., Su, Z.-X. and Hu, J.-Y. (2005) Spatial distribution pattern of Davidia involucrata population. Acta Botanica Yunnanica, 27, 395-402.
[18]	Zhang, W., Cao, G.-X., Liu, G.-H. and Liu, X. (2008) Population structure and distribution pattern of Davidia involucrata at Labahe nature reserve of Sichuan province. Journal of Zhejiang Forestry College, 25, 451-457.
[19]	Luo, S.-J., Bao, M.-Z., Zhao, S.-X., Xie, Z.-G. and Yang, Y.-J. (2009) Spatial distribution pattern of Davidia involucrata population in Longcanggou in Daxiangling nature reserve. Journal of Biomathematics, 24, 531-536.
[20]	Jiao, J. (1999) Studies on the interspecific association of Davidia involucrata community’s dominant species in Wen county of Gansu. Journal of Gansu Agricultural University, 34, 61-64.
[21]	Hu, L.-L., Li, X., Jiang, M.-X., Huang, H.-D., Man, J.-S. and Su, C.-J. (2003) Studies on the interspecific association of canopy trees in community of Mt. Seven-sister in western Hubei. Journal of Wuhan Botanical Research, 21, 203-208.
[22]	Zhu, L.-J., Su, Z.-X., Wang, W.-W. and Zhang, Y.-S. (2005) Numerical analysis on interspecific relationships in Davidia involucrata community in Sanjiang Wolong nature reserve. Chinese Journal of Ecology, 24, 1167-1171.
[23]	Zhu, L.-J., Su, Z.-X., Hu, J.-Y., Su, R.-J. and Zhou, L. (2006) Studies on the relationship of species in Davidia involucrata community. Guibaia, 26, 32-37.
[24]	Li, Y., Su, Z.-X., Zhang, S.-L., Hu, J.-Y. and Zhu, L.-J. (2006) Intraspecific and interspecific competition in Davidia involucrata (Davidiaceae) community. Acta Botanica Yunnanica, 28, 625-630.
[25]	Jiao, J., Tian, B.-S. and Sun, X.-G. (1998) Population patterns and dynamics of community’s dominant species in Wen county of Gansu. Journal of Gansu Agricultural University, 33, 266-271.
[26]	Lei, N.-Y., Chen, Y., Li, J.-Q. and Tang, X.-J. (2007) Regeneration and stability of Davidia involucrata population in Xiaoliangshan Mountain, Sichuan province. Journal of Beijing Forestry University, 29, 26-30.
[27]	Cheng, Y. (2008) Study on biodiversity and natural regeneration of Davidia involucrata community in Wuling Mountain. Forest Inventory and Planning, 33, 1-4.
[28]	He, J.-S., Lin, J. and Chen, W.-L. (1995) The current status of endemic and endangered species Davidia involucrata and the preserving strategies. Chinese Biodiversity, 3, 213-221.
[29]	Zhang, Z.-Y., Su, Z.-X. and Shen, A.-Y. (2003) The biological character, endangered causes and protection of Davidia involucrata Baill, an endemic to China. Journal of Huaiyin Teachers College (Natural Science Edition), 2, 66-69.
[30]	Menges, E.S. (1986) Predicting the future of rare plant populations: Demographic monitoring and modeling. Natural Areas Journal, 6, 13-25.
[31]	Menges, E.S. (1990) Population viability analysis for an endangered plant. Conservation Biology, 4, 52-62. doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.1990.tb00267.x
[32]	Crouse, D.T., Crowder, L.B. and Caswell, H. (1987) A stage-based population model for loggerhead sea turtles and implications for conservation. Ecology, 68, 1412- 1423. doi:10.2307/1939225
[33]	Lande, R. (1988) Demographic models of the northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina). Oecologia, 75, 1082-1093. doi:10.1007/BF00776426
[34]	Boyce, M.S. (1992) Population viability analysis. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 23, 481-506. doi:10.1146/annurev.es.23.110192.002405
[35]	Horvitz, C.C. and Schemske, D.W. (1995) Spatiotemporal variation in demographic transitions of a tropical understory herb: Projection matrix analysis. Ecological Monographs, 65, 155-192. doi:10.2307/2937136
[36]	Leslie, P.H. (1945) On the use of matrices in certain population mathematics. Biometrika, 33, 183-212. doi:10.1093/biomet/33.3.183
[37]	Leslie, P.H. (1948) Some further notes on the use of matrices in population mathematics. Biometrika, 35, 213- 245.
[38]	Wisdom, M.J., Mills, L.S. and Edoak, D. (2000) Life stage simulation analysis: Estimating vital-rate effects on population growth for conservation. Ecology, 8, 628-641.
[39]	Lefkovitch, L.P. (1965) The study of population growth in organisms grouped by stages. Biometrics, 21, 1-18. doi:10.2307/2528348
[40]	Hartshorn, G.S. (1975) A matrix model of tree population dynamics. In: Golley, F.B. and Medina, E., Eds., Tropical Ecological Systems, Springer-Verlag, New York, 41-51. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-88533-4_4
[41]	Werner, P.A. and Caswell, H. (1977) Population growth rates and age versus stage-distribution models for teasel (Dipsacus sylvestris Huds.). Ecology, 58, 1103-1111. doi:10.2307/1936930
[42]	Cochran, M.E. and Ellner, S. (1992) Simple methods for calculating age-based life history parameters for stagestructured populations. Ecological Monographs, 62, 345- 364. doi:10.2307/2937115
[43]	Caswell, H. (1997) Matrix methods for population analysis. In: Tuljapurar, S. and Caswell, H., Eds., StructuredPopulation Models in Marine, Terrestrial, and Freshwater Systems, Chapman and Hall, New York, 19-58. doi:10.1007/978-1-4615-5973-3_2
[44]	de Kroon, H., Plaisier, A., van Groenendael, J. and Caswell, H. (1986) Elasticity: The relative contribution of demographic parameters to population growth rate. Ecology, 67, 1427-1431. doi:10.2307/1938700
[45]	van Groenendael, J., de Kroon, H. and Caswell, H. (1988) Projection matrices in population biology. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 3, 264-269. doi:10.1016/0169-5347(88)90060-2
[46]	Schemske, D.W., Husband, B.C., Ruckelshaus, M.H., Goodwillie, C., Parker, I.M. and Biship, J.G. (1994) Evaluating approaches to the conservation of rare and endangered plants. Ecology, 75, 584-606. doi:10.2307/1941718
[47]	Horvitz, C.C., Schemske, D.W. and Caswell, H. (1997) The relative “importance” of life history stages to population growth: Prospective and retrospective approaches. In: Tuljapurkar, S. and Caswell, H., Eds., Structured Population Models in Marine, Terrestrial, and Freshwater System, Chapman and Hall, New York, 247-272. doi:10.1007/978-1-4615-5973-3_7
[48]	de Kroon, H., van Groenendael, J. and Ehrlén, J. (2000) Elasticities: A review of methods and model limitations. Ecology, 81, 607-618. doi:10.1890/0012-9658(2000)081[0607:EAROMA]2.0.CO;2
[49]	Chen, K.-R., Li, T.-S., Tian, G.-H., Zhao, D.-Q. and He, L.-G. (1998) The biological characteristics in Dove tree Davidia involucrata propagation. Journal of Southwest Forestry College, 18, 68-73.
[50]	Li, Y.-X. (2003) Present state and perspectives of biological study on Davidia involucrata. Journal of China West Normal University (Natural Sciences), 24, 269-275.
[51]	Su, R.-J. and Su, Z.-X. (2005) Study on relations of seed dispersal, germination and age-class distribution in population in Davidia involucrata. Scientia Silvae Sinicae, 41, 192-195.
[52]	Qu, Z.-X. (1952) Analysis on forest actuality in Linggu Temple of Nanjing. Acta Botanica Sinica, 1, 18-49.
[53]	Liu, J.-F. and Hong, W. (1999) A study on forecast of population dynamics of Castanopsis kawakamii. Chinese Journal of Applied Environment Biology, 5, 247-253.
[54]	Sebert-Cuvillier, E., Paccaut, F., Chabrerie, O., Endels, P., Goubet, O. and Decocq, G. (2007) Local population dynamics of an invasive tree species with a complex lifehistory cycle: A stochastic matrix model. Ecological Modelling, 201, 127-143. doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2006.09.005
[55]	Zheng, Y.-R., Zhang, X.-S. and Xu, W.-D. (1997) Model forecast of population dynamics of spruce on sandy land. Acta Phytoecologica Sinica, 21, 130-137.
[56]	Lamberson, R.H., Noon, C. and McKelvey, K. (1994) Reserve design for terrestrial species: The effects of patch size and spacing on the viability of the Northern Spotted Owl. Conservation Biology, 8, 185-195. doi:10.1046/j.1523-1739.1994.08010185.x
[57]	Silvertown, J., Franco, M., Pisanty, I. and Mendoza, A. (1993) Comparative plant demography relative importance of life-cycle components to the finite rate of increase in woody and herbaceous perennials. Journal of Ecology, 81, 465-476. doi:10.2307/2261525
[58]	Caswell, H. and Trevisan, M.C. (1994) The sensitivity analysis of periodic matrix models. Ecology, 75, 1299-1303. doi:10.2307/1937455
[59]	Pianka, E.R. (1970) On r and k selection. American Naturalist, 104, 592-597. doi:10.1086/282697
[60]	Southwood, T.R.E., May, R.M., Hassell, M.P. and Conway, G.R. (1974) Ecological strategies and population parameters. American Naturalist, 108, 791-804. doi:10.1086/282955