Abstract
The aim of this study is to investigate the changes in the composition of mature, naturally established and unmanaged TDF in response to small-scale variations in environmental factors. All woody species with a minimum circumference of 10 cm at 1.37 m height were surveyed in forty-five 20×50 m plots distributed over 5 sites in the TDF of Vindhyan highlands, India. Cluster analysis identified two distinct groups of plots. Group 1 plots had higher soil moisture content (SMC), clay, organic C, total N, total P, and light attenuation than group 2 plots. A total of 48 native species belonging to 25 families were encountered in the sampled area. High eigenvalues for the first two Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) axes indicated the occurrence of species in distinct groups, and significant correlations of the axes with environmental variables indicated the effect of these variables on species grouping. In conclusion, patchiness in the soil resources needs to be considered in restoration efforts. The results of this study are expected to facilitate the decision regarding choice of species in afforestation programmes for restoring the TDF.
Highlights
Tropical forests cover about 30% of the world’s land area and 50% of the world’s forested area which is around 4 billion ha [1, 2]
According to Singh et al [5], the tropical dry forest (TDF) is continuously decreasing in the Vindhyan region and the remnant forest cover exists in the form of noncontiguous patches of varying sizes dominated by single or mixed species
The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of small-scale variation in selected environmental factors on the composition of mature, naturally established and unmanaged TDF of Vindhyan highlands
Summary
Tropical forests cover about 30% of the world’s land area and 50% of the world’s forested area which is around 4 billion ha [1, 2]. In India, the share of TDF is 38.2% of the total forest cover [4]. According to Singh et al [5], the TDF is continuously decreasing in the Vindhyan region and the remnant forest cover exists in the form of noncontiguous patches of varying sizes dominated by single or mixed species. The rate of conversion from good to poor forest was 6.6% of the forested area each year and savannization in the forest area took place at a rate of 3.3% per year [6]. This calls for massive restoration efforts through reforestation
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