Layout of the permanent experimental site.

<p>A: for the general view, B: for the plots. Rectangles: the four thinning treatments with 40 m×50 m for each treatment, 2 repetitions; black square areas: monitoring of seedling regeneration through plots 1–5 (plot area: 2 m×2 m), circles: making canopy openness measurements in the four treatments. The survey of ground covers (litter depth, grass coverage, moss depth and moss coverage) was conducted randomly (avoiding the seedling monitoring plots).