Abstract: In order to explore the impacts of forest succession on the community structure and diversity of wild animals, we investigated rodent communities using live traps in 21 forest plots at five succession stages (i.e. 0-5, 6-10, 11-20, 21-30 years old and a natural secondary forest (100 years old)) in Dujiangyan, Southwest China during 2012 and 2013. We trapped 9 rodent species in all the sampled plots, including 1 Cricetidae species and 8 Muridae species. Niviventer fulvescens, Apodemus draco, N. confucianus, A. chevrieri and A. latronum occurred in all five stages of forest succession. Species richness and diversity indexes of rodents were similar among the five stages of forest succession, but the number of individuals was slightly higher in the natural secondary forest than in the other succession forests. Multivariate analysis (NMDS and CCA ordination) showed that community composition of the rodents was similar among the five stages of forest succession, but microhabitat factors such as shrub layer and herb layer coverage may have some impacts on species distribution of rodents. Unlike A. chevrieri, N. fulvescens and A. draco were widely distributed in the study area, while the other rodent species showed some microhabitat preferences. Leopoldamys edwardsi lived mainly in the natural secondary forest, N. confucianus and A. latronum mainly distributed under the shrub layer with high coverage, Micromys minutus and Eothenomys melanogaster lived under the herb layer with high coverage, Rattus nitidus lived in the area where the herb layer and the shrub layer had moderate coverage. The above results indicate that species diversity of rodents was similar among different stages of forest succession, but microhabitats following forest succession may largely influence the distribution and diversity patterns of rodents.

Key words: AMF, photosynthesis, Spd, enzymatic activity, rhizosphere microorganism, cucumber