PLANT DIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY ATTRIBUTES OF WOODY PLANTS IN TWO CLIMAX SUBTROPICAL HUMID FORESTS OF MEGHALAYA, NORTHEAST INDIA

This current study is an ethnoecological study on land use for plant diversity by the Sasak people in Mandalika, Lombok Island, West Nusa Tenggara. Interview and direct observation methods were implemented. The study areas included the villages of Kuta, Mertak, and Sengkol. The results indicated four main groups of land: Leleah (a yard or home garden), bangket (rice fields, including the bangket gora; rice fields nurtured by rainfalls), kebon (gardens, including kebon kayo or garden of woody plants and kebon elalo or garden of crops), and gawah (forests, including gawah mali or sacred forests). This study results showed that despite the stress of a constantly changing environment and various restrictions and limitations, the ethnoecological knowledge in local wisdom is still maintained well.

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Plant diversity, population structure, and regeneration status in disturbed tropical forests in Assam, northeast India

Journal of Forestry Research ◽

10.1007/s11676-013-0409-y ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 24 (4) ◽

pp. 715-720 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Gitamani Dutta ◽

Ashalata Devi

Keyword(s):

Population Structure ◽

Tropical Forests ◽

Plant Diversity ◽

Northeast India ◽

Regeneration Status

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Trends in Tree Diversity and Stand Structure during Restoration: A Case Study in Fragmented Moist Deciduous Forest Ecosystems of Northeast India

Journal of Ecosystems ◽

10.1155/2014/845142 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 2014 ◽

pp. 1-10 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Koushik Majumdar ◽

Uma Shankar ◽

Badal Kumar Datta

Keyword(s):

Woody Plants ◽

Stand Structure ◽

Deciduous Forest ◽

Basal Area ◽

Northeast India ◽

Deciduous Forests ◽

Important Species ◽

Local Plant ◽

Fragmented Forests ◽

Girth Class

Ecological implications for the conservation of fragmented forests to managed local plant diversity have recently drawn much attention of most conservationists. Present study investigates the importance of fragmented forests using different quantitative measures of species diversity and stand structure as indicators of natural restoration from past disturbances. Eleven independent 500 m × 10 m belt transects (5.5 ha) were established within fragmented low land moist deciduous forests of Tripura. All woody plants ≥10 cm girth at breast height (GBH) were measured. A total of 7,134 individuals with mean density of 648.55 stems ha−1 and 16.36 m2 ha−1 of basal area were recorded, which represented 134 species, 93 genera, and 43 families of woody plants. Diversity-dominance curve showed that maximum number of species were ranked >10 due to low abundance value. Maximum distributions of stems (>50%) were recorded at lowest girth class (10–30 cm) as an indication of advanced regeneration and significantly declined towards upper girth (radj2=0.93; P<0.0001) and height (radj2=0.95; P<0.0001) classes, which also indicated that some plants were adopted with ongoing disturbances through both seeded and nonseeded regeneration. Species richness (radj2=0.49; P=0.05), dominance (radj2=0.68; P=0.009), and density (radj2=0.62; P=0.02) were significantly increased at different disturbance intensities. Disturbances strongly influenced typical community association and structure by increasing diversity and population at certain magnitude and thereby showed declining trend towards maturation. Fragmented moist deciduous forests seek immediate attention as they represent spatial habitat for many economical or ecological important species, thus sustaining local biodiversity for livelihoods.

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Plant diversity of Betel Leaf Agroforestry of South Meghalaya, Northeast India

Asian Journal of Forestry ◽

10.13057/asianjfor/r020101 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

H. TYNSONG ◽

B.K. TIWARI ◽

M. DKHAR

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Land Use Change ◽

Plant Species ◽

Plant Diversity ◽

Native Species ◽

Northeast India ◽

Estimation Methods ◽

Natural Forests ◽

Betel Leaf ◽

The Impact

Tynsong H, Tiwari BK, Dkhar M. 2018. Plant diversity of Betel Leaf Agroforestry of South Meghalaya, Northeast India. Asian J For 2: 1-11. Large areas of lowland tropical forests of South Meghalaya have been converted into betel leaf agroforestry systems by the tribal people living in the area. The betel leaf agroforestry with diverse and structurally complex shade canopies conserve a significant portion of the original forest biodiversity. The impact of land use change on the biodiversity was studied using standard vegetation analysis and biodiversity estimation methods. A total of 160 plant species were recorded in natural forests out of which 75 were trees, 40 shrubs, and 45 herbs, while in betel leaf agroforestry, a total of 159 plant species, 94 trees, 17 shrubs and 48 herbs were recorded. A total of 34 tree species, 13 shrub species, and 14 herb species were common in both the land uses. All the plant species were native species. The study revealed that the conversion of natural forest to betel leaf agroforestry in South Meghalaya has no significant impact on tree and herb diversity. However, the basal area and density are affected to some extent. The land use change has also affected the density and diversity of shrubs. The study concludes that betel leaf agroforestry in South Meghalaya developed by the indigenous War Khasi tribe through experiential learning over several generations has emerged as a fairly sustainable agroforestry system causing minimal impact on plant diversity.

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„Dimitrie Brandza” Botanic Garden, Potential Centre for the Dispersal of Invasive Plants?

Acta Horti Botanici Bucurestiensis ◽

10.2478/ahbb-2014-0002 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 41 (1) ◽

pp. 13-40 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Eugenia Nagodă ◽

Petronela Comănescu ◽

Paulina Anastasiu

Keyword(s):

Invasive Plants ◽

Plant Diversity ◽

General Public ◽

Woody Plants ◽

Plant Invasions ◽

Exotic Plants ◽

Botanic Gardens ◽

Botanic Garden ◽

Invasive Potential ◽

Artificial Habitats

Abstract Botanic gardens are important centres for the conservation of plant diversity, but at the same time they can be responsible for plant invasions. As such it is paramount that botanic gardens evaluate their collections of exotic plants, monitor them and seek to minimise the risk of some species becoming invasive. In this context an evaluation of the collection of woody plants in the „Dimitrie Brandza” Botanic Garden, Bucharest, Romania was carried out, and it was established that although there are over 70 species with invasive potential, these do not represent a source of dispersal as the botanic garden is surrounded by artificial habitats undergoing regular maintenance. Nevertheless, indirectly, the Botanic Garden might have contributed to the process of invasion of some species as over the years it has offered vegetal material of plants known as invasive in international exchanges with other botanic gardens and even to the general public for private gardens.

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