Species diversity of 9 typical forest communities on Ziwuling Mountain was analyzed by using the Simpson dominance index, Shannon-Wiener diversity index, Margalef richness index, Pielou evenness index and β diversity index.The results showed that in the Ziwuling Mountain, the diversity index generally presented an order: natural mixed forests > natural pure forests > artificial forests.Compared with that in the artificial forests, the level of species diversity in the natural forests was higher.On the vertical layers of communities, the diversity index and the species richness of all kinds of forest communities generally showed a trend that shrub layers > herb layers > tree layers.In the successional series, the forest communities at the intermediate and late successional stages had relatively high species diversity.The β diversity analysis showed that the dissimilarities among forest communities were lower, whereas the other forest communities have larger differences with the artificial Robinia pseudoacacia forest on species composition.

Ziwuling Mountain; forest community; α diversity; β diversity