Abstract: This paper investigated the effects of phorophytes diameter at breast height, plant height, height below twigs, and species diversity on the epiphyte ferns species diversity in Mt. Ailao National Nature Reserve. Partial correlation analysis was conducted on the epiphyte ferns species diversity in terms of a series of the intervals of phorophytes diameter at breast height, and variance analysis was made to evaluate the effects of phorophytes species composition on the species diversity of epiphyte ferns. The results showed that the epiphyte ferns species diversity had significant positive correlations with phorophytes diameter at breast height and plant height, but had negative correlation with the height below twigs of phorophytes, which suggested that a lower height below the twigs of phorophytes benefited the species diversity of epiphyte ferns. Phorophytes species composition had strong effects on the species diversity of epiphyte ferns.

Key words: Soybean, Continuous cropping, Root exudate, Root rot, Allelopathy