THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE PLANT COMMUNITIES SUCCESSION AND THE SOIL DEVELOPMENT

The researched communities are mainly composed of Betula sp., Quercus spp., Castanea spp. in Large-Old Range, Yichang, Western Hubei. A dynamic process of soil has been found in the plant community succession. The results indicate that the values of Ca, pH decrease, ions exchangable capacity increases, and the values of Na, Mg, NH₄⁺-N, P, K, organic C vary with the different species. Therefore, the community succession is a co-development process between the plants and the soil in community.