Abstract.
This study examined the impact of disturbance on the pattern of diversity, forest structure and regeneration of tree species in the Vindhyan dry tropical forest of India. A total of 1500 quadrats distributed over five, 3-ha permanent plots in five sites, differing in degree of disturbance, were used to enumerate and measure the tree species. A total of 65 species with 136,983 individuals were enumerated in the total 15-ha area for stems ≥ 30 cm height. The number of species and number of stems ranged from 12 to 50 and 8063–65331 per 3-ha area. The number of species and stems for trees ≥10 cm dbh ranged from 3 to 28 species, with a mean value of 16 species ha−1, and from 16 to 477 stems, with a mean value of 256 stems ha−1, respectively. The adult based PCA ordination indicated uniqueness of sites in terms of species composition and habitat characteristics. PCA ordination also showed uniqueness of sites in terms of seedling composition, but the seedling and adult distributions were not spatially associated. The distinct species composition at the different sites and at the two life-cycle stages on the same site is indicative of marked spatio-temporal dynamics of the dry tropical forest. The density–diameter semi-logarithmic curves ranged from a near linear to an overall concave appearance with a limited plateau in the mid-diameter ranges. The α-diversity and its components decreased with increasing disturbance intensity, reflecting enhanced utilization pressure with increasing disturbance. The site-wise and species-wise regression analyses of the number of individuals in different stages of the species revealed that both the level of disturbance and the nature of species strongly affect the regeneration. In conclusion, although the forest is relatively species-poor, the differential species composition on different sites and the temporal dynamics lend a unique level of diversity to the tropical dry deciduous forest.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
M.P. Austin (1977) ArticleTitleUse of ordination and other multivariate descriptive methods to study succession Vegetatio 3 165–175
N. Ayyappan N. Parthasarathy (1999) ArticleTitleBiodiversity of trees in a large-scale permanent plot of tropical evergreen forest at VaragalaiarAnamalais, Western Ghats, India Biodiversity and Conservation 8 1533–1544
N. Ayyappan N. Parthasarathy (2001) ArticleTitlePatterns of tree diversity within a large scale permanent plot of tropical evergreen forestWestern Ghats, India Ecotropica 7 61–76
D.M. Bhat M.B. Naik S.G. Patagar G.T. Hegde Y.G. Kanade G.N. Hegde C.M. Shastri D.M. Shetti R.M. Furtado (2000) ArticleTitleForest dynamics in tropical rain forests of Uttra Khannada district in Western Ghats, India Current Science 79 975–985
Biodiversity Pro 1997. www.sams.ac.uk/dml/projects/benthic/bdpro.
N.V.L. Brokaw (1985) Tree falls, regrowth and community structure in tropical forests T.A. Pickett P.S. White (Eds) The Ecology of Natural Disturbances and Patch Dynamics Academic Press Orlando, Florida 53–69
D.G. Campbell J.L. Stone A. Rosas SuffixJr. (1992) ArticleTitleA comparison of the phytosociology and dynamics of three floodplain (Varzea) forest of known ages, Rio, Jurua, Western Brazilian Amazoan Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 108 213–237
H.G. Champion S.K. Seth (1968) A Revised Survey of the Forest Types of India Government of India Publication New Delhi, India
R. Condit (1995) ArticleTitleResearch in large long-term tropical forest plots Trends in Ecology and Evolution 10 18–22
R. Condit P.S. Ashton P. Baker S. Bunyavejchewin S. Gunatilleke N. Gunatilleke et al. (2000) ArticleTitleSpatial patterns in the distribution of tree species Science 288 1414–1418 Occurrence Handle10827950 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DC%2BD3cXjslGkt7s%3D
R. Condidt S.P. Hubbell J.V. La Frankie R. Sukumar N. Manokaran R.B. Foster P.S. Ashton (1996) ArticleTitleSpecies-area and species–individual relationships for tropical trees: a comparison of three 50-ha plots Journal of Ecology 84 549–562
J.J. Ewel (1977) ArticleTitleDifferences between wet and dry successional tropical ecosystem Geo-Eco-Trop 1 103–117
C.B. Field C. Vazquezyanes (1993) ArticleTitleSpecies of the genus Piper provide a model to study how plants can grow in different kinds of rain-forest habitat Interciencia 18 230–236
U. Ghate N.V. Joshi M. Gadgil (1998) ArticleTitleOn the patterns of tree diversity in the Western Ghats of India Current Science 75 594–603
F.G. Goff D.C. West (1975) ArticleTitleCanopy-understorey interaction effects on forest population structure Forest Science 21 98–108
Harikant M.C. Ghildiyal (1982) Working Plan. Renukoot Forest Division South Circle Uttar Pradesh from 1982–83 to 1991–92 Working Plan Circle (2) Nainital, India
M.O. Hill (1973) ArticleTitleDiversity and evenness: a unifying notation and its consequences Ecology 54 427–432
D.H. Janzen (1988) ArticleTitleManagement of habitat fragments in a tropical dry forest: growth Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 75 105–116
C.S. Jha J.S. Singh (1990) ArticleTitleComposition and dynamics of dry tropical forest in relation to soil texture Journal of Vegetational Science 1 609–614
K.M. Kochummen J.V. LaFrankie SuffixJr. N. Manokaran (1990) ArticleTitleFloristic composition of Pasoh forest reserves, a lowland rainforest in peninsular Malaysia Journal of Tropical Forest Science 3 1–13
C.J. Krebs (1989) Ecological Methodology Harper and Row New York
P.J.D. Lambshead H.M. Platt K.M. Shaw (1983) ArticleTitleDetection of differences among assemblages of marine benthic species based on an assessment of dominance and diversity Journal of Natural History 17 859–874
Leak W.B. 1973. Species and structure of a virgin northern hardwood stand in New Hampshire. USDA Forest Services. Research. Note NE-181. 4 pp.
D. Lieberman M. Lieberman R. Peralaba G.S. Hartshorn (1996) ArticleTitleTropical forest structure and composition on a large scale altitudinal gradients in Costa Rica Journal of Ecology 84 137–152
N. Manokaran J.V. LaFrankie SuffixJr. (1990) ArticleTitleStand structure of Pasoh forest reserve a lowland rain forest in Peninsular Malaysia Jounal of Tropical Forest Science 3 14–24
D.R. Margalef (1958) ArticleTitleInformation theory in ecology Genetic Systems 3 36–71
P.G. Murphy A.E. Lugo (1986) ArticleTitleEcology of tropical dry forest Annual Reviews of Ecology and Systematics 17 67–88
J.P. Pascal R. Pelissier (1996) ArticleTitleStructure and floristic composition of a tropical evergreen forest in a south-west India Journal of Tropological Ecology 12 191–214 Occurrence Handle10.1017/S026646740000941X
O.L. Phillips A.H. Gentry (1994) ArticleTitleIncreasing turnover through time in tropical forests Science 263 954–958 Occurrence Handle17758638
H.M. Platt K.M. Shaw P.J.D. Lambshead (1984) ArticleTitleNematode species abundance patterns and their use in the detection of environmental perturbations Hydrobiologia 118 59–66
Rajya Niyojan Sansthan. 2000. Sankhykiya Patrika: Janpad Sonebhadra Karyalaya Arth aunam Sankhya Prabhag Rajya Niyojan Sansthan, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Ranney J.W. 1978. Edges of forest islands: structure comosition, and importance to regional forest dynamics. Ph.D. Thesis, Graduate Program in Ecology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee. Diss. Abstr. Int. vol. 39: 2648–2648-B. Univ. Microfilm no. 782334. 193 pp.
B. Rollet (1974) L’Architecture des Forets Denses Humides Sempervirentes do Plaine CTFT Nogent-sur-Marne, France
R. Sagar A.S. Raghubanshi J.S. Singh (2003) ArticleTitleTree species composition, dispersion and diversity along a disturbance gradient in a dry tropical forest region of India Forest Ecology and Management 186 61–71
R. Sagar J.S. Singh (2003) ArticleTitlePredominant phenotypic traits of disturbed tropical dry deciduous forest vegetation in northern India Community Ecology 4 IssueID1 63–71
A.K. Saxena J.S. Singh (1984) ArticleTitleTree population structure of certain Himalayan forest associations and implications concerning their future composition Vegetatio 58 61–69
A.K. Saxena S.P. Singh J.S. Singh (1984) ArticleTitlePopulation structure of forests of Kumaun Himalaya: implications for management Journal of Environmental Management 190 307–324
R.M. Scheller D.J. Mladenoff (2002) ArticleTitleUnderstory species patterns and diversity in old-growth and managed northern hardwood forests Ecological Applications 12 1329–1343
C.E. Shannon W. Weaver (1949) The Mathematical Theory of Communication University of Illinois Press Urbana, Illinois
H.H. Shugart SuffixJr. D.C. West (1980) ArticleTitleForest succession models BioScience 30 308–313
J.S. Singh A.S. Raghubanshi R.S. Singh S.C. Srivastava (1989) ArticleTitleMicrobial biomass acts as a source of plant nutrients in dry tropical forests and savanna Nature 338 499–500
J.S. Singh K.P. Singh M. Agrawal (1991) ArticleTitleEnvironmental degradation of the Obra-Renukoot-Singrauli area India and its impact on natural and derived ecosystems Environmentalist 11 171–180
K.P. Singh J.S. Singh (1988) ArticleTitleCertain structural and functional aspects of dry tropical forests and savanna International Journal of Ecology Environmental Science 14 31–45
V.P. Singh J.S. Singh (1989) ArticleTitleMan and forests: a case study from the dry tropics of India Environmental Conservation 16 129–136
V.P. Singh J.S. Singh (1992) ArticleTitleEnergetics and environmental costs of agriculture in a dry tropical region of India Environmental Management 16 495–503
InstitutionalAuthorNameSPSS. (1997) SPSS Base 7.5. Applications Guide SPSS Inc. Chicago, Illinois
InstitutionalAuthorNameUNESCO/UNEP/FAO (1978) Tropical Forest Ecosystems: A State-of-Knowledge Report UNESCO Paris, France
M.D. Upadhyay S.C.N. Srivastava (1980) Working Plan, Obra Forest Division, South Circle Uttar Pradesh from 1980–81 to 1989–90. Working Plan Circle (2). Nainital, India
R. Valencia H. Balslev G.C.P.Y. Mino (1994) ArticleTitleHigh tree alpha-diversity in Amazonian Ecuador Biodiversity Conservation 3 21–28
C.O. Webb D.R. Peart (2000) ArticleTitleHabitat associations of trees and seedlings in a Bornean rain forest Journal of Ecology 88 464–478
D.C. West H.H. Shugart SuffixJr. J.W. Ranney (1981) ArticleTitlePopulation structure of forest over a large area Forest Science 27 701–710
R.H. Whittaker (1972) ArticleTitleEvolution and measurement of species diversity Taxon 21 213–251
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sagar, R., Singh, J.S. Structure, diversity, and regeneration of tropical dry deciduous forest of northern India. Biodivers Conserv 14, 935–959 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-004-0671-6
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-004-0671-6