Abstract: The study of correlation between leaf lifespan and herbivory plays a significant role in reflecting their life history features and ecological adaptive mechanisms. The methods of static life table and field observation were applied to analyze the leaf lifespan and herbivory frequency of five major evergreen broad-leaved species sampled from Baohuashan Nation Forest Park, Jiangsu Province; meanwhile their leaf traits were also measured indoors. The results were as follows: 1) The leaf lifespan of the five species was different (P<0.05), varying from 1.26 to 2.47 years with an average of 1.80 years. 2) The herbivory frequencies of the five species were different, with an average of 34.74%. Moreover, for each species, the herbivory frequencies of extant leaves on one branch increased with increasing the leaf age class. 3) There was a significant positive correlation between the herbivory frequency and the leaf lifespan (P<0.05). Significant correlations were found between leaf toughness, thickness, water content and LMA (leaf mass per area). Principal component analysis on those leaf traits showed that the first principal component could explain 92.57% of the total variance. Furthermore, the herbivory frequency had a significant negative correlation with the first component (P<0.05). Therefore, it is concluded that the longer the leaf lifespan, the higher the herbivory frequency for woody evergreen species in evergreen and deciduous broadleaved mixed forests in subtropics, and that the herbivory frequency is not only correlated with abundances of tree species, but also with a range of leaf traits (rather than a single one).

Key words: three outfalls of Chingjiang River., indicators of hydrological alteration (IHA), eco-hydrology, the Three Gorges Reservoir, change of water regime