LAUSR

Due to production activities, species richness in rubber plantations varies considerably. To answer the question of how many species could potentially survive rubber plantation, we established a dynamic plot with an area of 1 hm2 in a rubber plantation in Danzhou, Hainan Island, south China. We surveyed and analyzed plant species diversity and spatial distribution patterns of dominant species in the plot. The results showed that (a) there are a total of 183 species belonging to 155 genera and 69 families in the 1 hm2 plot of the plantation. This level of species richness is slightly lower than a typical tropical rainforest of the same size. (b) Subplots as small as 4,000 m2 already contain at least 90% of species, genus, and family, respectively, which indicates that 1 hm2 plot may be large enough for the dynamic monitoring of species diversity in rubber plantations, in our region at least. (c) All of the 20 dominant species have a clumping distribution at Scale 0 to 5 m, which is similar to the finding in tropical rain forests. In conclusion, many plant species grow back in rubber plantations that are minimally managed or called naturally managed. Such a management approach could be useful in maintaining species diversity in rubber plantations.