Survey of Plant Community Characteristics in Bamenwan Mangrove of Wenchang City

According to natural conditions and vegetation distribution characteristics of Wenchang Bamenwan Mangrove Forest, sample plots were set up to investigate plant community characteristics in this area, and to explore the diversity characteristics of different subareas and calculate importance values of various tree species in the study area. According to the investigation, there are 48 plant species of 42 genera and 28 families in Bamenwan Mangrove Forest, including 29 tree species of 24 genera and 17 families. Among the tree species, those on the top 5 in the importance value list are Hibiscus tiliaceus, Bruguiera sexangula, Lumnitzera littorea, Rhizophora apiculata, Xylocarpus granatum. There are 3 shrub species of 3 genera and 3 families, including Atalantia buxifolia, Lantana camara and Streblus asper. And there are 16 herbal species of 16 genera and 11 families, including Acrostichum aureum, Vernonia cinerea, Acanthus ilicifolius, Alocasia macrorrhiza, Synedrel a nodiflora, Gynura japonica and etc.. Diversity of the mangrove in different areas varies greatly, Shannon-Wiener index and richness index of semi-mangrove forest are both higher than those of other 3 mangrove forests. Bamenwan Mangrove Forest is characterized by diversified species and complex structures, but the community diversity is unevenly distributed because of the interventions from many factors. More human efforts are suggested to enhance the mangrove protection, so as to enrich the community diversity.