Keywords: 
• forest management /
• Cunninghamia lanceolata /
• ecological forest /
• spatial structure

Abstract: To optimize the spatial structure of a Cunninghamia lanceolata ecological forest and use of its ecological, economic, and cultural functions, nine permanent sample plots（20 m 30 m） at the Fushou Forest Farm in Hunan Province were analyzed for variation in spatial structure of uneven age-group stands using three spatial structure indexes: the mingling index, the neighborhood comparison, and the uniform angle index. Results showed an average mingling degree for juveniles of 0.19 which belonged to the transitional type between zero and weak mingling. The average degree of mingling for medium （0.09） and mature （0.04） trees was close to zero mingling. The average neighborhood comparison for stand DBH was juvenile （0.51）, medium （0.52）, and mature trees （0.52） which were close to the moderate state. The average stand uniform angle indexes were juvenile （0.37）, medium （0.35）, and mature （0.34） belonging to the transitional types of uniform and random distributions. Overall for the C. lanceolata stands, mingling showed that the ecological forest rating was low, and the stability of the stand structure was weak; the neighborhood comparison indicated that the number of trees in diameter classes was roughly equal; and the uniform angle index revealed poor horizontal distribution patterns in juvenile, medium, and mature stands. ［Ch, 4 fig. 4 tab. 14 ref.］