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Structure and floristic composition of a tropical evergreen forest in south-west India

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

Jean-Pierre Pascal  and
Raphael Pelissier
Jean-Pierre Pascal
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Biométrie, 43, av. du 11 Novembre 1918, Université de Lyon I, 69622 Villeurbanne, France
Raphael Pelissier
Affiliation:
Institut Français de Pondichéry, P. O. Box 33, Pondicherry 605001, India
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Abstract

A permanent plot of 28 ha was established in a dense wet evergreen forest in the Western Ghats of India to study the functioning of the ecosystem. Since April 1990, 1981 trees of ≥30 cm gbh have been enumerated in a systematic sampling of five strips totalling 3.12 ha. This paper describes the main structural and floristic characteristics of the plot.

The density (635 trees ≥30 cm gbh per hectare) and basal area (39.7 m2 ha−1) are high. Despite the high diversity (Simpson's D = 0.92 and Shannon's H' = 4.56), four species are distinctly, dominant in terms of an importance value index (relative density + relative basal area). Each of these four species occupies a different layer in the ecosystem: Humboldtia brunonis Wall. (Fabaceae) dominates the undergrowth, Myristica dactyloïdes Gaertn. (Myristicaceae) the intermediate strata, Valeria indica L. (Dipterocarpaceae) the higher canopy level and Dipterocarpus indicus Bedd. (Dipterocarpaceae) the emergents. This pronounced species hierarchy is one of the most important characteristics of the evergreen forests of the Western Ghats. The two dipterocarps account for 20.1% of the total number of trees and contribute 40.9% to the total basal area. This formation can, therefore, be considered as the westernmost lowland dipterocarp forest of Asia.

Analysis of the spatial variations in the floristic composition and in the structure of the main species populations shows that two kinds of mature phases can be identified: where the topography is raised and gently sloping, the vertical structure of the stand is discontinuous, with Dipterocarpus indicus and Vateria indica forming an emergent layer above a dense undergrowth; on slopes, the stand is lower, vertically continuous and saturated with Valeria indica and Myristica dactyloïdes. The link between the structure of the stand and dynamic processes is discussed.

Keywords

floristic compositionIndiapopulation structurespatial structuretropical evergreen forestWestern Ghats
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 12 , Issue 2 , March 1996 , pp. 191 - 214
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

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