CPSDv0: a forest stand structure database for plantation forests in China

ABSTRACT

Forest stand structure is not only a crucial factor for regulating forest functioning but also an important indicator for sustainable forest management and ecosystem services. Although there exists a few national/global structure databases for natural forests, a country-wide synthetic structure database for plantation forests over China, the world’s largest player in plantation forests, has not been achieved. In this study, we built a country-wide synthetic stand structure database by surveying more than 600 peer-reviewed literature. The database covers tree species, mean stand age, mean tree height, stand density, canopy coverage, diameter at breast height, as well as the associated ancillary in-situ topographical and soil properties. A total of 594 published studies concerning diverse forest stand structure parameters were compiled for 46 tree species. This first synthesis for stand structure of plantation forests over China supports studies on the evolution/health of plantation forests in response to rapid climate change and intensified disturbances, and benefits country-wide sustainable forest management, future afforestation or reforestation planning. Potential users include those studying forest community dynamics, regional tree growth, ecosystem stability, and health, as well as those working with conservation and sustainable management. This dataset is freely accessible at http://www.doi.org/10.11922/sciencedb.j00076.00091.

KEYWORDS:

• Stand structure
• plantation
• tree age
• tree height
• stand density
• canopy coverage

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The forest stand structure database of plantations in China is openly accessible at http://www.doi.org/10.11922/sciencedb.j00076.00091, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3731928, or alternatively at the Regional Climate Group of the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Gothenburg (http://rcg.gvc.gu.se/dc/, under LINKS directory).

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This project was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [No. 41922001, 41530747], the National Key Research and Development Program of China[No. 2016YFD060020603] and the Swedish Formas.

Notes on contributors

Xiuchen Wu

Xiuchen Wu is now a Professor of Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University. He got a Ph.D. degree in 2011 from Peking University. He has postdoc research experience in both the Max-Planck-Institute of Biogeochemistry in Germany and the Laboratory for Sciences of Climate and Environment in France. His main research interests include the terrestrial-atmosphere interaction, climate change and forest resilience, extreme climate and ecosystem functioning, as well as climate feedback. He is in charge of some projects regarding the drought responses of vegetation growth from both NSFC and the Ministry of Science and Technology of China.