Age structure and regeneration of subalpine fir (Abies fargesii) forests across an altitudinal range in the Qinling Mountains, China

Age structure and regeneration dynamics of subalpine fir (Abies fargesii) forest were studied across the altitudinal range in both the north and south aspects of the Qinling Mountains, China. Ages of individual fir trees were determined based on the number of rings counted from cores and the number of years to reach coring height estimated using age-height regression. Fir age structure and regeneration dynamics were similar in both the north and south aspects. A unimodal population age structure was found at the low- and mid-elevations in both aspects, indicating that environmental factors might play an important role in shaping A. fargesii age structure and regeneration at those sites. There was a recruitment pulse during the time period 1830-1890 at each altitudinal site, but no stem recruitment occurred at the low- and mid-elevations in the last century, which might be attributed to the intensive cover of understory bamboo. Fir trees were, however, persistently recruited at the upper limits during the last 150 years, and the fir tree density at the upper limits was significantly higher than that at the lower limits in both aspects. The fir population at the upper limits showed a significant increase in recruitment and stem density relative to the fir population at the low- and mid-elevations in the last century. We propose that the differences in recruitment might promote variations in stand structure and regeneration dynamics of the subalpine fir forests along the altitudinal gradient in the Qinling Mountains, China.