Structural and compositional variations in undisturbed and disturbed tropical forests of Bhuban hills in south Assam, India

Borah, Nepolion; Athokpam, Florida Devi; Garkoti, Satish Chandra; Das, Ashesh Kumar; Hore, D. K.

doi:10.1080/21513732.2013.873823

Cited by 30 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…This is in line with a recent global meta-analysis comparing biodiversity in protected and unprotected areas, clearly showing higher species richness within protected areas [52]. Various case studies also document impoverished floral richness in disturbed/managed forests [53][54][55]. In contrast to this, a recent review of papers based on European forests [56] reports higher vascular plant species richness in managed forests compared to unmanaged forests.…”

Section: Species Richness and Forest Managementsupporting

confidence: 78%

Managing Biodiversity: Impacts of Legal Protection in Mountain Forests of the Himalayas

Måren

Sharma²

2018

Forests

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Legal protection has been used as means of conserving forests and associated biodiversity in many regions of the world since the eighteenth century. However, most forests in the global south, even those within protected areas, are influenced by human activities. Himalayan forests harbour much of the biodiversity of the region, maintain subsistence livelihoods, and provide regional and global ecosystem services like water regulation, flood control, and carbon sequestration. Yet few studies have quantitatively studied the impacts of legal protection on forest health and biodiversity. We assess woody biodiversity and forest health in relation to legal protection and biomass extraction in forests inside and outside Langtang National Park in Nepal (n = 180). We found more woody species in protected forests. Of the 69 woody species recorded, 47% occurred at both sites. Within protected forests, we found differences in forest health largely related to the intensity of biomass extraction expressed as walking distance to settlement. The closer the forest was to settlements, the heavier degradation it suffered, showing that within agro-forestry systems in the Himalayas, the resource-consumer distance is typically determining the intensity of biomass extraction. Our research brings forth the need to better address the drivers of resource extraction from protected areas in order to mitigate this degradation. It also brings forth the need to contribute to the development of appropriate participatory management programmes outside areas of formal protection in order to sustain both biodiversity and ecosystem service delivery from these forests for the future.

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Section: Species Richness and Forest Managementsupporting

confidence: 78%

Managing Biodiversity: Impacts of Legal Protection in Mountain Forests of the Himalayas

Måren

Sharma²

2018

Forests

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“…Shannon Diversity Index values for this study ranged between 2.79 and 3.55. These values fall within the range (between 0.70 and 3.57) reported for tropical forests (Bhuyan et al 2003, Borah et al 2014, Sarkar & Devi 2014, Bajpai et al 2015, Vinayaka & Krishnamurthy 2016. However, the overall Shannon-Weiner diversity index for the whole study areas (5.11) is higher than what was obtained by Onyekwelu et al (2007) and Kent & Coker (1992).…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 51%

“…This reveals a lower level of species richness (Table 5). Simillar trend as this was reported by Borah et al (2014). This is due to more frequent and heavy extraction of forest resources such as collection of fuel wood and NTFPs by the Local people.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

“…These researchers reported a total of 95 species and 105 species in Xishuangbana, Chain tropical rainforest and India evergreen forest of Andaman Giant respectively. Various researchers have considered the use of Shannon wiener diversity index for the determination of forest community diversity in the tropics (Onyekwelu et al 2007, Adekunle & Olagoke 2008, Borah et al 2014, Boboye & Jimoh 2016. Shannon Diversity Index values for this study ranged between 2.79 and 3.55.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Phytoecological studies of some protected and degraded forest areas of Lowland Humid forest, Ondo state Nigeria: a Comparative approach

Iyagin¹,

Adekunle²

2017

Trop. Plant Res.

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This study compared the phytoecological characteristics of some protected areas [Strict nature reserve (SNR), Oluwa natural forest (ONF) and permanent sample plot 29 aimed at biodiversity conservation and a degraded forest not under reservation] in the lowland humid forest, Ondo state, Nigeria. Data were collected using Systematic Line Transect method with two parallel transects of 200 m apart for plot location. Four sample plots (25 m × 25 m) were laid alternately on each transect in each of the forests. In each plot, trees with DBH ≥ 10 cm were measured (diameters at the base, middle, top and total height), identified and classified into families and frequency of occurrence to ascertain the present status of the protected areas in term of tree diversity, abundance and yield. A total of 411 stems.ha -1 from 78 species and 30 families was recorded in the study sites. Celtis zenkeri, Cola gigantea and Funtumia elastica were common to all the forests. The DBH distribution curve of the species followed inverse J-shaped pattern with 49.4% of trees falling within the lowest diameter class (10-20 cm) while only 7.14% falls in the highest diameter class (>80 cm). SNR and ONF have emergent trees whose heights were above 30 m (18.7% and 7.02% of the total number of trees in the Sterculaceae and Meliaceae families, respectively) whereas 14.90 m was the highest height recorded in the free forest. On biovolume yield, ONF has the highest volume per hectare (141.06 m 3 ) while the least (14.56 m 3 ) was from the forest not under reservation. The Shannon-Weiner index, Pielou's Evenness index and Margalef's index for all the forest reserves are 5.11, 0.69 and 12.79 respectively with the highest for ONF. These indices indicated that the protected areas are mature and foster in-situ conservation of tree species especially the keystone species.

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“…For example, removal of live trees increases light levels in the forest, thereby modifying canopy structure , Villela et al 2006, altering tree density and diversity (Moktan et al 2009), and changing understorey characteristics (Aleixo 1999, Moktan et al 2009). The logging and forest extraction practices also change tree diversity and composition (Kumar and Shahabuddin 2005, Berry et al 2008, Sapkota et al 2009, Borah et al 2014. Other forms of extraction of woody biomass such as lopping of tree branches affects canopy structure.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of habitat extent and forest disturbance on bird communities in lowland nepal

Dahal¹

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Habitat loss and degradation are recognized as the major contributors to species decline and extinction, and therefore represent a key conservation challenge for biodiversity conservation. Key to the protection of biodiversity is acquisition of ecological knowledge about how anthropogenic forest disturbances affect species and how species respond to emergent landscape characteristics.Furthermore, it is also important to assess how different management approaches and land tenures influence retention of the biota of particular sites and of landscapes. However, this crucial ecological knowledge is yet to be obtained for the threatened lowland landscapes of Nepal.Protected areas cover only a small proportion of forests in lowland Nepal; the majority of forests outside the protected areas (off-reserve) have been managed by the state government. However, in recent years, community forestry programs have been increasingly popular as attempts to protect biodiversity while permitting consumptive forest use by people. It is therefore important to understand effectiveness of different forest management tenures for avifaunal conservation. I compared species richness, abundance, diversity and community composition of birds among sites in community forests, state forests and protected areas. Although sites in protected areas had the greatest richness of birds, community forests and state managed forests had complementary assemblages, supporting species not represented in protected areas. Vegetation characteristics such as large tree density, tree canopy cover and shrub density were also greater in community forests than in state-managed forests. The findings suggest that the community forestry approach appears to improve habitat quality compared to state-managed forests, and therefore can be an alternative tenure type for conservation of off-reserve forests and avifauna in the region.Subsistence forestry practices such as logging, lopping, and grazing are sources of forest disturbance in lowland Nepal. Such activities do not reduce forest area, but change habitat characteristics, potentially affecting biodiversity directly, and through interactions with landscape characteristics. I examined effects of forest use practices on species richness and abundance of forest birds, and whether landscape context such as the extent of forest cover moderates disturbance effects on birds. I found that extraction of forest products reduced forest structural complexity and altered the avifaunal community of a site. At the site level, large tree density, tree canopy cover and shrub density were important habitat characteristics, while the extent of forest cover in the landscape had the greatest influence on richness of birds. The effects of forest disturbance (livestock grazing and logging) intensity on birds depended on the extent of forest in the surrounding landscape, with strongest effects in sites with less surrounding forest. Thus, although iii site-level vegetation structure is important, maintenance of forest extent in the lan...

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Structural and compositional variations in undisturbed and disturbed tropical forests of Bhuban hills in south Assam, India

Cited by 30 publications

References 27 publications

Managing Biodiversity: Impacts of Legal Protection in Mountain Forests of the Himalayas

Managing Biodiversity: Impacts of Legal Protection in Mountain Forests of the Himalayas

Phytoecological studies of some protected and degraded forest areas of Lowland Humid forest, Ondo state Nigeria: a Comparative approach

Effects of habitat extent and forest disturbance on bird communities in lowland nepal

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