Tree diversity in the tropical dry forest of Bannerghatta National Park in Eastern Ghats, Southern India
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1515/eje-2015-0013Keywords:
Diameter at breast height, Diameter class distribution, Species composition, species richness, tree allometry, Tree densityAbstract
Tree species inventories, particularly of poorly known dry deciduous forests, are needed to protect and restore forests in degraded landscapes. A study of forest stand structure, and species diversity and density of trees with girth at breast height (GBH) ≥10 cm was conducted in four management zones of Bannerghatta National Park (BNP) in the Eastern Ghats of Southern India. We identified 128 tree species belonging to 45 families in 7.9 hectares. However, 44 species were represented by ≤ 2 individuals. Mean diversity values per site for the dry forest of BNP were: tree composition (23.8 ±7.6), plant density (100.69 ± 40.02), species diversity (2.56 ± 0.44) and species richness (10.48 ± 4.05). Tree diversity was not significantly different (P>0.05) across the four management zones in the park. However, the number of tree species identified significantly (P<0.05) increased with increasing number of sampling sites, but majority of the species were captured. Similarly, there were significant variations (p<0.05) between tree diameter class distributions. Juveniles accounted for 87% of the tree population. The structure of the forest was not homogeneous, with sections ranging from poorly structured to highly stratified configurations. The study suggests that there was moderate tree diversity in the tropical dry thorn forest of Bannerghatta National Park, but the forest was relatively young.
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Ndah, N.R., Egbe, E.A. & Eneke, B. (2013) Species composition, diversity
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Oikos, 104(3), 598-605.
Padalia, H., Chauhan, N., Porwal, M.C. & Roy, P.S. (2004). Phytosociological
observations on tree species diversity of Andaman Islands,
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Panda, P.C., Mahapatra, A.K., Acharya, P.K. & Debata A.K. (2013) Plant
diversity in tropical deciduous forests of Eastern Ghats, India: A
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tropical forests. Science, 263, 954-958.
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in tropical forest of Eastern Ghats, India: a case study. Journal
of Life Sciences, 5(4), 87-93.
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global assessment report. IUFRO World Series 22. International
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Sukumar(Eds.), Conservation Reference Series 3. WTI, New Delhi,
pp. 208-255.
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remote sensing approach. Remote Sensing, 4, 3215-3243.
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lessons from economic models. World Bank Research
Observer, 14, 73-98.
Ayyappan, N. & Parthasarathy, N. (1999) Biodiversity inventory of trees
in a large-scale permanent plot of tropical evergreen forest at
Varagalaiar, Anamalais, Western Ghats, India. Biodiversity Conservation,
8, 1533-1554.
Bhat, H. (2000) Field Guide to Medicinal Plants of Devarayanadurga
Forest. Karnataka Forest Department publishing, Tumkur Division,
Karnataka. Champion and Seth’s classification, 1986.
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of Biogeography, 30, 381-388.
Cannon, C.H., Peart, D.R. & Leighton, M. (1998) Tree species diversity
in commercially logged bornean rainforest. Science, 281, 1366-
1368.
Champion, H.G. & Seth, S.K. (1986) A Revised Survey of Forest Types of
India. Pages 6-18, Government of India, Delhi.
Chandrashekara, U.M. & Ramakrishna, P.S. (1994) Vegetation and gap
dynamics of tropical wet evergreen forest in Western Ghats of
Kerala state. J. Trop. Ecol., 10, 337-354.
Coley, P.D. & Barone. J.A. (1996) Herbivory and plant defenses in tropical
forests. Annual Review of Ecological Systems, 27, 305-335.
Condit, R., HubbellL, S.P. & Foster, R.B. (1996) Changes in a tropical
forest with a shifting climate: results from a 50 ha permanent
census plot in Panama. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 12, 231-256.
Condit, R., Ashton P.S., Baker, P., Bunyavejohewin, S., Gunatileke, S., Gunatilleke,
N., Hubbell, S.P., Foster, R.B., Itoh, A., LaFrankie, J.V.,
Lee, H.S., Losos, E., Manokaran, N., Sukumar, R. & Yamakura, T.
(2000) Spatial patterns in the distribution of tropical tree species.
Science, 288, 1414-1418.
Dalle, S.P., Lopez H., Diaz D., Legendre P. & Potvin C. (2002) Initial assessment
of the distribution and habitat associations of useful
plants on an indigenous territory, Darie´n Province, Panama´.
Biodiversity Conservation, 11, 637-667.
Deka, J., Tripathi, P.O. & Khan, L.M. (2012) High Dominance of Shorea
robusta Gaertn. in Alluvial Plain Kamrup Sal Forest of Assam,
N.E. India. International Journal of Ecosystems, 2(4), 67-73.
Egbe, E.A., Chuyong, G.B., Fonge, B.A. & Namuene, K.S. (2012) Forest
disturbance and natural regeneration in African rainforest at Korup
National Park, Cameroon. International Journal of Biodiversity
Conservation, 4(11), 377-384.
FAO (2009) Towards defining forest degradation: Comparative analysis
of existing definitions by Simula. Forest Resources Assessment
Working Paper No. 154. Rome.
FAO (2010) The Global Forest Resource Assessment, Food and Agricultural
Organization, Rome.
Gentry, A.W. (1992) The subfamilies and tribes of family Bovidae. Mam.
Rev., 22(1), 1-32.
Gopalakrishna, S.P., Somashekar, R.K., Anand, V.J. & Varma, S. 2010.
Asian Elephant and Bannerghatta National Park in Eastern
Ghats, Southern India. Gajah, 33, 47-52.
Gurudeva, M.R. (2001) Botanical and vernacular names of south Indian
plants. Divyachandra Prakashana, Bangalore, India, pp.56.
Heywood, V.H. (Eds) (1995) Global Biodiversity Assessment. UNEP,
Cambridge University Press, pp.1140.
Huang, W., Pohjonen, V., Johansson, S., Nashanda, M., Katigula, M.I.L.
& Luukkanen, O. (2003) Species diversity, forest structure and
species composition in Tanzanian tropical forests. Forest Ecology
and Management, 173, 11-24.
Hubbell, S.P. & Foster R.B. (1992) Short-term dynamics of a neotropical
forest: why ecological research matters to tropical conservation
and management. Oikos, 63, 48-61.
Hubbell, S.P., Foster, R.B., O’brien, S.T., Harms, K.E., Condit, R., Wechsler,
B., Wright, S.J. & Loo de Lao, S. (1999) Light-gap disturbance recruitment
limitation, and tree diversity in a neotropical forest.
Science, 283, 554-557.
Huston, M.A. (1994) Biological Diversity: The Coexistence of Species in
Changing Landscapes. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Kadavul, K. & Parthasarathy, N. (1999a) Plant biodiversity and conservation
of tropical semi-evergreen in the Shervarayan hills of
Eastern Ghats, India. Biodiversity Conservation, 8, 421- 439.
Kadavul K, Parthasarathy, N, (1999b). Structure and composition of
woody species in tropical semievergreen forest of Kalrayan hills,
Eastern Ghats, India. Tropical Ecology, 40, 77-90.
Kanyana, S. (2008) Biodiversity of Eastern Ghats. Retrieved from http://
nbaindia.org/uploaded/docs/semi_conservation-easternghats.
Krishnamurthy, Y.L., Prakasha, H.M., Nanda, A., Krishnappa, M., Dattaraja,
H.S. & Suresh, H.S. (2010) Vegetation structure and floristic
composition of a tropical dry deciduous forest in Bhadra Wildlife
Sanctuary, Karnataka, India. Tropical Ecology, 51(2), 235-246.
Kumar, S., Dhankhar, S., Arya, V.D., Yadav, S. & Yadav, J.P. (2012) Antimicrobial
activity of Salvadora Oleoides Decne against some
microorganisms. Journal of Medical Plants Research, 6(14),
2754-2760.
Lakshmi, G. (1995) Ecological studies on the Kolli hills, Salem (Dt), Tamil
Nadu. PhD Thesis, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore.
MaGurran, E. (1988) Ecological Diversity and its Measurement. Princeton
University Press, Princeton.
Mathew, K.M. (2001) A Pocket flora of the Sirumalai hills, South India.
Missionprokur der Deutschen Jesuiten publication, Germany.
MEA (2005) Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Biodiversity Synthesis.
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Island Press, Washington,
D.C.
Mittermeier, R.A., Gil, R.P., Hoffman, M., Pilgrim, J., Brooks, T., Mittermeier,
C.G., Lamoreux, J., Fonseca, G.A.B. (2005) Hotspots
revisited: Earth’s bio- logically richest and most endangered terrestrial
eco-regions. Boston: University of Chicago Press. 392 pp.
Moutinho, P., & Schwartzman, S. (2005) Tropical deforestation and climate
change. Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental de Amazo ̆nia and
Environmental Defense Fund, Bele ́m, Par ́a, Brazil.
Ndah, N.R., Egbe, E.A. & Eneke, B. (2013) Species composition, diversity
and distribution in a disturbed Takamanda Rainforest, South
West, Cameroon. African Journal Plant Science, 7(12), 577-585.
Oksanen, L. (2004) The devil lies in details: reply to Stuart Hurlbert.
Oikos, 104(3), 598-605.
Padalia, H., Chauhan, N., Porwal, M.C. & Roy, P.S. (2004). Phytosociological
observations on tree species diversity of Andaman Islands,
India. Current Science, 87(6), 799-806.
Panda, P.C., Mahapatra, A.K., Acharya, P.K. & Debata A.K. (2013) Plant
diversity in tropical deciduous forests of Eastern Ghats, India: A
landscape assessment. International Journal of Biodiversity Conservation,
5(10), 625-639.
Pandey, S. (2000) Ethnobotany of Magars: a case study from Palpa district.
Central Department of Social Science, Tribhuvan University,
Kathmandu, Nepal. 65p.
Parthasarathy, N. & Karthikeyan, R. (1997) Plant biodiversity and conservation
of two tropical dry evergreen on the Coromandel
coast, south India. Biodiversity Conservation, 6, 1063-1083.
Parthasarathy, N. & Sethi, P. (1997) Tree and liana species diversity and
population structure in dry evergreen forest in south India. Tropical
Ecology, 38(1), 19-30.
Philips, O.L. & Gentry, A.H. (1994) Increasing turnover through time in
tropical forests. Science, 263, 954-958.
Pitchairamu, C., Muthucherian, K. & Siva, N. (2008). Floristic inventory
and quantitative analysis of tropical deciduous forest in Piranmalai
Forest, Eastern Ghats, Tamil Nadu, India. Ethnobotanical
Letters, 12, 204-216.
Pragasan, A. & Parthasarathy, N. (2010) Landscape-level tree diversity
assessment in tropical forests of southern Eastern Ghats, India.
Flora, 205(11), 728-737.
Rajeev, B.M.T. (2002) Wildlife Management Plan for Bannerghatta National
Park, 2003-04 to 2007-08. Government of Karnataka, India,
pp. 203.
Reddy, S.C. & Ugle, P. (2008) Tree species diversity and distribution patterns
in tropical forest of Eastern Ghats, India: a case study. Journal
of Life Sciences, 5(4), 87-93.
Seppala, R., Buck, A. & Katila, P. (2009) Executive summary and key
message: Adaptation of forests and people to climate change: A
global assessment report. IUFRO World Series 22. International
Union of Forest Research Organizations, Vienna.
Sobuj, N.A. & Rahman, M. (2011) Assessment of plant diversity in Khadimnagar
National Park of Bangladesh International Journal Environational
Sciences, 2(1), 1-13.
UNEP (2011) Emerging perspectives on forest biodiversity. UNEP Yearbook
2011, Nairobi, pp. 46-59.
Varma, S., Venkataraman, A., Sukumar, R. & Easa, P.S. (2005) Elephant
Corridors of Southern India. In: Right of Passage: Elephant
Corridors of India, ed. Menon, V., Tiwari., S.K., Easa P.S., R.
Sukumar(Eds.), Conservation Reference Series 3. WTI, New Delhi,
pp. 208-255.
Varma, S., Anand, V.D., Gopakrishna, S.P., Avinash, K.G. & Nishant, M.S.
(Eds) (2009) Ecology, Conservation and Management of the
Asian Elephant in Bannerghatta National Park, Southern India.
A Rocha India/ANCF: Asian Ecology and Conservation Reference
Series No. 1. A Rocha India and Asian Nature Conservation Foundation,
Bangalore.
Whitmore, T.C. (1998) An Introduction to Tropical Rain Forests, Second
ed., Oxford University Press, New York.
World Bank (2004) Sustaining Forests: A Development Strategy. World
Bank, Washington, D.C.
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How to Cite
Gopalakrishna, S. P., Kaonga, M. L., Somashekar, R. K., Suresh, H., & Suresh, R. (2015). Tree diversity in the tropical dry forest of Bannerghatta National Park in Eastern Ghats, Southern India. European Journal of Ecology, 1(2), 12-27. https://doi.org/10.1515/eje-2015-0013
