Woody vegetation and soil composition of tropical forest along an altitudinal gradient in Western Ghats, India
##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.sidebar##
Issue
Section
Articles
##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.main##
HONEY BHATT
♥
S. GOPAKUMAR
P. S. BHINDHU
Vishnu BR
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9741-7923
HARSHIT PANT JUGRAN
Abstract
Abstract. Bhatt H, Gopakumar S, Bhindhu PS, Vishnu BR, Jugran HP. 2024. Woody vegetation and soil composition of tropical forest along an altitudinal gradient in Western Ghats, India. Asian J For 8: 51-62. The altitudinal gradient significantly influences the diversity and spatial distribution of biodiversity in mountainous areas. Exploring tree species diversity patterns provides valuable insights into the factors influencing woody community structures in unexplored areas within the Western Ghats, India, a biodiversity hotspot. This study examined the floristic attributes of woody vegetation and soil composition along an altitudinal gradient (350-1450 m asl) in the tropical evergreen forest in Mankulam Forest Division, Western Ghats, Kerala, India. Along this gradient, the vegetation survey recorded 199 individuals, encompassing 88 tree species from 34 families. Species composition, tree abundance, diversity, and frequency increased with elevation while basal area decreased. Clausena anisata (Willd.) Hook.fil. and Memecylon talbotianum Brandis were dominant in the lower zone (350-900 m asl), while Actinodaphne bourdillonii Gamble and Litsea keralana Kosterm. were dominant in the higher zone (900-1450 m asl). Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) revealed intricate interrelationships amongst species clustering, altitudinal spans, and soil properties. A gradual increase in species abundance was observed as the soil compositions increased along the altitude. A marked change in tree vegetation and soil concentrations was observed along this gradient, implying the distribution pattern difference across the altitudinal gradient. It is observed that under prevailing climate change conditions, any significant changes could disrupt this biodiversity hotspot and jeopardize the distinctive fauna and flora that rely on it. The study highlights the cruciality of policy development and its implementation through the forest department and policymakers to conserve and manage this rich biodiversity region.
2017-01-01
##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.details##
References
Abu-Hamdeh NH, Al-Jalil HF. 1999. Hydraulically powered soil core sampler and its application to soil density and porosity estimation. Soil Tillage Res 52 (1-2): 113-120. DOI: 10.1016/S0167-1987(99)00064-1.
Admassu A, Teshome S, Ensermu K, Abyot D, Alemayhu K. 2016. Floristic composition and plant community types of Agama Forest, an Afromontane Forest in Southwest Ethiopia. J Ecol Nat Environ 8: 55-69. DOI: 10.5897/JENE2015.0547.
Anitha K, Joseph S, Chandran RJ, Ramasamy EV, Prasad SN. 2010. Tree species diversity and community composition in a human-dominated tropical forest of Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot, India. Ecol Complex 7 (2): 217-224. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecocom.2010.02.005.
Armenteras D, Rodriguez N, Retana J. 2009. Are conservation strategies effective in avoiding the deforestation of the Colombian Guyana shield? Biol Conserv 142: 1411-1419. DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2009.02.002.
Bacaro G, Rocchini D, Bonini I, Marignani M, Maccherini S, Chiarucci A. 2008. The role of regional and local scale predictors for plant species richness in Mediterranean forests. Plant Biosyst 142 (3): 630-642. DOI: 10.1080/11263500802411064.
Bose R, Ramesh BR, Pélissier R, Munoz F. 2019. Phylogenetic diversity in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot reflects environmental filtering and past niche diversification of trees. J Biogeogr 46 (1): 145-157. DOI: 10.1111/jbi.13464.
Bremner JM, Mulvaney CS. 1982. Nitrogen-total. In: Page AL, Miller RH, Keeney DR (eds). Methods of Soil Analysis. Part 2. Chemical and Microbiological Properties. American Society of Agronomy, Soil Science Society of America, Madison, Wisconsin. DOI: 10.2134/agronmonogr9.2.2ed.c31.
Brockerhoff EG, Barbaro L, Castagneyrol B, Forrester DI, Gardiner B, González-Olabarria JR, Lyver POB, Meurisse N, Oxbrough A, Taki H, Thompson ID, van der Plas F, Jactel H. 2017. Forest biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and the provision of ecosystem services. Biodivers Conserv 26 (13): 3005-3035. DOI: 10.1007/s10531-017-1453-2.
Campo J, Gallardo JF, Hernández G. 2014. Leaf and litter nitrogen and phosphorus in three forests with low P supply. Eur J For Res 133 (1): 121-129. DOI: 10.1007/s10342-013-0748-4.
Centre for Ecological Sciences (CES). 2019. Flora of Peninsular India. http://flora-peninsula-indica.ces.iisc.ac.in/
Champion HG, Seth SK. 1968. A Revised Survey of the Forest Types of India. Manager of publications, New Delhi.
Cirimwami L, Doumenge C, Kahindo JM, Amani C. 2019. The effect of elevation on species richness in tropical forests depends on the considered life form: Results from an East African mountain forest. Trop Ecol 60 (4): 473-484. DOI: 10.1007/s42965-019-00050-z.
Dierick D, Holscher D. 2009. Species-specific tree water use characteristics in reforestation stands in the Philippines. Agric For Meteorol 149: 1317-1326. DOI: 10.1016/j.agrformet.2009.03.003.
FAO-UNESCO. 1977. Soil Map of the World. l: 5000000, Vol. VII. South Asia. UNESCO, Paris.
Fedor P, Zvaríková M. 2019. Biodiversity Indices. In: Fath B (eds). Encyclopedia of Ecology. Elsevier, Amsterdam. DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-409548-9.10558-5.
Fujii K. 2014. Soil acidification and adaptations of plants and microorganisms in Bornean tropical forests. Ecol Res 29 (3): 371-381. DOI: 10.007/s11284-014-1144-3.
Gaikwad S, Gore R, Garad K, Gaikwad S. 2014. Endemic flowering plants of Northern Western Ghats (Sahyadri Ranges) of India: A checklist. Check List 10 (3): 461-472. DOI: 10.15560/10.3.461.
Gairola S, Sharma CM, Ghildiyal SK, Suyal S. 2012. Chemical properties of soils in relation to forest composition in moist temperate valley slopes of Garhwal Himalaya, India. Environmentalist 32 (4): 512-523. DOI: 10.1007/s10669-012-9420-7.
Gallery RE. 2014. Ecology of tropical rain forests. Monson RK (eds). Ecology and the Environment. The Plant Sciences, Springer, New York. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4614-7612-2_4-1.
Harikumar R. 2016. Orographic effect on tropical rain physics in the Asian monsoon region. Atmos Sci Lett 17 (10): 556-563. DOI: 10.1002/asl.692.
Herna'ndez G. 1999. Influence of Organic Material on Some Soil Characteristics in Forests of the Sierra del Rosario. [Thesis]. Institute of Ecology and System, Havana.
Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). 2019. Pune. https://www.imdpune.gov.in/climinform.php
Irwin SJ, Narasimhan D. 2011. Endemic genera of angiosperms in India: A review. Rheedea 21 (1): 87-105.
Jackson ML. 1968. Soil Chemical Analysis; Advanced Course: Department of Soil Science. University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin.
Jayakumar R, Nair KKN. 2013. Species diversity and tree regeneration patterns in tropical forests of the Western Ghats, India. Intl Sch Res Notices 2013: 890862. DOI: 10.1155/2013/890862.
Jose S, Gillespie AR, George SJ, Kumar BM. 1996. Vegetation responses along edge-to-interior gradients in a high altitude tropical forest in peninsular India. For Ecol Manag 87 (1-3): 51-62. DOI: 10.1016/S0378-1127(96)03836-4.
Joseph S, Reddy CS, Pattanaik C, Sudhakar S. 2008. Distribution of plant communities along climatic and topographic gradients in Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary (Southern India). Biol Lett 45 (1): 29-41.
Kerala Forest Department (KFD). 2014. Forest Working Plan for the Mankulam Forest Division. http://www.forest.kerala.gov.in/index.php/forest/forest-management/working-plans
Körner C. 2007. The use of 'altitude' in ecological research. Trends Ecol Evol 22 (11): 569-574. DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2007.09.006.
Koshy MM. 1970. Some important soil groups of Kerala. II. The forest soil (An extension lecture delivered at the Agricultural College and Research Institute, Coimbatore on 11 September 1970). S.B. Press, Trivandrum.
Liyew B, Tamrat B, Sebsebe D. 2018. Woody species composition and structure of Amoro Frest in West Gojjam zone, North Western Ethiopia. J Ecol Nat Environ 10 (4): 53-64. DOI: 10.5897/JENE2018.0688.
Magesh G, Menon ARR. 2011. Vegetation status, species diversity and endemism of Sulimudi Forests in Southern Western Ghats of Kerala, India. Indian For 2: 304-311.
Maletha A, Maikhuri RK, Bargali SS, Sharma A, Negi VS, Rawat LS. 2022. Vegetation dynamics and soil nutrient availability in a temperate forest along altitudinal gradient of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, Western Himalaya, India. PloS One 17 (10): e0275051. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0275051.
McNabb KL, Miller MS, Lockaby BG, Stokes BJ, Clawson RG, Stanturf JA, Silva JNM. 1997. Selection harvests in Amazonian rainforests: Long-term impacts on soil properties. For Ecol Manag 93 (1-2): 153-160. DOI: 10.1016/S0378-1127(96)03921-7.
Menéndez L. 1988. Dinámica de la producción de hojarasca. In: Herrera RA, Menéndez L, Rodríguez M, García E (eds). Ecology of the Evergreen Forests of the Sierra del Rosario, Cuba. MAB Project, Rostlac, Montevideo.
Merwin HD, Peech PM. 1951. Exchangeability of soil potassium in and, silt and clay fractions as influenced by the nature of complementary exchangeable cations. Proc Soil Sci Soc Am 15 (C): 125-128. DOI: 10.2136/sssaj1951.036159950015000c0026x.
Mohandass D, Davidar P. 2009. Floristic structure and diversity of a tropical montane evergreen forest (shola) of the Nilgiri Mountains, Southern India. Trop Ecol 50 (2): 219.
Mota GS, Luz GR, Mota NM, Coutinho ES, Veloso MDDM, Fernandes GW, Nunes YRF. 2018. Changes in species composition, vegetation structure, and life forms along an altitudinal gradient of rupestrian grasslands in South-Eastern Brazil. Flora 238: 32-42. DOI: 10.1016/j.flora.2017.03.010.
Muralidharan V, Kuriyan PP, Sampath S. 1985. A brief study of the orographic effect of Western Ghats on monsoon rainfall. Geogr Rev India 47: 32-37.
Myers N. 1988. Threatened biotas: "Hot spots" in tropical forests. Environmentalist 8 (3): 187-208. DOI: 10.1007/bf02240252.
Narayanan MK, Nandakumar MK, Sunil CN, Balakrishnan V, Sujana KA. 2018. Rare Endemic and Threatened Plants of Western Ghats. Southern Book Star Press, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
Neikha V, Nagaraja BC. 2019. Tree diversity and endemism pattern in Makutta Wildlife Range, Western Ghats, India. Indian For 145 (7): 631-636. DOI: 10.32622/ijrat.71201993.
Olsen SR, Cole CV, Watanabe FS, Dean LA. 1954. Estimation of Available Phosphorus in Soils by Extraction with Sodium Bicarbonate. Department of Agriculture Circular, Washington DC.
Osman KT. 2013. Forest Soils: Principles, Properties and Management. Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg New York, London. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-02541-4_3.
Phillips EA. 1959. Methods of Vegetation Study. Henry Holt, New York.
Pielou EC. 1966. The measurement of diversity in different types of biological collections. J Theor Biol 13: 131-144. DOI: 10.1016/0022-5193(66)90013-0.
R Core Team. 2019. R: A language and environment for statistical computing URL. Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing. https://www.R-project.org/
Ramesh BR, Pascal JP, Nouguier C. 1997. Atlas of Endemics of the Western Ghats (India). Institut Français de Pondichéry, Puducherry.
Roby TJ, Jose J, Nair PV. 2018. Phytosociological analysis of Myristica swamp forests of Kulathupuzha, Kerala, India. Curr Sci 144 (8): 1687-1696. DOI: 10.18520/cs/v114/i08/1687-1696.
Sagar R, Raghubanshi AS, Singh JS. 2003. Tree species composition, dispersion and diversity along a disturbance gradient in a dry tropical forest region of India. For Ecol Manag 186: 61-71. DOI: 10.1016/s0378-1127(03)00235-4.
Sahu SC, Pani AK, Mohanta MR, Kumar J. 2019. Tree species diversity, distribution and soil nutrient status along altitudinal gradients in Saptasajya hill range, Eastern Ghats, India. Taiwania 64 (1): 28. DOI: 10.6165/tai.2019.64.28.
Sasidharan N. 2012. Flowering Plants of Kerala – Version 2.0. DVD No. 14. Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi. http://keralaplants.in/flowering-plants-kerala-dvd.aspx
Schwarzenbach G, Biedermann W, Bangerter F. 1946. Komplexone VI. Neue einfache Titriermethoden zur Bestimmung der Wasserhärte. Helvetica 29 (4): 811-818. DOI: 10.1002/hlca.19460290406. [German]
Shannon CE, Weaver W. 1963. The Mathematical Theory of Communication. University of Illinois Press, Urbana.
Sharma CM, Ghildiyal SK, Gairola S, Suyal S. 2009. Vegetation structure, composition and diversity in relation to the soil characteristics of temperate mixed broad-leaved forest along an altitudinal gradient in Garhwal Himalaya. Indian J Sci Technol 2 (7): 39-45. DOI: 10.17485/ijst/2009/v2i7/29495.
Sharma CM, Tiwari OP, Rana YS, Krishan R, Mishra AK. 2018. Elevational behaviour on dominance-diversity, regeneration, biomass and carbon storage in ridge forests of Garhwal Himalaya, India. For Ecol Manag 424: 105-120. DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2018.04.038.
Shedayi AA, Xu M, Naseer I, Khan B. 2016. Altitudinal gradients of soil and vegetation carbon and nitrogen in a high altitude nature reserve of Karakoram ranges. Springerplus 5 (1): 320. DOI: 10.1186/s40064-016-1935-9.
Simpson EH. 1949. Measurement of diversity. Nature 163: 688. DOI: 10.1038/163688a0.
Singh D. 2016. Tree inventory along the altitudinal gradients in Singara Range, Western Ghats, India. Proc Intl Acad Ecol Environ Sci 6 (4): 97-109.
Subashree K, Dar JA, Karuppusamy S, Sundarapandian S. 2021. Plant diversity, structure and regeneration potential in tropical forests of Western Ghats, India. Acta Ecol Sinica 41 (4): 259-284. DOI: 10.1016/j.chnaes.2020.02.004.
Sukumar R, Dattaraja HS, Suresh HS, Radhakrishnan J, Vasudeva R, Nirmala S, Joshi NV. 1992. Long-term monitoring of vegetation in a tropical deciduous forest in Mudumalai, Southern India. Curr Sci 62 (9): 608-616.
Sundrapandian SM, Swamy PS. 2000. Forest ecosystem structure and composition along an altitudinal gradient in the Western Ghats, South India. J Trop For Sci 12 (1): 104-123.
Walkley A. 1947. A critical examination of a rapid method for determining organic carbon in soils-effect of variations in digestion conditions and of inorganic soil constituents. Soil Sci 63 (4): 251-264. DOI: 10.1097/00010694-194704000-00001.
Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEP). 2011. Report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel. The Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, New Delhi. http://www.keralabiodiversity.org/images/pdf/wgeep.pdf