Abstract:Botanical surveys were conducted during June 1995 and January 1996 toinvestigate the invasion and establishment of native plant species in plantations. Ten plotswith the areas varying from 200 to 400 m2 were surveyed in three types of plantations,Lophostemon confertus, Acacia confusa, and Schima superba forests. A total of 184 wildgrowing and mostly pioneer species, belonging to 70 families and 139 genera. were found in these plantations. Approximately 42% were tree taxa, representing 20% of the total tree flora in Hong Kong. The most common native species in plantations were bird-dispersed and were also common in natural secondary forests. The Shannon's indices of the surveyed plantations varied from 0 to 2.66, and appeared to increase with age of the plantations. Plantations play an important role in accelerating restoration of forest cover in degraded areas and the development of biodiversity. The ecological function of plantations can be improved by using a combination of fast growing exotic species and bird dispersed native species so as to accelerate succession.
