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Updated: Feb 11, 2026

Development of an Individual-Tree Basal Area Increment Model using a Linear Mixed-Effects Approach
Published on: July 3, 2020
[Understory effects on overstory trees: A review.]
Zhong Du1, Xiao Hu Cai2, Wei Kai Bao1
1Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization, Sichuan Province Key Laboratory of Ecological Restoration Biodiversity Conservation, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China.
Abstract:
Plant-plant interactions play a key role in regulating the composition and structure of communities and ecosystems. Studies of plant-plant interactions in forest ecosystems have traditionally concentrated on either tree-tree interactions or overstory species' impacts on understory plants. The possible effects of understory species on overstory trees have received less attention. We summarized the effects of understory species on soil physiological properties, soil fauna activities, leaf litter decomposition, and ecophysiology and growth of the overstory species. Then the effects of distur-bance on understory-overstory interactions were discussed. Finally, an ecophysiology-based concept model of understory effects on overstory trees was proposed. Understory removal experiments showed that the study area, overstory species age, soil fertility and understory species could significantly affect the understory-overstory interactions.
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