Bryophyte Communities in the Forest of Heishiding Nature Reserve,Guangdong,China

A quantitative survey was conducted to investigate the biodiversity characteristics of bryophytes in Heishiding Nature Reserve,Guangdong, China. 50 species of bryophytes in the five 2 500 m2 transects were found in which 30 were liverworts and 20 were mosses. Forty species of bryophytes occurred on trunks, which was much more than those on floor (only 24 species). Bryophyte coverage on trunks and floor was very low. Species richness of floor bryophytes in each plot was between 8 and 13 and the coverage was from 0.59%to 1.12%. The distribution and species richness of floor bryophytes were strongly affected by slope and micro-environments. Epiphytic bryophytes in each plot ranged from 12 to 20 species and the coverage was from 0.63% to 1.63%. This suggested that the species richness and coverage of bryophytes in 30-year-old secondary broadleaved forest have restored to the level of mature broad-leaved forest. Similarity analysis of bryophyte communities indicated that species composition of the mature forest was similar to that of the mixed pine and broad-leaved forest and young secondary forest, but community structure of the former was quite different from the latter. More studies are needed to understand the mechanism of low coverage of floor and epiphytic bryophytes.