Gutianshan, China

Established in 2005, the 24-ha Gutianshan plot lies within the Gutianshan National Nature Reserve at 29°15.102′ - 29°15.344′N, 118°07.010′ - 118°07.400′E. It is located in Kaihua town, Zhejiang Province. The plot is typical subtropical evergreen broadleaved forest. The mean annual rainfall is 1,963.7 mm. Annual temperature is 15.3°C, and extreme maximum temperature if 38.1°C (July), with extreme minimum at -6.8°C (January). Plot elevation varies from 446.325 m to 714.903 m above sea level and contains numerous extremely steep slopes, ranging from 12.79° to 62°.

As for community composition, there are 159 species, 103 genera, and 49 families, 140,700 individuals trees in total. The evergreen tree species in the community are dominant (i.e., 91 species; total relative dominance is 90.6%; importance value is 85.6%, accounting for 85.9% of total abundance). The Gutianshan plot is typical subtropical evergreen broadleaved forest, which displays characteristics of both temperate deciduous broadleaved forest and tropical rainforest. Community composition has obvious dominant species, which are similar to temperate deciduous broadleaved forest. There are three mostly dominant species: Castanopsis eyrei, Schima superba, Pinus massoniana. Large numbers of rare species (59 rare species, equal to or less than one tree per hm2) in the community account for 37.1% of species richness, which is similar to tropical rainforest. Vertical structure is composed of canopy layer (63 species), subcanopy layer (70 species), and shrub layer (26 species).