Logging and intense shifting cultivation have caused major degradation of tropical forests and loss of biodiversity.
Understanding the direct and indirect effects of those land uses on plant biodiversity is essential
to the restoration of tropical forests. We compared the species diversity, community composition and
basal area of all stems P1 cm dbh among 18 1-ha tropical lowland and montane rain forest plots with a
well-recorded long-term history of shifting cultivation and logging on Hainan Island, south China. We
also explored the relative importance of disturbance and environmental factors in determining forest
recovery. We found that the species density and diversity in old growth forests were higher than in shifting
cultivation fallows (55 years old) but lower than in logged forests (35–40 years since logging). The
species composition of shifting cultivation fallows was distinct from other forest types but logged forests
were similar to old growth forests, especially in lowland forests. Disturbance intensity was the most frequently
important factor in determining species composition, species density, diversity, and basal area
accumulation. Soil nutrient availability explained some of the variation in species composition and diversity.
Stem density was related to multiple factors including disturbance history, soil nutrients, and distance
to old-growth forest. In general, we found that disturbance intensity was a better predictor of
forest structure and diversity than edaphic environmental variables, highlighting the importance of
human impacts in shaping tropical forest successional pathways.