Aim The objective of this study was to document succession from grassland thickets to rain forest, and to provide evidence for their potential as restoration tools.Location The Linganamakki region (State of Karnataka) of the Central Western Ghats of India.Method We selected thirty vegetation thickets ranging from 4 to 439 m 2 in area in the vicinity of rain forest. The area of each small thicket was estimated as an oval using its maximum length and its maximum width. When the shape was irregular (mostly in large thickets) the limits of the thicket were mapped and the area calculated from the map. Plant species were identified, the number of individuals was estimated and their heights measured.Results There was a progression in the thickets from early to late successional species. Small thickets were characterized by ecotone species and savanna trees such as Catunaregam dumetorum. Savanna trees served as a nucleus for thicket formation. Colonizing species were mostly bird-dispersed. As succession proceeded in larger thickets, the proportion of evergreen, late-successional rain forest trees increased. The species composition of the large thickets differed depending on the species composition of reproductive adults in the nearby forested areas. The species within small thickets were also found in the large thickets. The nestedness in species composition suggested that species turnover was deterministic based on thicket size. Human disturbance (leaf and wood collection by the local populations) affected the species composition and the species-area relationship of thickets.Main conclusions Vegetation thickets are nodal centres for rain forest colonization within grasslands. They expand and replace savanna. Early successional bird-dispersed species established around savanna trees followed by late-successional rain forest trees dispersed from the nearby forest by birds. Restoration programmes that reproduce natural successional processes such as those observed in thickets will be more successful and less expensive than the methods currently being employed, where trees are individually planted in grassland. Wood harvesting is the only factor that prevents thicket growth and coalescence and hampers forest expansion.
This data set reports woody plant species abundances in a network of 96 sampling sites spread across 22 000 km2 in the central Western Ghats region, Karnataka, India (74°15′–75°40′ E; 15°15′–13°30′ N). Due to its varied climate and diverse topography, the study area, which is part of the Western Ghats–Sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot, supports a wide array of non‐equatorial tropical habitats including wet evergreen, moist and dry deciduous, and intact as well as degraded forests and scrublands. These formations, floristically moderately rich and diversified, are characterized by a lower rate of endemism than in the southern part of the Western Ghats. This data paper provides abundance and girth data for 76 813 trees and lianas of 446 species collected in 96 sampling sites during 1996–1997. A total of 61 965 individuals ≥10‐cm girth at breast height (gbh) were recorded in 96 1‐ha macroplots, while 14 848 individuals <10 cm gbh, but >1 m height, were sampled in three 0.1‐ha microplots located within each macroplot. Additional data regarding the stand structure (average canopy height, percent canopy cover, number of strata) and the level of degradation are available for the macroplots, along with environmental data derived from other sources and analyses, such as soil types, rainfall, length of the dry season, and altitude. These data have been used to produce ecological research papers, as well as to elaborate conservation value maps and recommendations toward sustainable management of the forests of the central Western Ghats region.
Abstract. We provide a data set on demography of trees monitored over 20 years in Uppangala permanent sample plot (UPSP) in undisturbed, old-growth wet evergreen Dipterocarp forest located within the Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary in India's Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot. During 1989During -1990, all trees !30 cm girth at breast height (gbh) were sampled in five north-south transects 20 m wide and 180 to 370 m long covering a total area of 3.12 ha. In 1992-1993, additional rectangular plots were established, bringing the total area sampled to 5.07 ha. In all, 3870 trees were identified, tagged, mapped, and provided with permanent dendrometer bands. Since then, the sampled area has been regularly censused at 3-5 year intervals, recording tree recruitment, mortality, and growth. We present data from censuses conducted in
A qualitative floristic exploration with life form classifications and monitoring of flowering and fruiting phenology has been carried out at a restored site near Puducherry, South India in 2009 and 2010. The species were classified into three categories based on their occurrence status, namely, Naturally Occurring, Naturally Regenerated and Introduced. The present study focuses only on two life forms, the Herbaceous and the Climbing plants. The site selected for eco-restoration originally comprised of an eroded and severely degraded landscape with scattered remnant species. However, active human intervention over a thirty year period included the introduction of appropriate plant species and other physical measures to enhance soil fertility and ground water level, and regenerate and conserve the deteriorating typical Tropical dry evergreen forest (TDEF) vegetation. A large number of naturally ccurring herbaceous, climbing species (172) and a consistent number of naturally regenerated species (44) are now observed as a result of eco-restoration. Lowland herbaceous species have also established themselves as a green cover at ground level. At present, parts of the area have fertile soils and rich floristic composition with the herbaceous life form represented by 165 species encompassed in 105 genera and 37 families, and the climbing plants represented by 68 species belonging to 54 genera and 25 families. ‘Genus to family’ and ‘species to genus’ ratios indicate the establishment of diverse vegetation in the study site. Nearly one third of the species have been observed flowering throughout the year and about half of the species were observed fruiting throughout the year. We emphasize that the two fold approach of land and vegetation reclamation has been very effective in helping restore the unique TDEF vegetation at the local level and the same may be extended to help regenerate and conserve the Coromandel Coastal vegetation at the regional scale.
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