Impact of dry season fire on tree diversity of a tropical dry forest in Bandipur National Park

Abstract

A study was conducted at the tropical dry forest of Bandipur, south India, to understand the impact of dry season fire on survival and mortality of different species. A total of 4235 trees belonging to 66 species were enumerated in both burnt and un-burnt areas of Bandipur National Park. Standard vegetation indices were calculated to characterize the natural vegetation of the park. Of the total 2679 trees were recorded from burnt area. Fire resulted in mortality of 679 trees belonging to 33 species. Tectona grandis (Teak) suffered maximum mortality because of fire followed by Anogeissus latifolia . Large proportion of Anogeissus latifolia and Terminalia crenulata trees survived the fire. Mortality of different species was significantly related to the population sizes of each species and also the survival of each species. There was a disproportionate mortality across different size classes. Key words: Tropical dry forest, Bandipur, tree diversity, fire, mortality, survival