Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Diversity of Woody Flora and Physico-chemical Attributes of Soil in the Nilgiri Hills, Tamil Nadu, India

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, India Section B: Biological Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve is an International Biosphere Reserve in the Western Ghats of South India. It is very rich in plant diversity and having more endemic and threatened species. The present study focuses on woody species diversity observed on evergreen forest of the Nilgiri Hills. A total of 133 plant species belonging to 89 genera of 54 families has been enumerated. The quantitative characters such as density, frequency, relative density, relative frequency and basal area and absolute values were calculated. The Simpson’s index and Shannon–Wiener index such as 0.985 and 4.540 indicated rich floral diversity. About 38% of the space and resources were shared by the top 10 species and the remaining 62% was shared by 123 species, as indicated by their important value index (IVI) values. Out of 133 woody species, 13.5% of the species were found to be rare in the study area, and such species require specific microhabitat condition. The physico-chemical characters of the soil provided the information about soil properties, electrical conductivity (EC), organic carbon (OC), and nutrients impact on species diversity. The results revealed that Pearson correlation and principal component analysis (PCA) showed a positive correlation between the soil parameters and species diversity.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Yaynemsa KG, Demissew S (2020) Trends in plant ecology research in Ethiopia (1969–2019): systematic analysis. BioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.09.28.316463

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Jima KB, Asfaw Z, Demissew S, Dalle G (2021) Medicinal plant composition, distribution, usage and conservation status in Nole Kaba District, West Wollega, West Ethiopia. Research Square. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-265972/v1

  3. Brockerhoff EG, Barbaro L, Castagneyrol B, Forrester DI, Gardiner B, González-Olabarria JR, Lyver POB, Meurisse N, Oxbrough A, Taki H (2017) Forest biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and the provision of ecosystem services. Biodivers Conserv 26:3005–3035. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-017-1453-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Das L, Salvi H, Kamboj R (2019) Phytosociological study of coastal flora of Devbhoomi Dwarka district and its islands in the Gulf of Kachchh, Gujarat. Int J Sci Res Biol Sci 5(3):1–13. https://doi.org/10.26438/ijsrbs/v6i3.113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Thamyres S (2019) Ecology and importance of the Conservation from Specie Buritizinho (Mauritiella armata (Mart) Burret—Arecaceae). Ann Geogr Stud 2(1):17–19

    Google Scholar 

  6. Elouard C, Pascal J, Pelissier R, Ramesh B, Houllier F, Durand M, Aravajy S, Moravie M, Gimaret-Carpentier C (1997) Monitoring the structure and dynamics of a dense moist evergreen forest in the Western Ghats (Kodagu District, Karnataka, India). J Trop Ecol 38(2):193–214

    Google Scholar 

  7. Parthasarathy N, Karthikeyan R (1997) Plant biodiversity inventory and conservation of two tropical dry evergreen forests on the Coromandel coast, south India. Biodivers Conserv 6(8):1063–1083. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018328016810

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Kunhikannan C, Venkatasubramanian N, Sivalingam R, Pramod Kumar N, Thomas S, Thampan S (2011) Diversity of woody species in the Medicinal Plant Conservation Area (MPCA) of Silent Valley National Park. Kerala Biodivers 12(2):97–107. https://doi.org/10.1080/14888386.2011.602930

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Von Lengerke HJ (1977) The Nilgiris: weather and climate of a mountain area in south India, vol 32. Steiner

    Google Scholar 

  10. Kumari S (2015) Status of Nilgiri Biosphere reserve in 2015. Int J Ecosyst 5(4):91–98. https://doi.org/10.5923/j.ije.20150504.01

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Monika DM, Bisht P, Chaturvedi P (2020) Medicinal Uses of Traditionally Used Plants in Bhatwari Block, District Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, India. J Sci Res. https://doi.org/10.37398/JSR.2020.640117

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Cordero RL, Suma M, Krishnan S, Bauch CT, Anand M (2018) Elements of indigenous socio-ecological knowledge show resilience despite ecosystem changes in the forest-grassland mosaics of the Nilgiri Hills, India. Palgrave Commun 4(1):1–9. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-018-0157-x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Campbell DG, Stone JL, Rosas A (1992) A comparison of the phytosociology and dynamics of three floodplain (Várzea) forests of known ages, Rio Juruá, Western Brazilian Amazon. Bot J Linn Soc 108(3):213–237. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.10958339.1992.tb00240.x

  14. Knight DH (1975) A phytosociological analysis of species-rich tropical forest on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Ecol Monogr 45(3):259–284. https://doi.org/10.2307/1942424

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Whitford PB (1949) Distribution of woodland plants in relation to succession and clonal growth. Ecology 30(2):199–208. https://doi.org/10.2307/1931186

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Allen SE, Grimshaw HM, Parkinson JA, Quarmby C (1974) Chemical analysis of ecological materials. Blackwell Scientific Publications

    Google Scholar 

  17. Jackson M (1958) Soil chemical analysis. Prentica-Hall Inc., Englewood Cliffs

    Google Scholar 

  18. Anantakrishnan S, Srinivasa Pai K (1952) The kjeldahl method of nitrogen determination. Proc Indian Acad Sci Math Sci 36:299–305. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03172239

  19. Maiti S (2003) Moef report, an assessment of overburden dump rehabilitation technologies adopted in CCL. NCL, MCL, and SECL mines (Grant no J-15012/38/98-IA IIM)

  20. Lindsay WL, Norvell WA (1978) Development of a DTPA soil test for zinc, iron, manganese, and copper. Soil Sci Soc Am J 42(3):421–428. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1978.03615995004200030009x

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Srinivasa Rao D, Prayaga Murty P, Venkaiah M (2013) Phytosociological observations on tree species diversity of tropical forest of Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh, India. Indian J Plant Sci 2(4):89–108

    Google Scholar 

  22. Gomez-Pompa A, Vazquez-Yanes C, Guevara S (1972) The tropical rain forest: a nonrenewable resource. Science 177(4051):762–765. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.177.4051.762

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Singh J, Yadava P (1974) Seasonal variation in composition, plant biomass, and net primary productivity of a tropical grassland at Kurukshetra. India Ecol Monogr 44(3):351–376. https://doi.org/10.2307/2937034

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Wattenberg I, Breckle S (1995) Tree species diversity of a premontane rain forest in the Cordillera de Tilaran, Costa Rica. Ecotropica 1:21–30

    Google Scholar 

  25. Ferreira LV, Prance GT (1998) Species richness and floristic composition in four hectares in the Jaú National Park in upland forests in Central Amazonia. Biodivers Conserv 7(10):1349–1364. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008899900654

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Hailu H (2017) Analysis of vegetation phytosociological characteristics and soil physico-chemical conditions in Harishin rangelands of eastern Ethiopia. Land 6(1):1–17. https://doi.org/10.3390/land6010004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Gairola S, Sharma C, Ghildiyal S, Suyal S (2012) Chemical properties of soils in relation to forest composition in moist temperate valley slopes of Garhwal Himalaya, India. Environ 32(4):512–523. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8339.1992.tb00240.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Srivastava R, Mohapatra M, Latare A (2020) Impact of land use changes on soil quality and species diversity in the Vindhyan dry tropical region of India. J Trop Ecol 36(2):72–79. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467419000385

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Chitdeshwari T, Jegadeeswari D, Shukla AK (2019) Available sulphur and micronutrients status in the soils of the Nilgiris district, Tamil Nadu, India. Int J Chem Stud 7(1):1297–1300

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Kumar JN, Kumar RN, Bhoi RK, Sajish P (2010) Tree species diversity and soil nutrient status in three sites of tropical dry deciduous forest of western India. Trop Ecol 51(2):273–279

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The present study was supported by Tamil Nadu State Council Science and Technology, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India (TNSCST/&T Project/AS/RJ/2013-2014), and I would like to thank Dr. A. Rajendran, Professor and Head, Dr. V. S. Ramachandran (Rtd), Professor, Department of Botany, Dr. C. Samydurai, Dr. P. Rajasekar, N-PDF, and Mr. I. Kanivalan, Department of Botany, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India, for plant collection and identification.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, 641 046, India

    Arumugam Vignesh, Ramamoorthy Sivalingam & Krishnan Vasanth

Authors
  1. Arumugam Vignesh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ramamoorthy Sivalingam
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Krishnan Vasanth
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Krishnan Vasanth.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Significance Statement:

The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve is an International Biosphere Reserve in the Western Ghats of South India. It is very rich in plant diversity and having more endemic and threatened species. The present study focuses on woody species diversity observed on evergreen forest of the Nilgiri Hills. Hence the main purpose of the phytosociological analysis is to understand the plant vegetation characteristics and estimate the species richness and soil nutritional availability of the study area, which generates useful information for conservation of endemic, vulnerable and threatened species and maintained the biodiversity imbalances.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 37 KB)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Vignesh, A., Sivalingam, R. & Vasanth, K. Diversity of Woody Flora and Physico-chemical Attributes of Soil in the Nilgiri Hills, Tamil Nadu, India. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., India, Sect. B Biol. Sci. 92, 95–103 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40011-021-01279-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40011-021-01279-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation