1. Most fragmentation research focuses on the effects of carving up old-growth forests, but less is known about influences of habitat fragmentation on secondary succession in patches of regenerating forests. 2. Working with forest dynamics on islands in a vast lake created by a hydroelectric dam in China (the Thousand Island Lake), we sampled 29 islands that were cleared of forest during dam construction in 1959 and then underwent succession. Measurements taken in 2009-2010 and...