Suitability of plantation recovery as the habitat of giant panda.

Based on the vegetation investigation of the plantation in Wanglang Natural Reserve, Sichuan Province of southwestern China, the community structure and the feeding bamboo characteristics in plantation, secondary forests, and the primary forests were analyzed in this paper. The purpose of the study was to test whether plantation could be recovered to a suitable habitat for the giant panda. The results showed that no trace of giant panda could be found in the plantation and the species diversity, species dominance, canopy coverage, and the tree number (H 5 m) under the plantation were all higher than those of primary forests. Whereas, the community height, maximum DBH, average tree DBH, and the habitat maturity under the plantations were all lower than those of primary forests. As for the community structure, the trees in the upper levels of plantation could recover soon. However, the growth of understory plants was limited by the canopy trees. In addition, the natural regeneration of bamboo under the plantation was poor. The height and coverage of planted bamboos could not meet the needs of giant panda, and what爷s worse, the plantation would bring about a second disturbance. In conclusion, the plantation is not the suitable habitat of giant panda