Relationship between the vegetation type and topography in Mt. Xiaowutai, Hebei Province: a remote sensing analysis

Using data from a Digital Elevation Model (DEM), vegetation map derived from remote sensing, and field investigation, we analyzed the relationship between vegetation type and topography on Mt. Xiaowutai, Northern China. Covering 60.7% of the whole area, forests dominated the landscape. Broadleaf forests and subalpine meadows were the two components with largest average patch size, whereas water body and mixed forest had the smallest patch size. Vegetation composition varied in different topographic conditions. Occupying 75% of the northern and 46% of the southern slope, forest was more dominant on shady slopes than on sunny slopes, suggesting the controlling role of water availability in the distribution of forest on Mt. Xiaowutai. Composition of vegetation types changed along the altitudinal gradient, resulting in a distinct zonation of the vegetation types. Vegetation types varied from low to high elevations as follows: shrub, broadleaved deciduous forest, mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forest, dark coniferous forest, krummholz, subalpine shrub and subalpine meadow. Slope increased the compositional complexity of vegetation types within each vegetation zone.