Tree community structure, regeneration and patterns of diversity in natural and plantation forest ecosystem

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1 2017 RELS ISSN: Res. Environ. Life Sci. 10(4) (2017) in natural and plantation forest ecosystem D.K. Yadav and M.K. Jhariya* Department of Farm Forestry, Sarguja University, Ambikapur , C.G., India * (Received: June 26, 2016; Revised received: December 19, 2016; Accepted: December 25, 2016) Abstract: The natural and plantation forest both have their economic and ecological significance. The community structure, regeneration and diversity status shows the health of the forest/stand which is further necessary to plan its conservation priority, sustainable development and management. Therefore, keeping this view in mind the present study was carried out to evaluate the natural and plantation forest ecosystem of Sarguja forest division of Chhattisgarh with the objective to assess the composition, regeneration and diversity pattern of different layers viz., tree, sapling and seedling. A total of 17 species were recorded in natural forest out of which 9 species comprising 8 families was recorded for tree layer, whereas total of 6 species were recorded in plantation site out of which 2 species with 2 families was found in the tree layer, respectively. In sapling layer a total of 6 species with 6 families was encountered in natural forest while it was 3 species with 3 families for plantation site, respectively. In seedling layer a total of 7 species comprising 7 families were found whereas 6 species with 5 families was recorded for plantation site, respectively. The density varied from 520 to 860 individuals ha -1 for tree layer, 2500 to 5500 individuals ha -1 for sapling layer and 9500 to individuals ha -1 for seedling layer. The value of Shannon index was highest in natural forest except for the seedling layer whereas the Simpsons index was higher in plantation site except the seedling layer. Species richness is showing the similar trend as the Shannon index whereas the value of equitability was much higher in natural forest than the plantation site, while the value of beta diversity is more in plantation site. Key words: Density, Diversity, Natural forest, Plantation Introduction Forests are dynamic source of energy, floral and faunal diversity, alleviate poverty as well as mitigate climate change. At the same time forests are influenced by different factors like forest fire, grazing, lopping, illicit felling, change in land use pattern etc., promote to the invade of undesirable species. These factors are causing great loss to biodiversity and ultimately destructing the natural vegetation and habitat of the region (Singh and Singh, 1991; Jha and Singh, 1990; Singh, 2002; Singh et al., 2006 & 2009; Yadav and Singh, 2010; Jhariya et al., 2012; Bargali et al., 2014; Pawar et al., 2014a & b). Anthropogenic disturbance cause a significant impact on regeneration of species, composition, diversity, biomass and carbon storage of the tropics (Jhariya et al., 2014; Pawar et al., 2014a & b). The tropical forests play vital role in global carbon cycle both in terms of carbon flux and the volume of carbon storage and spread over the 1376 m ha area worldwide form 60% of the global forests. Forests are natural storehouses of biomass and carbon (FAO, 2005). In India, tropical forests cover nearly m ha of total geographical area which comes out to be 81.96% of the actual forest covers of which nearly one third falls in the type of tropical moist deciduous (33.92%) and 30.16% falls under dry deciduous forest (FSI, 2009). The shifts in species composition in natural forest occur slowly under normal conditions but catastrophic disturbances like frequent fires can reduce structural and biological complexity in forests (Jhariya et al., 2012 & 2014; Kittur et al., 2014a & b). Tree species diversity in the tropics varies dramatically from place to place (Pitman, 2002). Much concern has been put on tropical forests due to their species richness, high standing biomass and greater productivity. In present time, scale of plantation forestry has increased considerably (Sinha et al., 2014 and 2015; Kumar et al., 2013 & 2014; Bhagat et al., 2014). This leads to extend the forest area and became a key of success to rehabilitate degraded forest and to reclaim disturbed sites, maintain and increase overall biodiversity and mitigate global climate changes. Teak (Tectona grandis Linn. f.) belongs to Verbenaceae family and pre-dominantly tropical or sub-tropical in distribution. The genus Tectona is represented world over by three species namely Tectona grandis Linn. f., Tectona hamilttoniana Wall. and Tectona philippinensis Benth and Hooker. f. In India only Tectona grandis is widely distributed with maximum genetic variability and distributed over an area of 8.9 million hectare. The plantations of forest tree have a small contribution to the total balance of terrestrial carbon (3.8% or 140 million ha of the world s total forest area; FAO, 2006) but their potential to absorb and store carbon has a great role in the mitigation of climate change (Canadell et al., 2007). The practices of plantation that disturbed the natural as well as plantation ecosystem at least, maintain the originality of structure of forests likely to be more sustainable (Sahu et al., 2013). Understanding vegetation changes or shifts following the interference caused by different factors is essential for developing management practices involving natural regeneration and to maintain the overall biodiversity, productivity and sustainability. The information related to species presence with their distribution over an area gives a key idea for prioritizing sites for the management and conservation (Jhariya et al., 2012 & 2014). Therefore, the present study attempts to assess the floristic composition, diversity, Research in Environment and Life Sciences 383 April, 2017

2 population structure and regeneration status of the natural and plantation forest ecosystem of Sarguja forest division of Chhattisgarh. Materials and Methods The present investigation is carried out to examine the diversity pattern in natural forest of Chendra and teak plantation of Sumerpur (Chendra, range Dhaurpur, 23 o to 23 o north latitude and 83 o " to 83 o east longitude, established in the year 1962, Beat No. 2589, Ganjhadand, Coupe No. VII and area about 47 ha) of Sarguja forest division. Surguja district is located in the northern part of Chhattisgarh State of India. Borders of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh States are adjoining to the district (Yadav et al., 2015; Jhariya and Yadav, 2016). This district has over extension between south-eastern parts of Vindhyachal-Baghelkhand region of peninsular India. It lies between 23 o to 24 o 6 17 north latitude and 81 o 31 40" to 84 o 4 40 east longitude km long east to west and broad north to south, this land has an area of about sq. km. The district Sarguja is represented by very rich vegetation and biological diversity (Sinha et al., 2014 & 2015). About 58% of the area in the district lies under forests. The flora of Nazzul and other areas are changing frequently with the human activities and land-use. The physiographic division of the regions are: highlands, uplands and central plain. Main rivers of the district are Kanhar, Moran, Rihand and Mahan. The climate of district is characterized by a hot summer and well distributed rainfall during the monsoon season. Soil of Surguja district can be broadly classified in four major classes: Red and Yellow Soils, Alluvial Soils, Laterite Soils and Medium blue Soils, respectively. The stratified random sampling was laid out to analyze the vegetation for its composition, structure and diversity in natural and plantation forest ecosystem. The tree layer was analyzed by randomly laying quadrats of size 10 x 10 m. The girth at breast height (i.e., 1.37 m above the ground) of all the trees and saplings in each quadrat was measured and recorded individually. In each of these quadrats, a sub-quadrat of 2 x 2 m size was randomly laid for measuring saplings and seedlings. The seedlings (<10 cm GBH) were measured at the collar height. Vegetational data was quantitatively analysed for frequency, density and abundance (Curtis and McIntosh, 1950). Diversity parameters for tree, sapling and seedling layers were determined using the Shannon-Weaver information function (Shannon and Weaver, 1963). Concentration of dominance was measured following Simpson s index method (Simpson, 1949). Vegetations were also measured for species richness (Marglef, 1958), equitability (Pielou, 1966) and Beta diversity (Whittaker, 1972). The population structures were developed based on different tree girth classes. The total numbers of individuals belonging to these girth classes were calculated for each species on each site following Saxena and Singh (1984), Tripathi et al. (1991) and Jhariya et al. (2012). Regeneration status of species was totally based on population size of the seedlings and saplings (Khan et al., 1987). Results and Discussion Floristic Composition: In the natural forest, a total of 520 individual ha -1 comprising 9 species were recorded for tree layer (Table 1). The highest density (320 trees ha -1 ), frequency (100), basal area ( m 2 ha -1 ) and IVI (155.64) values were recorded for Shorea Research in Environment and Life Sciences 384 robusta. The natural forest is dominated by Shorea robusta (61.54% of the total). The basal area and IVI ranged between to m 2 ha -1 and to , respectively. The abundance to frequency ratio indicated that all the species recorded in tree layer distributed randomly. In teak plantation site two species representing two families were recorded. The total density of plantation site was 860 individual ha -1 in which Tectona grandis contributed 97.67% in total (Table 1). The total basal area of the plantation site was m 2 ha -1. Teak is distributed contagiously over the site, while Terminalia tomentosa followed random distribution pattern. Sapling layer representing 6 species and 6 families were in natural forest site with the total density of 5500 individual ha -1 while in the plantation site it was 3 species and 3 families with the density of 2500 individual ha -1. The values of basal area in the natural and plantation forest site were m 2 ha -1 and m 2 ha -1, respectively. In natural forest only Shorea robusta distributed regularly while the remaining species were distributed randomly and contagiously. Similarly in teak plantation all recorded species showed random distribution pattern (Table 2). In seedling layer a total of 7 species comprising 7 families were found in natural forest whereas 6 species with 5 families were recorded for plantation site, respectively. The total density of seedlings varied from 9500 to individual ha -1 being least at plantation site and highest in natural forest (Table 3). The density of individual species in natural forest and plantation site ranged between individual ha -1 and individual ha -1, respectively. The basal area and IVI values of individual species ranged from m 2 ha -1 and , whereas in teak plantation it varied from m 2 ha -1 and , respectively. Abundance to frequency ratio indicated that only Diospyrous melanoxylon was distributed regularly and Flemingia sp. contagiously while all the remaining species in natural forest site showed random distribution pattern. In the plantation site Terminalia tomentosa was distributed regularly and Cassia fistula contagiously while the remaining species revealed random distribution. Diversity pattern: Diversity pattern of the species found in both the sites are summarized in table 4. In natural forest the values of Shannon index (H ) were 2.056, and 2.117, while it was 0.159, and in the plantation site, respectively for tree, sapling and seedling layer. The value of Shannon index was highest in natural forest except for the seedling layer which found more in plantation site. The Simpson s index value was more in the plantation site in tree and sapling layer, whereas it was highest in natural forest in case of seedling layer. The values of species richness showed similar trend as the Shannon index whereas the value of equitability was much higher in natural forest than the plantation site. The value of beta diversity was more in plantation site (5.00 for tree layer, 3.00 for sapling layer and 1.83 for seedling layer) as compared to natural forest ecosystem (1.11 for tree layer, 1.50 for sapling layer and 1.57 for seedling layer). Population structure and regeneration status: The regeneration pattern of a stand or site can be well represented by the population structure of a forest ecosystem (Fig. 1 & 2). It is revealed from the population structure that the seedlings in natural forest i.e., size class A (46.38%) and sapling i.e., size class B (15.94%) exhibited much proportion as compared to plantation site (28.36% seedling and 7.46% sapling). On the other hand, the older size class of tree layer showed April, 2017

3 Table-1: Species composition of tree layer in Natural forest and Teak plantation in Sarguja Forest Division Species Natural forest Teak plantation F D BA IVI A/F F D BA IVI A/F Aegel marmelous (L.) Anogeissus latifolia Wall Cassia fistula Linn Diospyrous melanoxylon Roxb Lannea coromandelica (Houtt.) Merr Madhuca latifolia Roxb Mitragyna parviflora Roxb Shorea robusta Gaertn.f Tectona grandis Linn. f Terminalia tomentosa W& A Total D= Density (individuals ha 1 ), BA= Basal area m 2 ha 1, A/F= Abundance to Frequency ratio, IVI= Importance Value Index Table-2: Species composition of sapling layer in Natural forest and Teak plantation in Sarguja Forest Division Species Natural forest Teak plantation F D BA IVI A/F F D BA IVI A/F Adina cardifolia Hook.f Buchanania lanzan Spreng Cassia fistula Linn Jatropha curcas L Lagerstroemia parviflora Roxb Madhuca latifolia Roxb Saccopetalum tomentosum H.F.&Thoms Shorea robusta Gaertn.f Tectona grandis Linn. f Total D= Density (individuals ha 1 ), BA= Basal area m 2 ha 1, A/F= Abundance to Frequency ratio, IVI= Importance Value Index Table-3: Species composition of seedling layer in Natural forest and Teak plantation in Sarguja Forest Division Species Natural forest Teak plantation F D BA IVI A/F F D BA IVI A/F Cassia fistula Linn Diospyrous melanoxylon Roxb Flemingia sp Jatropha curcas L Madhuca latifolia Roxb Phyllanthus emblica L Schleichera oleosa Willd Shorea robusta Gaertn.f Syzygium cumini (L.) Tectona grandis Linn. f., Terminalia tomentosa W&A Total D= Density (individuals ha 1 ), BA= Basal area m 2 ha 1, A/F= Abundance to Frequency ratio, IVI= Importance Value Index greater proportion in the plantation site i.e., 64.18% (contributed 26.87% have fair regeneration status. In the present study marked variations by size class C, 34.33% by D and 2.98% by E), while in natural forest in species composition, structure, diversity and regeneration status 37.68% proportion covered by the older size class (tree layer i.e., was observed. The community of an ecosystem is mainly altered by 23.18%, 8.70% and 5.80%, respectively of the size class C, D and E). the disturbance regimes, which ultimately influences the overall structure The regeneration status of the species is totally based upon of the community resulting in fluctuation in the population dynamics. the population size of seedlings and saplings. The value of the Structural analysis of vegetation entail the floristic composition, stand regeneration status is presented in the table 5. The values shows that density, basal area, vertical stratification and community types, while in natural forest nearly 11.77% species had good regeneration diversity provides information on species richness, distribution and potential, 29.41% species fair regeneration while 35.29% species rate of change in species composition. Both structure and diversity of were not regenerating. Shorea robusta and Madhuca latifolia showed vegetation have strong functional role in controlling ecosystem process. the good regeneration potential in this site. In the plantation site 50% Tree species diversity, distribution and population structure provide species showed good regeneration and remaining 50% species baseline information for conservation and management of the forest. Research in Environment and Life Sciences 385 April, 2017

4 Table-4: Species diversity in Natural forest and Teak plantation in Sarguja Forest Division Diversity Index Tree layer Sapling layer Seedling layer Natural Forest Teak Plantation Natural Forest Teak Plantation Natural Forest Teak Plantation Shannon Index (H) Simpsons Index (CD) Species richness (d) Equitability (e) Beta Diversity (βd) Table-5: Regeneration status of species in Natural forest and Teak plantation in Sarguja Forest Division Site The density of the natural forest resembles with the value reported for various parts of the Chhattisgarh viz., Bargali et al. (2014) (worked at Barnawapara wildlife Sanctuary and reported 650 trees ha -1 in open canopy forest and 1520 trees ha -1 in closed canopy), Kittur et al. (2014a) (worked at Achanakmar-Amarkantak biosphere reserve and reported tree density from trees ha -1 ), Pawar et al. (2014b) (worked at Katghora forest division, Korba district and reported the density between trees ha -1 ), Jhariya et al. (2012) (worked at Bhoramdeo wildlife sanctuary, Kawardha and reported that tree density ranged from trees ha -1 ). Tree density in the Vindhyan region ranges between 294 and 627 stems ha -1 for several dry tropical forest communities (Singh and Singh, 1991; Jha and Singh, 1990) which are comparable with present findings. The present value of tree density was higher than 484 stems ha -1 reported by Shankar (2001) for sal dominated forest of Eastern Himalaya and Upadhyay et al. (2008) reported tree density from stems ha -1 for moist deciduous forest. The density value of the plantation site were well within the range of various work reported from different part as Meghalaya, India (864 trees ha -1 for teak plantation & 1110 trees ha -1 for sal plantation reported by Thapa et al., 2013), whereas the sapling density was 1432 trees ha -1 and 2880 trees ha -1 for teak and sal plantation and seedling density was seedlings ha -1 and seedlings ha -1 for teak and sal plantation), Costa Rica (156 trees ha -1 to 1600 trees for 5 to 46 years old teak plantation reported by Cordero and Kanninen, 2003), Panama (566 and 723 trees ha -1 for teak plantation reported by Kraenzel et al., 2003), Madhya Pradesh, India ( trees ha -1 of teak forest reported by Pande 2005), Chhattisgarh, India ( trees ha -1 in plantation site reported by Sahu et al., 2013). The value of basal area of the natural forest are comparable with Vindhyan region reported by Jha and Singh (1990) between 6.58 and m 2 ha -1 and 26.3 m 2 ha -1 in sal dominated forest of Eastern Himalaya (Shankar, 2001). Pawar et al. (2014b) reported that tree basal cover varied from to m 2 ha -1 on three different sites. The present estimated value were well within the range of value m 2 ha -1 reported by Jhariya (2014), while the Kittur et al. (2014a) have reported the basal area of tropical moist deciduous forest of Chhattisgarh was m 2 ha -1. Quigley and Platt (2003) reported mean basal area from m 2 ha -1 at seasonally deciduous forest of America. Khatri (2000) reported total basal area at Satpura National park (M.P.) between m 2 Regeneration status (in percentage) Good regeneration Fair regeneration Poor regeneration Not regenerating Natural Forest Teak Plantation ha -1. The present basal cover values were higher than the values reported for several dry tropical forest communities. The basal area in tropical dry deciduous forest was m 2 ha -1 (Singh and Singh, 1991); m 2 ha -1 (Jhariya et al., 2012) and was m 2 ha -1 in tropical dry deciduous forest of Bhadra wildlife sanctuary (Krishnamurthy et al., 2010). Nirmal Kumar et al. (2010) have reported the average basal area ranging from m 2 ha -1. The basal area value of the plantation site were comparable with the findings of Sahu et al. (2013), reported the basal area value of to m 2 ha -1 for teak plantation of dry tropics. Thapa et al. (2011) measured the basal area of teak and sal plantation as m 2 ha -1 for teak plantation and m 2 ha -1 for sal plantation, respectively. Abundance to frequency ratio was used to assess the distribution pattern of species. The abundance to frequency ratio in the present study revealed that large proportion of the species recorded in the study area showed random and contagious distribution pattern, whereas regular distribution was found insignificant over the area. Odum (1971) has explained that in the nature driven environment contagious distribution was most common while in the uniform environmental condition random distribution was found. Similarly, Jhariya et al. (2012); Jhariya, (2014) and Kittur et al. (2014a) described that most of the species documented in the investigated area follow the contagious and random distribution pattern whereas the regular distribution was negligible. The site conditions viz., edaphic, climatic and biotic factors has great impact on species richness of the forest ecosystem (Ayappan and Parthasarathy, 1999). The teak plantations are not considered species rich but have a diversity of life forms. The diversity parameters of these forests was also comparable with the earlier findings reported in India (Singh and Singh, 1991; Bargali et al., 2014, Kittur et al., 2014a; Jhariya, 2014). Jha and Singh (1990) reported the diversity parameters for the dry tropical forest of the Vindhayan region were ranged from (Shannon index), (equitability), (Simpson s index) and (beta diversity). Pawar et al. (2014b) showed the value of Shannon index for tree layer was ranged from , species richness from , Cd value from , equitability and beta diversity from , whereas for sapling layer the Shannon value was , species richness from , Cd value from , equitability from and beta diversity from For seedling layer these values were (Shannon Research in Environment and Life Sciences 386 April, 2017

5 Fig. 1: Population structures of major tree species in Natural forest ecosystem Fig. 2: Population structures of major tree species in Teak plantation site Research in Environment and Life Sciences 387 April, 2017

6 index), (species richness), (Cd), (equitability) and (beta diversity), respectively. Jhariya et al. (2012) have reported the Shannon index value for tropical deciduous forest were ranged from for tree layer, for sapling layer and for seedling layer, whereas the equitability were ranged from , and , respectively for tree, sapling and seedling layer. Species richness for tree was , for sapling was and for seedling was , while the concentration of dominance were (tree layer), (sapling layer) and (seedling layer). The value of beta diversity was , and for tree, sapling and seedling layer, respectively. The diversity indices of the plantation site of the present study are comparable with the findings made by Sahu et al. (2013) who worked on teak plantation in tropics and reported the Shannon index value for tree was , for sapling and for seedling 1.07 to The Cd values for tree layer were , for sapling layer were and for seedling layer were Species richness varied from for tree, for sapling and for seedling layer, whereas the value of equitability for tree layer was ; for sapling layer it was , while for seedling layer it was Beta diversity was varied from for tree layer; for sapling and for seedling layer, respectively. Thapa et al. (2011) have stated the values of Shannon index for teak plantation was 1.81, equitability was 0.51 and concentration of dominance was 0.36 whereas in the sal plantation the respective values were 2.93, 0.69 and 0.14 which was found in the line agreement with the present findings. Manhas et al. (2011) reported the Shannon index value for teak plantation was 1.16, concentration of dominance was 0.48 and equitability was Prasad and Pandey (1992) worked on sal and teak forests of M.P. and showed the species diversity varied from and concentration of dominance from Tripathi and Singh (2009) presented the diversity indices of natural and plantation forest of North India and reported the value of Shannon index was 1.19 and 0.62 for natural and plantation forest, species richness was 1.24 and 0.76, equitability was 0.81 and 0.41 and beta diversity was 1.96 and 1.21 for natural and plantation, respectively. Seedlings, saplings and trees, the three life stages for different species revealed their possible future status in the ecosystem. The diameter class distribution of trees has often been used to represent the population structure of forests (Saxena and Singh, 1984; Khan et al., 1987, Dhaulkhndi et al., 2008; Jhariya et al., 2012). It was observed in both site studied there were larger proportion of the small size class of the population i.e., size class A, exemplified as Diospyrous melanoxylon, Flemingia sp., Shorea robusta and Syzygium cumini in natural forest while all the recorded species except the Tectona grandis in plantation site. A major population of individuals in smaller size classes compared to upper size classes (i.e., tree) as the structure represents frequent reproduction (Knight, 1975; West et al., 1981). Due to various factors in the site conditions, the species could not reach in the subsequent classes like sapling or tree as a dominant species. The older size class E were found almost negligible, only the dominant species of the site were representing all the size class exemplified as Shorea robusta and Tectona grandis in Research in Environment and Life Sciences 388 natural and plantation site, respectively. Such types of scenario of the sites indicate the heavy exploitation of older individuals and greater mortality among young individuals (West et al., 1981). The regeneration status of natural and plantation site differ considerably. The seedlings and saplings density values were considered as species regeneration potential. The presence of good regeneration potential shows suitability of a species to the site conditions. Environmental condition and biotic disturbances alter the species regeneration in particular sites. Seedling density values get reduced to sapling and subsequent size class due to the different abiotic and biotic disturbance and due to the competition for the sharing of resources. Good and Good (1972) explained that there are three major components which cause the success of species regeneration. These were the ability to initiate new seedlings, ability of seedlings and saplings to survive and the ability of seedlings and saplings to grow in the given site in a specific period of time. Jhariya and Oraon (2012a) have reported that the species recorded in different sites were differed greatly according to disturbances faced by the site. The species showed % (good regeneration), % (fair regeneration), % (poor regeneration) and % (not regenerating) which was found in the line agreement of the present study. Based on the results presented above it is clear from the study that there is significant difference between the natural and plantation forest ecosystem in all respect. However, plantations site are not species rich but have a diversity of life forms. With suitable management practices, commercial benefits as well as the potential biodiversity can be increased of the site. The magnitude of the interference greatly influences the species composition, structure, regeneration status and species diversity. The presence of a large number of seedlings in the natural forest site is good indicator and has a great potential scope for sustainable future regeneration of the forest, provided that appropriate management regimes can be employed. Hence, these forests have a tremendous potential if they are managed and used sustainably. Therefore, study suggests that protection measures are needed for degraded forests for the conservation of biodiversity of the region. The present study can be used as the biodiversity indicator and management tools/strategies for researchers, foresters and policy makers. Acknowledgment The authors are thankful to the forest department of Ambikapur, Sarguja (C.G.), India for necessary support. 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