scholarly journals Species Diversity, Forest Community Structure and Regeneration in Banke National Park

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renu Napit

Banke national park, located in Banke district of western Nepal with an area of 550 sq. km was established as the  tenth national park in 2010 A.D. Forest community structure, species diversity and natural regeneration were  studied in the Park. A total of 1067 plots at every interval of 200m were laid by line transect method for the study. In  each plot three concentric rings of radii of 10m, 5m, and 1m were laid down for the study of trees, shrubs/saplings  and herbs/seedlings respectively. The park was floristically rich with a total of 113 species of trees representing 57  genera and 28 families. Similarly 85 species of shrubs including climbers and 107 species of herbs including  herbaceous climbers, and grasses were recorded. The obtained results from the size class distribution of the trees  resembling inverse ‘J’ shape indicated the good regenerating capability of the forest in the park. Fifty eight species  of saplings and 40 species of seedlings of trees were recorded. From the quantitative study of the trees, the  dominant species was Shorea robusta based on IVI (important value index) values, which was followed by Terminalia  alata, Anogeissus latifolius, Mallotus philippinensis, etc. The total density stand (D) and basal area (BA) of the  park were 291.48 trees/ha and 21.13 m2/ha respectively. The highest density (D) and the basal area (BA) of S.  robusta was 46.07 trees /ha and 5.07m2/ha respectively. The species diversity index (H) of the tree species in BaNP  was 1.32, with species evenness (J) of 0.64 and index of dominance (C) of 0.08. A total of seven forest community  types were estimated in the Park. The size class distribution diagram of all trees showed right skewed (inverse J  shaped) pattern indicating a good regenerating capability of the forest. The regeneration of S. robusta, T. alata and  A. latifolius were higher in comparison to other tree species which was indicated by the higher seedlings and  saplings density of them. S. robusta was the dominant with saplings density of 200.49 / ha and seedlings density  of 27153.4 /ha.Nepal Journal of Science and Technology Vol. 16, No.1 (2015) pp. 17-30

1970 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shalik Ram Sigdel

Study on plant community structure was undertaken in different altitudinal ranges of Shivapuri National Park. The general objective of this study is to analyse different plant community structure in Shivapuri National Park with regards to altitudinal variation. The forest was divided into three distinct altitudinal ranges on the basis of dominancy. In each altitudinal range standard quadrats method was applied for vegetation analysis. The highest number of species was found in site II. All the ecological parameters of the plant species were higher in site II except Basal Area of tree that was highest in site III. The pattern of distribution of plant species was not uniform according to altitude. At higher elevation, the forest was mature with almost closed canopy and trees were large; so the tree density was low. Species richness was highest in site II. Species diversity among tree and shrub species was higher in site I. But for herb species diversity was higher in site II for both seasons. Such type of variations may be due to nature of soil i.e. acidity, nutrient availability and other micro-climatic factors. The most noteworthy thing was that variation in flower colour of Rhododendron arboreum i.e. deep scarlet at low altitude, but it gradually changed into pinkish white as altitude increased. Key words: Altitude, Density, Plant community, Species diversity doi: 10.3126/banko.v18i1.2161 Banko Janakari, Vol. 18, No. 1, 11-17


2009 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 12-15
Author(s):  
Krishna Prasad Bhattarai

Vegetation study was carried out in an afforested land called Namuna Community Forest in Salbari, Sanischare, VDC, Jhapa, District. Random samplings for estimation of density, frequency, basal area and IVI were carried out by laying quadrates (10m x 10 m) at different sites of forest, three times and mean value was calculated. Nine tree species were recorded during field study. Total density of 10,410 pl/ha and total basal area of 33.956 m2/ha of tree species were recorded. The value of density (1790 pl/ha), basal area (31.45m2/ha) and IVI (130.63) were found highest for Shorea robusta, which is ecologically successful species in this forest. Lower value of basal area showed that this forest is young and regenerating. Other tree species had comparatively lower value of density, basal area and IVI due to regular human inte rference. Therefore an example of establishing forest community so as to initiate the conservation of local biodiversity has been discussed in this article.Key words: Community forest; conservation; IVI estimation; regenerating; Shorea robustaJournal of Natural History Museum Vol. 23, 2008 Page 12-15


Koedoe ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Helga Van der Merwe ◽  
Noel Van Rooyen ◽  
Hugo Bezuidenhout ◽  
Jacobus Du P. Bothma ◽  
Margaretha W. Van Rooyen

Vachellia erioloba is a keystone tree species in the southern Kalahari. This long-term study over nearly four decades tracks two populations in different landscapes (the interior sandy duneveld versus the clayey Nossob riverbed) of a large conservation area and offers valuable data on this species under natural soil moisture conditions and with limited anthropogenic influences. In 1978, 18 trees were permanently marked in a 1 ha plot in the interior duneveld of the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park (Dankbaar site). In the Nossob riverbed all trees in a 1 ha plot were surveyed in 1979 (Grootkolk site). At both sites, tree height and stem circumference were subsequently measured at irregular intervals until 2016 in order to investigate growth rates and population structure. Of the 18 marked trees at Dankbaar, six died and three showed coppice regrowth following substantial dieback after a fire. A mean height increase of 60 mm/year was recorded and the mean height of the remaining uncoppiced trees was 6.8 m in 2016. Stem diameter growth rate per year varied widely between trees and between years with a mean value of 2.5 mm/year over the 38-year period. Growth rate calculated for three 10-year intervals varied. Using the mean growth rate derived in the current study and stem size of the dead trees, the mean age of the trees when they died was estimated. At the Grootkolk site, the position of the centroid in relation to the midpoint of the diameter class range suggests that this population is gradually becoming a mature to old population with limited recruitment. This was supported by the size class distribution curves. However, no differences between slopes or intercepts of the stem diameter size class distributions were found.Conservation implications: This study was conducted in a large conservation area, that is, a natural ecosystem excluding most of the anthropogenic threats that are present outside of the park. The study illustrated that in the duneveld the population studied was self-sustaining, with recruitment occurring and large individuals presumably dying of old age. Although fire caused a few individuals to coppice, no fire-related deaths were reported. In the Nossob riverbed, surveys started in a stand of predominantly young trees and the size class distribution at that stage already showed a lack of recruitment. This stand is ageing and will likely disappear at this site; however, new young stands are appearing at other sites in the Nossob riverbed. Under the current conditions with negligible anthropogenic influences, it therefore appears that some V. erioloba populations in the park are increasing in size while others are decreasing, but that overall the species will persist. The impact of global climate change on this species is, however, unknown.


Diversity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 140 ◽  
Author(s):  
John L. Godlee ◽  
Francisco Maiato Gonçalves ◽  
José João Tchamba ◽  
Antonio Valter Chisingui ◽  
Jonathan Ilunga Muledi ◽  
...  

Seasonally dry woodlands are the dominant land cover across southern Africa. They are biodiverse, structurally complex, and important for ecosystem service provision. Species composition and structure vary across the region producing a diverse array of woodland types. The woodlands of the Huíla plateau in southwest Angola represent the extreme southwestern extent of the miombo ecoregion and are markedly drier than other woodlands within this ecoregion. They remain understudied, however, compared to woodlands further east in the miombo ecoregion. We aimed to elucidate further the tree diversity found within southwestern Angolan woodlands by conducting a plot-based study in Bicuar National Park, comparing tree species composition and woodland structure with similar plots in Tanzania, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. We found Bicuar National Park had comparatively low tree species diversity, but contained 27 tree species not found in other plots. Plots in Bicuar had low basal area, excepting plots dominated by Baikiaea plurijuga. In a comparison of plots in intact vegetation with areas previously disturbed by shifting-cultivation agriculture, we found species diversity was marginally higher in disturbed plots. Bicuar National Park remains an important woodland refuge in Angola, with an uncommon mosaic of woodland types within a small area. While we highlight wide variation in species composition and woodland structure across the miombo ecoregion, plot-based studies with more dense sampling across the ecoregion are clearly needed to more broadly understand regional variation in vegetation diversity, composition and structure.


REINWARDTIA ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Asep Sadili ◽  
Kuswata Kartawinata ◽  
Herwasono Soedjito ◽  
Edy Nasriadi Sambas

ADILI, A., KARTAWINATA, K., SOEDJITO, H. & SAMBAS, E. N. 2018. Tree species diversity in a pristine montane forest previously untouched by human activities in Foja Mountains, Papua, Indonesia. Reinwardtia 17(2): 133‒154. ‒‒ A study on structure and composition of the pristine montane forest previously untouched by human activities was conducted at the Foja Mountains in November 2008. We established a one-hectare plot divided into 100 subplots of 10 m × 10 m each. We enumerated all trees with DBH ≥ 10 cm which diameters were measured, heights were estimated and habitats were noted. We recorded 59 species, 42 genera and 27 families, comprising 693 trees with the total basal area (BA) of 41.35 m2/ha. The forest had lower species richness compared to those of lowland forests in Kalimantan, and Sumatra and montane forests in West Java. The Shannon-Wiener’s diversity index was 3.22. Nothofagus rubra (Importance Value, IV=47.89%) and Parinari corymbosa (IV=40.3%) were the dominant species, constituting the basis for designating the forest as the Nothofagus rubra - Parinari corymbosa association. To date, the dominance of N. rubra is unique to the Foja Mountains, as elsewhere in Papua the montane forests were dominated by N. pullei or other species. The species-area curve indicated a minimal area of 5000 m2. On the family level Fagaceae (IV=53.23%), Chrysobalanaceae (IV=40.53%) and Myristicaceae (IV=26.43%) were dominant. Verti-cally the forest consisted of four strata (A–D). In each stratum Nothofagus rubra, Platea latifolia, Parinari corymbosa and Myristica hollrungii were dominant. The diameter class distribution of Nothofagus rubra, Parinari corymbosa and Platea latifolia led us to assume that these species were regenerating well.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Talat Parveen ◽  
Orus Ilyas

Abstract The disturbance is a major factor driving the decline of tropical forests and their associated fauna. Henceforth, basic information on species diversity would be useful for assessing the success of management in the fragmented and human-disturbed landscape. We accounted for tree species diversity and their regeneration pattern from the tropical dry deciduous forest of Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR), India. Considering this, random vegetation sampling along with transects was carried out in different ranges of PTR. It is spread over in an area of 2998.98 km2 that situated in the northern part of Madhya Pradesh and distributed in Panna and Chhatarpur district. The tropical dry deciduous forest inventory in the 10.6132-ha area yielded a total of 46 woody species of > 10 cm GBH, belonged to 23 Families and 40 genera. The regeneration represented 27 species of < 30 cm height (seedling) under 16 families and 24 genera while sapling, which ranges from > 30cm to 1.3m, showed 24 species of 13 families and 32 genera. The Shannon diversity of Trees, seedlings, and saplings was 2.684, 2.525, and 2.401 respectively. A total stand density and basal area of 2391 stems of trees were estimated as 225.285 stand ha− 1 and 90.016 m2ha− 1 respectively. Tectona grandis scored the highest IVI value of 59.44 (19.81% of total IVI for all species) among the dominated tree species, followed by Acacia catechu (24.94), Abrus precatorius (23.25), Zizyphus xylopyra (22.94), Anogeissus latifolia (22.16) and Lagerstroemia parviflora (22.18). Nearly 23.913% of the total number of species was recorded as rare species. The highest seedling density was obtained for Diospyros melanoxylon followed by Zizyphus xylopyra, Aegle marmelos, Wrightia tintoria, and Tectona grandis, which declined in the subsequent sapling stage and showed a reverse pattern. Hence, the highest sapling density was recorded for Tectona grandis then Aegle marmelos, Wrightia tintoria, Diospyros melanoxylon, and Zizyphus xylopyra. A total of 36.956% of tree species were found to fail to establish in the community because species were represented by only adult or tree stage that listed as Not-regenerating. In terms of the most diverse family among the plant categories; viz. Tree, Seedling, Sapling, Fabaceae had the highest species richness. The highest tree stand density (127.576 stand ha− 1) was recorded in the girth class of 31-60cm (48.687% of the total tree stand density) followed by 10-30cm and 61-90cm. Likewise, a total basal area of 20.824 m2ha− 1 was occupied by 31-60cm that contributed 23.051% of the total basal area, so our data on the population structure of forest shows a similar trend wherein the distribution curve exponentially decreases with increasing girth classes that indicates not only a mid-successional forest but also a human-disturbed.


2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 175-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshiya Yoshida ◽  
Yoko Iga ◽  
Megumi Ozawa ◽  
Mahoko Noguchi ◽  
Hideaki Shibata

Scarification is widely conducted in northern Japan to remove understory dwarf bamboo species in degraded forests for replacement with tree species. To explore ways to enhance species diversity and restoration of mixed forest at the treated site, we clarified the mechanisms that lead to compositional heterogeneity of plant species. We evaluated the relative importance of environmental factors (scarification properties, soil properties, light conditions, litter cover, and presence of canopy trees) for the demography of tall tree species (emergence, mortality, and growth) and whole vegetation structure (species diversity and composition) over the two growing seasons immediately following scarification. Of tall tree species, Betula spp. were dominant (60% in total density), followed by Abies sachalinensis (Fr. Schm.) Masters, Acer mono Maxim., and Phellodendron amurense Rupr. Light intensity was an important factor, having mostly negative effects on the demography of these species. Soil factors (e.g., nitrogen content, moisture) affected the demography mainly of shade-intolerant or hygrophilous species. In general, extreme environmental conditions led to the dominance of grasses, forbs, and lianas rather than tall trees. Maintenance of canopy cover, which limits light and supplies seeds as well as litter, proved to be most important in promoting plant species diversification on the scarification site.


Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juhan Park ◽  
Hyun Seok Kim ◽  
Hyun Kook Jo ◽  
II Bin Jung

Research Highlights: Using a long-term dataset on temperate forests in South Korea, we established the interrelationships between tree species and structural diversity and forest productivity and stability, and identified a strong, positive effect of structural diversity, rather than tree species diversity, on productivity and stability. Background and Objectives: Globally, species diversity is positively related with forest productivity. However, temperate forests often show a negative or neutral relationship. In those forests, structural diversity, instead of tree species diversity, could control the forest function. Materials and Methods: This study tested the effects of tree species and structural diversity on temperate forest productivity. The basal area increment and relative changes in stand density were used as proxies for forest productivity and stability, respectively. Results: Here we show that structural diversity, but not species diversity, had a significant, positive effect on productivity, whereas species diversity had a negative effect, despite a positive effect on diversity. Structural diversity also promoted fewer changes in stand density between two periods, whereas species diversity showed no such relation. Structurally diverse forests might use resources efficiently through increased canopy complexity due to canopy plasticity. Conclusions: These results indicate reported species diversity effects could be related to structural diversity. They also highlight the importance of managing structurally diverse forests to improve productivity and stability in stand density, which may promote sustainability of forests.


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