| Summary: | <p><em>Aim of stud</em>y.<em> </em>To improve the quality of monoculture plantations in China.</p><p><em>Area of study.</em> structure-based forest management was conducted in Rocky Mountain Area of Northern China.</p><p><em>Material and Methods.</em> Stand spatial structure indicators of mingling degree, uniform angle index, neighborhood comparison and opening degree were comparably investigated to understand the changes of <em>Pinus tabulaeformis</em> plantations.</p><p><em>Main results.</em> The results indicated that structure-based forest management accounted for 0.403 and 0.448 of the significant variations in mingling degree and opening degree increments, and had no essential changes in uniform angle index and neighborhood comparison. Structure-based forest management is greatly beneficial to plantation quality, and it can be a source of improvement on stand structure.</p><p><em>Research highlights. </em>This improved information is essential to provide a firm basis for future policy-making on how best to restore degraded forests in China as well as the rest of the world.</p><p><strong>Key words: </strong>monoculture plantation; structure-based forest management; stand spatial structure; forest restoration<strong></strong></p>
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