Abstract
The effect of browsing by Asian megaherbivores (i.e., mammals > 1000 kg) on forest structure has received little attention from ecologists, even though several species feed extensively on foliage and stems (Laurie 1978, Olivier 1978) and can distort tree growth (Mueller-Dombois 1972). The contemporary guild of large browsers includes Asiatic elephant (Elephas maximus L.), greater one-homed rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis L.), and Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus Desmarest). These mammals have coexisted with forest plants for millenia, and it is reasonable to assume that chronic herbivory has been an important selective force on certain Asian plant species as it has for plants in the Neotropics (Janzen 1986) and in Africa (OwenSmith 1987). The purpose of this study was to elucidate how large mammalian herbivores influence forest structure and canopy composition by inhibiting vertical growth of saplings that are frequently browsed and trampled. Specifically, I ask whether chronic browsing and bending of Litsea monopetala (Roxb.) (Lauraceae) by greater one-homed rhinoceros prevent most Litsea individuals from reaching the canopy. The participants in this interaction are common in the lowland riverine forests in the Royal Chitwan National Park (RCNP), Nepal (elevation 200 m). I present the results of a study conducted between 1985 and 1988 comparing growth response of Litsea saplings within and outside of protective exclosures from Rhinoceros unicornis (henceforth Rhinoceros). I suggest how size structure of woody
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