Clarifying the influence of disturbances by biotic and abiotic agents on long-term changes in forest structure and demographic rates is an important task of forest ecology. Here, we investigated changes in forest structure and demographic rates and the effects of biotic and abiotic factors (sika deer, ambrosia beetle, neighborhood trees, and indices of strong wind and wetness) in a 4-ha long-term ecological study plot in a lowland warm temperate rain forest on Yakushima Island, Japan, from 1996 to 2019 for three regeneration groups related to gap dynamics (gap demander: GD, light shade tolerant: LS, and strong shade tolerant: SS). GD had relatively lower recruitment and survival than LS and/or SS. Changes in demographic rates were not significantly correlated with those in the index of strong wind in any regeneration group. The effects of sika deer on demographic rates did not differ among groups. Stems of Fagaceae species belonging to LS attacked by ambrosia beetles recorded in 2013 did not significantly differ in RGR and survival rates. Our results indicate that despite the relatively long monitoring period of 23 years, we did not detect significant effects of strong winds on demographic rates among regeneration groups, and shade-tolerant species (LS and SS) showed better demographic performance than light-demanding species (GD) and an increase in total basal area over time. We need longer monitoring of forest dynamics to understand forest responses to disturbances considering several factors, including the time lag of demographic responses to disturbances and the long-term effects of disturbances.

中文翻译：

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日本屋久岛暖温带雨林23年干扰下森林结构的变化

阐明生物和非生物因素的干扰对森林结构和人口比率长期变化的影响是森林生态学的一项重要任务。在这里，我们在一个 4 公顷的长期生态研究样地中调查了森林结构和人口比率的变化以及生物和非生物因素（梅花鹿、豚草甲虫、邻近树木以及强风和潮湿指数）的影响。 1996年至2019年日本屋久岛低地暖温带雨林的三个与间隙动态相关的更新组（间隙需求者：GD，耐光耐荫：LS和强耐荫：SS）。GD 的募集和存活率比 LS 和/或 SS 相对较低。在任何再生组中，人口统计率的变化与强风指数的变化均不显着相关。梅花鹿对人口比例的影响在不同群体之间没有差异。2013年记录的遭受豚草甲虫攻击的壳斗科物种的茎在RGR和存活率方面没有显着差异。我们的结果表明，尽管监测期相对较长，为 23 年，但我们没有发现强风对更新群体的种群数量率产生显着影响，并且耐荫物种（LS 和 SS）表现出比需光物种更好的种群表现（ GD）以及总断面积随时间的增加。我们需要对森林动态进行更长时间的监测，以了解森林对干扰的反应，考虑到几个因素，包括人口对干扰的反应的时间滞后和干扰的长期影响。