Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Assessment of tree diversity and above-ground biomass in coffee agroforest dominated tropical landscape of India’s Central Western Ghats

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Forestry Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to quantify the changes in tree diversity and above-ground biomass associated with six land-use types in Kodagu district of India’s Western Ghats. We collected data on species richness, composition and above-ground biomass (AGB) of trees, shrubs and herbs from 96 sample plots of 0.1 ha. Totals of 83 species from 26 families were recorded across the land-uses. Tree species richness, diversity and composition were significantly higher in evergreen forest (EGF) than in other land-uses. Similarly, stem density and basal area were greater in EGF compared to other land-uses. Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) yielded three distinct groups along the land-use intensities and rainfall gradient on the first and second axes, respectively. The first DCA axis accounted for 45% and second axis for 35% of the total variation in species composition. Together the first two axes accounted for over 2/3 of the variation in species composition across land-use types. Across the land-uses, AGB ranged from 58.6 Mg ha−1 in rubber plantation to 327.3 Mg ha−1 in evergreen forest. Our results showed that species diversity and AGB were negatively impacted by the land-use changes. We found that coffee agroforests resembled natural forest and mixed species plantation in terms of tree diversity and biomass production, suggesting that traditional coffee farms can help to protect tree species, sustain smallholder production and offer opportunities for conservation of biodiversity and climate change mitigation.

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
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Barnes AD, Jochum M, Mumme S, Haneda NF, Farajallah A, Widarto TH, Brose U (2014) Consequences of tropical land use for multitrophic biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Nat Commun 5:5351

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bhagwat SA, Willis KJ, Birks HJB, Whittaker RJ (2008) Agroforestry: a refuge for tropical biodiversity? Trends Ecol Evol 23:261–267

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhat DM, Naik MB, Patgar SG, Hegde GT, Kanade YG, Hegde GN, Shastri CM, Shetti DM, Furtado RM (2000) Forest dynamics in tropical rain forests of Uttara Kannada district in Western Ghats, India. Curr Sci 79:975–985

    Google Scholar 

  • CAFNET (2011) Connecting, enhancing and sustaining environmental services and market values of coffee agroforestry in India. Project Report. http://apps.ifpindia.org/ecrire/upload/ecoprojects/CAFNET%20India%20Final%20Report.pdf

  • Carlson KM, Curran LM, Asner GP, Pittman AM, Trigg SN, Adeney JM (2013) Carbon emissions from forest conversion by Kalimantan oil palm plantations. Nat Clim Change 3:283–287

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chaturvedi RK, Raghubanshi AS (2015) Assessment of carbon density and accumulation in mono-and multi-specific stands in Teak and Sal forests of a tropical dry region in India. For Ecol Manag 339:11–21

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chave J, Condit R, Lao S, Caspersen JP, Foster RB, Hubbell SP (2003) Spatial and temporal variation of biomass. J Ecol 91:240–252

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chazdon RL, Colwell RL, Denslow JS (1999) Tropical tree richness and resource based niches. Science 285:1459

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chazdon RL, Harvey CA, Komar O, Griffith DM, Ferguson BG, Martínez-Ramos M, Morales H, Nigh R, Soto-Pinto L, Van Breugel M (2009) Beyond reserves: a research agenda for conserving biodiversity in human-modified tropical landscapes. Biotropica 41:142–153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chima UD, Uwaegbulem C (2012) Comparative evaluation of tree species populations under different land-use types within the university of Port Hartcourt environs. Trop Agril Res Extn 15:1–7

    Google Scholar 

  • Clough Y, Abrahamczyk S, Adams MO (2010) Biodiversity patterns and trophic interactions in human-dominated tropical landscapes in Sulawesi (Indonesia): plants, arthropods and vertebrates. In: Tscharntke T, Leuschner C, Veldkamp E, Faust H, Guhardja E, Bidin A (eds) Tropical rainforests and agroforests under global change, environmental science and engineering. Springer-Verlag, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • Curtis JT, McIntosh RP (1959) The interrelations of certain analytic and synthetic phytosociological characters. Ecology 31:434–455

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dawson IK, Guariguata MR, Loo J, Weber JC, Lengkeek A, Bush D, Cornelius J, Guarino L, Kindt R, Orwa C, Russell J, Jamnadass R (2013) What is the relevance of smallholders’ agroforestry systems for conserving tropical tree species and genetic diversity in Circa Situm, in situ and ex situ settings? Biodivers Conserv 22:301–324. https://doi.org/10.1007/s1053-012-0429-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dembele F, Picard N, Karembe M, Birnbaum P (2006) Tree vegetation patterns along a gradient of human disturbance in the Sahelian area of Mali. J Arid Environ 64:284–297. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2005.05.006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Devagiri GM, Money S, Singh Sarnam, Dadhawal VK, Prasanth P, Anilkumar K, Devakumar AS, Santosh H (2013) Assessment of above ground biomass and carbon pool in different vegetation types of south western part of Karnataka, India using spectral modeling. Trop Ecol 54:149–165

    Google Scholar 

  • Devakumar AS, Kushalappa CG, Prakash NA (2007) Assessment of a few natural capital components from three different land use systems for sustainable development. In: Chengappa PG, Nagaraj N, Kanwar R (eds) International conference on 21st century challenges to sustainable agri-food system. I.K. International Publishing House Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore, pp 159–165

    Google Scholar 

  • Djuikouo MNK, Doucet JL, Charlemagne KN, Lewis SL, Sonke B (2010) Diversity and aboveground biomass in three tropical forest types in the Dja Biosphere Reserve, Cameroon. Afr J Ecol 48:1053–1063

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forest Research Institute (1996) Indian woods. Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, p 185

    Google Scholar 

  • Forest Survey of India (2006) Volume equations for forests of India, Nepal and Bhutan. Forest Survey of India, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India, Dehradun

    Google Scholar 

  • Gerstner K, Dormann CF, Stein A, Manceur AM, Seppelt R (2014) Effects of land use on plant diversity: a global meta analysis. J Appl Ecol 51:1690–1700

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gibson L, Lee TM, Koh LP, Brook BW, Gardner TA, Barlow J, Peres CA, Bradshaw CJA, Laurance WF, Lovejoy TE, Sodhi NS (2011) Primary forests are irreplaceable for sustaining tropical biodiversity. Nature 478:378–381

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hager A, Otarola Fernandez M, Stulhmacher MF, Castillo Acuna R, Arias Contreras A (2015) Effects of management and landscape composition on the diversity and structure of tree species assemblages in coffee agroforests. Agric Ecosyst Environ 199:43–51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kessler M, Hertel D, Jungkunst HF, Kluge J, Abrahamczyk S (2012) Can joint carbon and biodiversity management in tropical agroforestry landscapes be optimized? PLoS ONE 7:10–15. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0047192

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kindt R, Coe R (2005) Tree diversity analysis. A manual and software for common statistical methods for ecological and biodiversity studies. World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Nairobi

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirby KR, Potvin C (2007) Variation in carbon storage among tree species: implications for the management of a small-scale carbon sink project. For Ecol Manag 246:208–221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kushalappa CG, Kushalappa KA (1998) Impact assessment of forest extraction in Kodagu. State Forest Department, Government of Karnataka, Bengaluru, Technical report, pp 1–140

  • Lee T, Soh M, Sodhi N, Koh L, Lim S (2005) Effects of habitat disturbance on mixed species bird flocks in a tropical sub-montane rainforest. Biol Conserv 122:193–204

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Letcher SG, Chazdon RL (2009) Rapid recovery of biomass, species richness, and species composition in a forest chronosequence in northeastern Costa Rica. Biotropica 41:608–617. https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1744-7429.2009.00517.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luke CN, Cobbina AJ, Sinclair FL, McDonald MA (2011) The effect of land use systems on tree diversity: farmer preference and species composition of cocoa-based agroecosystems in Ghana. Agrofor Syst 81:249–265. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-010-9366-z

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magurran AE (1988) Ecological diversity and its measurement. Princeton University Press, Princeton, p 220

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Murthy IK, Bhat S, Sathyanarayan V, Patgar S, Beerappa M, Bhat PR, Bhat DM, Ravindranath NH, Khalid MA, Prashant M, Iyer S, Daniel MB, Saxena R (2016) Vegetation structure and composition of tropical evergreen and deciduous forests in Uttara Kannada District, Western Ghats under different disturbance regimes. Trop Ecol 57:77–88

    Google Scholar 

  • Nair PKR, Nair ND (2014) Solid-fluid-gas: the state of knowledge on carbon sequestration potential of agroforestry systems in Africa. Curr Opin Environ Sustain 6:22–27

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pascal JP, Ramesh BR (1987) A field key to the trees and lianas of evergreen forest of Western Ghats (India). French Institute Pondichery, India

    Google Scholar 

  • Pekin BK, Pijanowski BC (2012) Global land use intensity and the endangerment status of mammal species. Divers Distrib 18:909–918

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips HRP, Newbold T, Purvis A (2017) Land use effects on local biodiversity in tropical forests vary between continents. Biodivers Conserv 26:2251–2270

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Philpott SM, Bichier P, Rice RA, Greenburg R (2008) Biodiversity conservation, yield and alternative products in coffee agroecosystems in Sumantra, Indonesia. Biodivers Conserv 17:1805–1820

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pinard F, Joetzjer E, Kindt R, Kehlenbeck K (2014) Are coffee agroforestry systems suitable for circa situm conservation of indigenous trees? A case study from Central Kenya. Biodivers Conserv 23:467–495

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R Development Core Team (2013) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna

    Google Scholar 

  • Rajashekar G, Fararoda R, Suraj Reddy R, Jha CS, Ganeshaiah KN, Singh JS, Dadhwak VK (2018) Spatial distribution of biomass carbon (above and below ground) in Indian forests. Ecol Ind 85:742–752. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.11.024

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ruf F, Deheuvels O, Sarpong D (2006) Intensification in cocoa cropping systems: is agroforestry a solution for sustainability? In: The case of Manso Amenfi, Western region, 15th international conference on cocoa research, vol 1, San Jose, Costa Rica, pp 355–364

  • Schroth G, Fonseca GAB, Harvey CA, Gascon C, Vasconcelos HL, Izac AMN (2004) Agroforestry and biodiversity conservation in tropical tandscapes. Island Press, Washington, p 524

    Google Scholar 

  • Silva-Costa LG, Miranda IS, Grimaldi M, Silva ML, Mitja D, Lima TTS (2012) Biomass in different types of land-use in the Brazil’s ‘arc of deforestation’. For Ecol Manag 278:101–109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2012.04.007

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Subramanian V, Buvaneshwaran C, Rajagopal K, George M (2009) Nutrient cycling in young teak plantation II: biomass production and nutrient cycling. Indian For 96:601–610

    Google Scholar 

  • Suratman MN (2012) Tree species diversity and forest stand structure of Pahang National Park, Malaysia. In: Lameed GA (ed) Biodiversity enrichment in a diverse World. In Tech, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Swamy SL, Dutt CBS, Murthy MSR, Mishra Alka, Bargali SS (2010) Floristics and dry matter dynamics of tropical wet evergreen forests of Western Ghats, India. Curr Sci 99:353–364

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Turner BL, Lambin EF, Reenberg A (2007) Land science special feature: the emergence of land change science for global environmental change and sustainability. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 104:20672–20677

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vashum KT, Jayakumar S (2012) Methods to estimate above-ground biomass and carbon stock in natural forests-a review. J Ecosyst Ecogr 2:116–118

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wanger TC, Iskandar DT, Motzke I, Brook BW, Sodhi NS, Clough Y, Scharntke T (2010) Effects of land-use change on community composition of tropical amphibians and reptiles in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Conserv Biol 24:795–802. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01434.x

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zar JH (1999) Biostatistical analysis. Prentice-Hall, New Jersey

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Forestry, University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Shivamogga, Ponnampet, Kodagu, Karanataka, 571216, India

    Guddappa M. Devagiri, Anil Kumar Khaple, Hosuru B. Anithraj, Cheppudira G. Kushalappa, Amaresh Kumar Krishnappa & Shashi Bhushan Mishra

Authors
  1. Guddappa M. Devagiri
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Anil Kumar Khaple
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Hosuru B. Anithraj
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Cheppudira G. Kushalappa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Amaresh Kumar Krishnappa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Shashi Bhushan Mishra
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Guddappa M. Devagiri.

Additional information

Project funding: This project was funded by the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Dehradun, India under IIRS-VCP project entitled “National Carbon Pool Assessment” (Project Number: (UAS(B)/DR/GOI/246/2011-12).

The online version is available at http://www.springerlink.com

Corresponding editor: Tao Xu.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Devagiri, G.M., Khaple, A.K., Anithraj, H.B. et al. Assessment of tree diversity and above-ground biomass in coffee agroforest dominated tropical landscape of India’s Central Western Ghats. J. For. Res. 31, 1005–1015 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-019-00885-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-019-00885-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation