Nanjenshan, Taiwan

The Nanjenshan Forest Dynamics Plot was established in 1989 in the Nanjenshan Nature Reserve of Ken-Ting National Park in southern Taiwan, an area that lies between the tropics and the sub-tropics. The focus of research at this 3-hectare plot is how monsoon winds affect forests. The plot's location is ideal for such investigations because it covers areas that are directly exposed to and protected from monsoon winds. There are clear vegetation differences in these two areas. The forest that is exposed to wind is short and unstratified with high stem density and low per-stem species diversity. The leaves of these plant are small and thick, and litterfall is low. In contrast, in areas protected from the wind, the forest is taller and stratified with low stem density and high per-stem species richness. Leaves in this area are thinner and larger, and litterfall is high. The recent plot recensus (1997) has indicated that on a whole, growth and mortality rates, between and among species, differed between two areas exposed to different amounts of wind.