Plant Community Composition and Carbon Stocks of a Community Reserve Forest in North-East India

Abstract

Anthropogenic activities are altering the structure and functioning of forests and their services to society. However, we know little about the degree to which such activities are changing the health of forests through edge effects in fragmented forests in different regions of the world. The present study was carried out in Minkong Community Reserve Forest of Nagaland (North-east India) with the aim to determine the effects of anthropogenic activities on floristic composition and diversity, population structure, and biomass and carbon (C) stocks in the core zone (CZ) and buffer zone (BZ) of the forest. We established 15 plots of 0.04 ha each in the two forest zones. We identified 31 trees, 18 shrubs, and 22 herbs in the CZ, and 22 trees, 25 shrubs, and 24 herbs in the BZ; tree species diversity was greater in the CZ whereas the diversity of shrubs and herbs was greater in the BZ. The values for tree density and basal area in the CZ and BZ were 303 and 197 individuals ha−1 and 32.6 and 22.2 m2 ha−1, respectively; in contrast, the shrub and herb density increased in the BZ (4470 and 50,200 individuals ha−1) compared to that of the CZ (2530 and 35,500 individuals ha−1). The total stand biomass (including that below-ground) was 327 Mg ha−1 in the CZ and 224 Mg ha−1 in the BZ. Similarly, the total ecosystem C stocks in the CZ and BZ were 224 Mg C ha−1 and 173 Mg C ha−1, indicating that the overall ecosystem C pool including soil in the CZ was approximately 30% greater than the BZ. These results show how fragmentation and anthropogenic disturbance can reduce forest diversity and C stocks and that community forest management can play a role in conserving biodiversity and act as an ecosystem management tool to mitigate climate change.