Effect of tree plantation on composition, standing biomass and diversity of ground vegetation on sodic land of North-East region of Uttar Pradesh

Abstract

The structure,composition, yield and diversity of ground vegetation under eight tree plantations on sodic wasteland were compared among each other and with an adjacent open stand. The communities were floristically distinct from each other on different stands. However, the community on open stand was relatively more similar with the communities under Eucalyptus tereticornis and Acacia catechu plantation stands than with other stands. The herbage yield was lowest on open stand and it was higher under Acacia auriculiformis and Casuarina equisetifolia plantation stands. The contribution of grasses to the total herbage yield was maximum (98%) on open stand and minimum (27%) under C. equisetifolia plantation stand. Herbage yield in the present study also indicated an inverse relationship with soil ESP and pH, thus suggesting that on improving the sodic level of the soil, the herbage yield also increased. Shannon – Wiener diversity was lower, while concentration of dominance was higher for ground vegetation on open stand than any of the plantation stand. Among the plantation stands, diversity was higher under A. catechu, E. tereticornis and Terminalia arjuna plantation stands than under other plantation stands. Diversity tended to show a positive relation with the herbage yield, whereas the relationships between diversity and soil ESP and pH were negative. Dominance-diversity curves for all the herbaceous communities fit the geometric series. Single species dominance is more pronounced in the community on open stand than the communities under tree plantation stands.