植物群落中, 物种小尺度空间结构影响着种群或群落的动态及有关的生态学过程。植物主要是和它同种或异种的邻近个体相互作用，植物个体周围的局部环境和大空间尺度下群 落的平均水平是完全不同的。群落中的许多过程都影响小尺度空间结构的形成和动态，同样 ，局部空间结构反过来影响着植物的生长、更新和凋亡等重要过程。鉴于目前对小尺度空间 结构进行的大量研究以及其重要性，有必要对其研究进展进行适当的总结，以期明确将来进 一步的研究方向。该文以此为出发点，首先介绍了植物群落中物种小尺度空间结构产生的6 个原因：1）生境的空间异质性；2）植物繁殖体的传播；3）植物之间的相互作用； 4）生物环境（动物和微生物）的作用；5）外界干扰的作用；6）多因子综合作用。 然后阐述了小尺度空间结构意义及对生物多样性、植物种群遗传学和恢复生态学研究的影响 。最后对目前物种小尺度空间结构研究存在的几点问题及将来的研究方向作以下归纳：1 ）大尺度植被动态的研究应该整合小尺度空间结构的信息；2）不论从生物学还是生态学 上来讲， 植被小尺度空间结构的研究应该把植物作为中心，确定适当的尺度和采取合理的 空间统计方法；3）充分重视小尺度空间结构在退化生态系统恢复中的应用意义；4）注 重从小尺度的局部格局研究入手对群落总体特征进行整合；5）植物群落动态研究中，物 种小尺度空间结构与平均场假说相结合的必要性。
Small_scale spatial structure of plant species is important in plant e cology as it affects the dynamics of plant populations, communities and ecosyste m processes. Plants interact primarily with their immediate neighbors, and the v iew of the community as seen by an individual plant can be quite different from processes averaged over large spatial scales. Many processes influence the forma tion and dynamics of small_scale spatial structures of plant species, and local spatial structure in turn has an effect on the vital processes of plant growth, birth and death. This paper summarizes developments in this area of research bas ed on the extensive literature on small_scale spatial structure of plant species to help direct further research efforts. Firstly, this paper introduces six fac tors that lead to the formation of small_scale spatial structure of plant specie s, including 1) habitat spatial heterogeneity, 2) dispersal of propagules, 3) in teractions between plants, 4) effects of the biological environment (animals and microbes), 5) effects of exoteric disturbances, and 6) the integrated effects o f many factors. The significance and effects of small_scale spatial structure on studies of biological diversity, plant population genetics and restoration ecol ogy are then examined. Finally, several questions were raised and a list of sugg ested areas of future research on this topic were presented that included: 1) In f ormation on small_scale spatial structure should be integrated into vegetation d ynamics at large scales; 2) Either biologically or ecologically, the research ab out small_scale spatial structure of vegetation should focus on plants, make cer tain the adequate scale and adopt correct spatial statistical methods; 3) The pr actical implications of small_scale spatial structure for degraded ecosystems sh ould be highly taken into account; 4) Integration of whole community characteris tics should begin with local patterns on small scales; and 5) Small_scale spatia l structure should be combined with traditional mean_field theory in order to de eply explore plant community dynamics.