Abstract
The present study deals with the regeneration status of a subtropical forest located between 950–1100 m above sea level in Garhwal Himalaya. The vegetation was quantitatively analyzed on four different aspects i.e., east, west, north and south. Results of the study indicated that across the aspects, Anogeissus latifolia was dominant in tree, sapling and seedling layers in all the aspects, except north aspect where Pinus roxburghii and Terminalia tomentosa were dominant in tree and seedling layers, respectively. The highest tree layer density (380 plant·ha−1) was recorded on south aspect and lowest (260 plant·ha−1) on west aspect. In shrub layer, highest density was on east aspect (1790 plant·ha−1) and lowest on west aspect (970 plant·ha−1). Tree and shrub layer diversity ranged between 0.846 to 1.710 and 1.943 to 2.847, respectively. The relative lopping intensity (%) was higher in Anogeissus latifolia (45%–57% as compared to 4%–33% in other species) which is the most important tree species on all aspects, except north aspect. The present study also reveals that if the current rate of exploitation continues, the species like Anogeissus latifolia may be replaced by other species and drastic changes may occur in species composition and regeneration of the forest. The anthropogenic pressure, aspect and soil nutrients have caused changes in regeneration status and species composition of forests.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adhikari BS, Rikhari HC, Rawat YS, Singh SP. 1991. High altitude forest: composition, diversity and profile structure in a part of Kumaun Himalaya. Tropical Ecology, 32(1): 86–97.
Agnihotri R, Prasad P, Prasad Ram, Aggarwal RD. 2006. Effect of aspect and physiographic position of vegetation cover in a Shivalik watershed at Relmajra, Panjab. Indian Journal of Forestry, 29(1): 9–13.
Aksamit SE, Irving FD. 1984. Prescribed burning for lowland black spruce regeneration in northern Minnesota Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 14: 107–113.
Barik SK, Tripathi RS. Pandey HN, Rao P. 1996. Tree regeneration in a subtropical humid forest:effect of cultural disturbance on seed production and germination. Journal of Applied Ecology, 33:1551–1560.
Bhandari BS, Mehta JP, Tiwari SC. 2000. Dominance and diversity relation of woody vegetation structure along an altitudinal gradient in a montane forest of Garhwal Himalaya. Journal of Tropical Forest Science, 12(1): 49–61.
Bisht S, Lodhiyal LS. 2005. Various aspects of soils and tree layer vegetation analysis in reserve forests of Kumaon in Central Himalaya. Indian Journal of Forestry, 28(1):37–50.
Boring LR, Monk CD, Swank WT. 1981. Early regeneration of a clear-cut southern Appalachian forest. Ecology, 62: 1244–1253.
Curtis JT, Mc Intosh RP. 1950. The Interrelation of certain analytic and synthetic phytosociological characters. Ecology, 31: 434–455.
Curtis JT. 1959. The Vegetation of Wisconsin. An Ordination of Plant Communities. Madison Wisconsin: University Wisconsin press, p. 657.
Gaur RD 1982. Dynamics of vegetation of Garhwal Himalaya. In: Paliwal G.S. (ed.), Vegetationl Wealth of the Himalaya. New Delhi: Puja Publisher, pp. 12–25.
Greig-Smith P. 1957. Quantitative Plant Ecology (2nd edition). Butterworth, London: Academic Press, pp. 256.
Kershaw KK. 1973. Quantitative and Dynamic Plant Ecology. (2nd edition). London: FLBS and Edwards Arnold (Publ.) Ltd., p. 308.
Khan ML Rai JPN, Tripathi RS. 1987. Population structure of some tree species in disturbed and protected sub-tropical forests of north-east India. Acta Oceologia: Oecologia Applicata (France), 8: 247–255.
Khera N, Kumar A, Ram J and Tewari A. 2001. Plant biodiversity assessment in relation to disturbances in mi-elevational forest of central Himalaya. India. Tropical Ecology, 42(1): 83–95.
Knight DH. 1975. A phytosociological analysis of species rich tropical forest on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Ecological Monographs, 45: 259–289.
Kumar M, Rajwar GS, Sharma CM. 2004. Disturbance and the dynamics in a sub-tropical forest of arhwal Himalaya. Bulletin of the Nation Institute of Ecology, 14: 43–50.
Kumar M, Sharma CM, Rajwar GS. 2004. A study on the community structure and diversity of a sub-tropical forest of Garhwal Himalayas. Indian Forester, 130(2): 207–214.
Marks PL. 1974. The role of pine cherry (Prunus pensylvania L) in the maintenance of stability in northern hardwood ecosystems. Ecological Monographs, 44: 73–88.
Mehta JP, Tewari SC, Bhandari BS. 1997. Phytosociology of woody vegetation under different management regimes in Garhwal Himalaya. Journal of tropical Forest Science, 10(1): 24–34.
Motomura I. 1934. A statistical treatment of associations. (In Japanese). Japanese Journal of Ecology, 44: 379–389.
Odum EP. 1971. Fundamentals of Ecology (3rd ed). USA: W.B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia. p. 574.
Panchal NS, Pandey AN. 2004. Analysis of vegetation of Rampara forest in Saurashtra region of Gujarat state of India. Tropical Ecology, 45(2): 223–231.
Risser PG, Rice EL. 1971. Diversity in tree species in Oklahoma Upland forests. Ecology, 52: 876–880.
Saxana AK, Singh JS. 1982. A phytosociological analysis of woody species in forest communities of a part of Kumaun Himalaya. Vegetatio, 50: 3–32.
Saxena AK, Singh SP, Singh JS. 1984. Population structure of forests of Kumaun Himalaya. Implications for management. Journal of Environmental Management, 19: 307–324.
Saxena AK, Singh JS. 1984. Tree population structure of certain Himalayan forest associations and implications concerning their future composition. Vegetatio, 58: 61–69
Shank RK, Noories EN. 1950. Microclimate variation in a small valley in Eastern Tannesse. Ecology, 11: 531–539.
Shannon CE, Wiener W. 1963. The mathematical theory of communication. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, p. 117.
Simpson EH. 1949. Measurement of diversity. Nature, 163: 688.
Singh JS and Yadav PS. 1974. Seasonal variation in composition of plant biomass and net primary productivity of tropical grassland of Kurukshetra, India. Ecological. Monograph, 44: 351–375.
Singh R. 1976. Structure and net community production of the herbaceous vegetation the sand dune region around Pilani, Rajasthan. Ph. D.Thesis, Rajasthan: BITS Pilani, pp. 460.
Singh SP. 1998. Chronic disturbance, a principal cause of environmental degradation in developing countries (Editorial), Environmental Conservation, 25: 1–2.
Whitford PB. 1949. Distribution of woodland plants in relation to succession and clonal growth. Ecology, 30: 199–208.
Whittaker RH. 1975. Communities and Ecosystems, 2nd edition. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., p. 385.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kumar, M., Joshi, M. & Todaria, N.P. Regeneration status of a sub-tropical Anogeissus latifolia forest in Garhwal Himalaya, India. Journal of Forestry Research 21, 439–444 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-010-0094-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-010-0094-z