Abstract: In the Malan forest region of the Mt. Ziwuling on the Loess Plateau, three kinds of communities, i.e. the Pinus tabulaeformis forests,Quercus liaotungensis forests and shrub grasslands, were selected as the experimental plots. The seeds of Q. liaotungensis were sowed to build the seedling cohorts in three habitats. According to the growth data gathered continuously in three years, the dynamic life tables, curves of cumulative survival rate, cumulative mortality rate and hazard rate are drawn in this paper. The results show that the survival curve of Q. liaotungensis trended to the DeeveyⅡ and fluctuated clearly at different stages. There was no significant difference in survival rate of Q. liaotungensis seedlings in P. tabulaeformis and Q. liaotungensis forests, but the survival rate was significantly higher than that in shrub grasslands. In dense forests, the survival rate of Q. liaotungensis seedlings was higher in the first year, and the highest mortality rate occurred in the third spring. In the shrub grasslands, the mortality rate of seedlings was high in the first two months, and the highest mortality rate of seedlings occurred in the third spring. Drought in the third spring is the key factor affecting the survival of Q. liaotungensis seedlings.

Key words: Quercus liaotungensis, seedling, cohort, life table, survival rate, Malan forest region, Mt. Ziwuling, the Loess Plateau