Species diversity of higher plant communities in Foping National Reserve

The species diversity of higher plant communities in Foping National Reserve was measured withspecies diversity index (Simpson index and Shannon index), Pielou's evennes index and species richness. Theresult shows that the diversity of forest communities is higher than that of shruba and meadow communities,the diversity of the deciduous broad-leaved forest is higher than that of coniferous forest, and that of oak forestis higher than that of popular and birch forest. The species diversity of higher plant communities decreaseswith the increase of elevation. The species diversity indices and evenness indices for different layers in forestcommunities show that the tree layer has similar species diversity and evenness with the shrub layer, while theherbaceous layer has higher diversity and evenness than boh of the tree and the shrub layers.