Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-19T06:30:32.841Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Vegetation and gap dynamics of a tropical wet evergreen forest in the Western Ghats of Kerala, India

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

U. M. Chandrashekara  and
P. S. Ramakrishnan
U. M. Chandrashekara
Affiliation:
School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi-110067, India
P. S. Ramakrishnan*
Affiliation:
School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi-110067, India
*
2To whom all correspondence should be addressed.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The wet evergreen forest of Nelliampathy in the Western Ghats of Kerala in India is a mixed forest with a high species diversity and basal cover. In this relatively undisturbed ecosystem, canopy gaps are largely formed through single tree fall, but gaps through branch fall, crown fall, standing dead trees or multiple tree fall also occur. Canopy gap formation is more (over 82% of the total gaps created) during the monsoon season. The mean number of gaps formed in this forest is 1.13 ha−1 y−1 and the turnover rate is 83 years. The majority of the gaps created (over 70%) are of smaller size (≥ 100 m2). In this forest, while some top canopy tree species (those capable of exceeding 25 m in height at maturity) such as Palaquium ellipticum and Mesua nagassarium are well represented in seedling, sapling and mature tree stages, others like Aglaia exstipulata and Mastixia arborea are observed only as saplings and/or mature trees with no seedling populations. The possible reasons for these two types of regeneration behaviour by top canopy tree species in the context of canopy gap size and seasonality in gap formation are discussed.

Keywords

forest gap dynamicsforest species diversityrainforest regenerationvegetation structureIndia (Western Ghats)wet evergreen forest
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 10 , Issue 3 , August 1994 , pp. 337 - 354
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

LITERATURE CITED

Aiyar, T. V. V. 1932. The sholas of the Palghat division: A study in the ecology and silviculture of the tropical rainforests of Western Ghats. Indian Forester 58:414–432.Google Scholar
Arriaga, L. 1988. Gap dynamics of a tropical cloud forest in N. E. Mexico. Biotropka 20:178–184.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brokaw, N. V. L. 1982a. The definition of treefall gap and its effects on measures of forest dynamics. Biotropica 14:158–160.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brokaw, N. V. L. 1982b. Treefalls: frequency, timing and consequences. Pp. 101–108 in Leigh, E. G. Jr., Rand, A. S. & Windsor, D. M. (eds). The ecology of a tropical forest: seasonal rhythms in a tropical forest. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington.Google Scholar
Brokaw, N. V. L. 1985a. Treefalls, regrowth and community structures in tropical forests. Pp. 53–69 in Pickett, S. T. A. & White, P. S. (eds). The ecology of natural disturbances and patch dynamics. Academic Press, Inc., Orlando, Florida.Google Scholar
Brokaw, N. V. L. 1985b. Gap phase regeneration in a tropical forest. Ecology 66:682–687.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brokaw, N. V. L. & Scheiner, S. M. 1989. Species composition in gaps and structure of a tropical forest. Ecology 70:538–541.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burgess, P. F. 1961. The structure and composition of lowland tropical rain forest in North Borneo. Malayan Forester 24:66–80.Google Scholar
Champion, H. G. & Seth, S. K. 1968. A revised survey of the forest types of India. Manager of Publications, New Delhi.Google Scholar
Chandrasekharan, C. 1960. Forest types of Kerala State. Special paper submitted for Diploma in Forestry. New Forest, Dehra Dun, India.Google Scholar
Collins, N. M., Sayer, J. A. & Whitmore, T. C. (eds). 1991. The conservation atlas of tropical forests; Asia and the Pacific. Macmillan Press Limited, London.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Curtis, J. T. 1959. The vegetation of Wisconsin: an ordination of plant communities. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, Wisconsin.Google Scholar
Denslow, J. S. 1980. Patterns of plant species diversity during succession under different disturbance regimes. Oecologia 46:18–21.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Florence, J. 1981. Chablis el sylvigense dans une foret dense humide sempervirente du Gabon. PhD Thesis, University of Louis Pasteur de Strasbourg, Strasbourg.Google Scholar
Foster, S. A. 1986. On the adaptive value of large seeds for tropical moist forest trees: A review and synthesis. Botanical Review 52:261–299.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gamble, J. S. 1928. Flora of the Presidency of Madras, 3 volumes. Adlard & Son Limited, London.Google Scholar
Garwood, N. C. 1983. Seed germination in a seasonal tropical forest in Panama: A community study. Ecological Monograph 53:159–181.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hartshorn, G. S. 1978. Tree falls and tropical forest dynamics. Pp. 617–638 in Tomlinson, P. B. & Zimmermann, M. H. (eds). Tropical trees as living systems. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Hartshorn, G. S. 1980. Neotropical forest dynamics. Biotropica 12 (Suppl.):23–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hubbell, S. P. 1979. Tree dispersion, abundance and diversity in a tropical dry forest. Science 203:1299–1309.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kadambi, K. 1941. The evergreen ghat rain forest: Agumbe-Kilandur zone. (A study on the tropical rain forest of the Western Ghats of Mysore). Indian Forester 67:184–203.Google Scholar
Kershaw, K. A. 1973. Quantitative and dynamic plant ecology. Edward Arnold, London.Google Scholar
Knight, D. H. 1975. A phytosociological analysis of species rich tropical forest on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Ecological Monograph 45:259–284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lasrado, E. A. 1936. Working plan for the Tinnevelly cum Ramnad Forest Division. 1934–35 to 1943–44. Government Press, Madras.Google Scholar
Mackie, C., Jessup, T. C., Vayda, A. P. & Kartawinata, K. 1986. Shifting cultivation and patch dynamics in Anupland forest in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. In Regional workshop on impact of man's activities on upland forest ecosystems, Serdang, Malaysia. 3–6 Feb. 1986 (Mimeo).Google Scholar
Margalef, R. 1968. Perspective in ecological theory. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.Google Scholar
Menhinick, E. F. 1964. A comparison of some species diversity indices applied to samples of field insects. Ecology 45:859–861.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mishra, B. K. & Ramakrishnan, P. S. 1983a. Secondary succession subsequent to slash and burn agriculture at higher elevations of north-eastern India. I. Species diversity, biomass and litter production. Acta Oecologia/Oecologia Applicata 4:97–107.Google Scholar
Mishra, B. K. & Ramakrishnan, P. S. 1983b. Secondary succession subsequent to slash and burn agriculture at higher elevations of north-east India. II. Nutrient cycling. Acta Oecologia/Oecologia Applicata 4:237–245.Google Scholar
Misra, R. 1968. Ecology work book. Oxford and IBH Publication, New Delhi.Google Scholar
Parsons, R. F. & Cameron, D. S. 1974. Maximum plant species diversity in terrestrial communities. Biotropica 6:202–203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pascal, J. P. 1988. Wet evergreen forests of the Western Ghats of India: Ecology, structure, floristic composition and succession. Institut Francais de Pondicherry, Pondicherry, India.Google Scholar
Pascal, J. P. & Ramesh, B. R. 1987. A field key to the tree and lianas of the evergreen forests of the Western Ghats (India). Institut Francais de Pondicherry, Pondicherry, India.Google Scholar
Phillips, E. A. 1959. Methods of vegetation study. Henry Holt & Company, New York.Google Scholar
Pielou, E. C. 1966. The measurement of diversity in different types of biological collections. Journal of Theoretical Biology 13:131–144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Poulson, T. L. & Platt, W. J. 1989. Gap light regimes influence on canopy tree diversity. Ecology 70:553–555.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Proctor, J., Anderson, J. M., Chai, P. & Vallack, H. W. 1983. Ecological studies of four contrasting lowland rain forest types of Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak. I. Forest environment, structure and floristics. Journal of Ecology 71:237–260.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Proctor, J., Lee, Y. F., Langley, A. M., Munro, W. R. C. & Nelson, T. 1988. Ecological studies on Gunung Silam, a small ultrabasic mountain in Sabah, Malaysia. I. Environment, forest structure and floristics. Journal of Ecology 76:320–340.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rai, S. N. 1979. Gap regeneration in wet evergreen forest of Karnataka. Karnataka Forest Department Research Paper, KFD-2.Google Scholar
Rai, S. N. & Proctor, J. 1986. Ecological studies on four rainforests in Karnataka, India. I. Environment, structure, floristics and biomass. Journal of Ecology 74:439–454.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Raich, J. W. & Christensen, N. L. 1989. Malaysian dipterocarp forest: Tree seedling and sapling species composition and small-scale disturbance patterns. National Geographic Research 5:348–363.Google Scholar
Ramakrishnan, P. S. 1985. Research on humid tropical forests. Regional meeting of the national MAB committees of central and South Asian Countries, MAB-India, New Delhi.Google Scholar
Ramakrishnan, P. S., Shukla, R. P. & Boojh, R. 1982. Growth strategies of trees and their application to forest management. Current Science 51:448–455.Google Scholar
Riera, B. 1982. A propos des chablis en foret Guyanaise piste de St Elie. Pp. 109–114 in Vertebrates Et Forets Tropicales Humides D'Afrique et D'Amerique. Editions Du Museum, Paris.Google Scholar
Shukla, R. P. & Ramakrishnan, P. S. 1982. Comparative study on field germination and establishment of early vs. late successional trees in Northeastern India. Proceedings of Indian National Science Academy B48:115–120.Google Scholar
Simpson, E. H. 1949. Measurement of diversity. Nature (London) 163:688.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Singh, J. S., Singh, S. P., Saxena, A. K. & Rawat, Y. S. 1981. The Silent Valley forest ecosystem and possible impact of proposed hydroelectric project: reports on the Silent Valley study. Ecology Research Circle, Kumaun University, Nainital.Google Scholar
Swaine, M. D. & Hall, J. B. 1988. The mosaic theory of forest regeneration and the determination of forest composition in Ghana. Journal of Tropical Ecology 4:253–269.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swamy, P. S. & Ramakrishnan, P. S. 1987a. Contribution of Mikenia micrantha during secondary succession following slash and burn agriculture (Jhum) in north east India. I. Biomass litterfall and productivity. Forest Ecology and Management 22:229–237.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swamy, P. S. & Ramakrishnan, P. S. 1987b. Contribution of Mikenia micrantha during secondary succession following slash and burn agriculture (Jhum) in north east India. II. Nutrient cycling. Forest Ecology and Management 22:239–249.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Toky, O. P. & Ramakrishnan, P. S. 1983a. Secondary succession following slash and burn agriculture in north-eastern India. I. Biomass, litterfall and productivity. Journal of Ecology 71:735–745.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Toky, O. P. & Ramakrishnan, P. S. 1983b. Secondary succession following slash and burn agriculture in north-east India. II. Nutrient cycling. Journal of Ecology 71:747–757.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Torquebiau, E. 1981. Analyse architecturale de la foret de Los Tuxtlas (Veracruz), Mexique. PhD Thesis, Languedoc Scientific and Technique University, Montpellier Academy, Montpellier, France.Google Scholar
Watt, A. S. 1947. Pattern and process in the plant community. Journal of Ecology 35:1–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whitmore, T. C. 1978. Gaps in forest canopy. Pp. 639–655 in Tomlinson, P. B. & Zimmermann, M. H. (eds). Tropical trees as living systems. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Whitmore, T. C. 1984. Tropical rain forests of the Far East (2nd edition). Oxford University Press, Oxford.Google Scholar