Summary
The paper reports on the relationships between vegetation and climate in the Upper Catchment area of Narmada river in Central India. The study site was divided into four ecoclimatic zones based on the classification of Thornthwaite & Mather (1955). While no clear-cut relationships could be established for the subordinate species and climate, the leading dominant species showed interesting relationships. Zones A, B and C show a humid type and support forest dominated byTectona grandis, Dendrocalamus strictus andTerminalia alata. In contrast,Tectona grandis is totally absent in Zone D which falls in a dry sub-humid type.Dendrocalamus strictus forms a second storey species at all places whereTectona grandis is the leading dominant, because the former is not a shade tolerant plant. Growth of the dominant species vary from zone to zone with changes in precipitation, potential evapotranspiration, soil moisture surplus and altitude. With topographical changes the growth of the dominant species changes.Tectona grandis shows maximum growth values on tops of hills only because of their inaccessibility to man so that no disturbances due to illicit felling, shifting cultivation and a host of other disturbances occur. The exiting forest crop is the remnant natural wealth which is the net result of interactions between climate, soil conditions and anthropogenic pressure.
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Nomenclature follows Raizada (1958).
The author gratefully acknowledges the painstaking training in the computation of water balances given to him by Professor V. P. Subrahmanyam and Dr. B. Subba Rao of the Department of Climatology, Andhra University, Waltair (India). Most of the work presented here is the result of prolonged and consistent discussions with my teacher, Professor S. C. Pandeya, Head of the Department of BioSciences, Saurashtra University, Rajkot, India, for which I am indebted. Financial assistance was provided by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Government of India, in the form of a Senior Fellowship.
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Murthy, M.S. Relationships between vegetation and climate in the Upper Catchment area of the Narmada river, Central India. Vegetatio 36, 53–60 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01324771
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01324771