Species Composition,Distribution, and Diversity of Woody Species in a Tropical Dry Forest of India |
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Authors: | R. K. Chaturvedi A. S. Raghubanshi |
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Affiliation: | 1. Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Indiaravikantchaturvedi10@gmail.com;3. Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India |
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Abstract: | We investigated the composition of tropical dry forest woody species at adult, sapling, and seedling stages, in terms of plant diversity, distribution, and importance value index (IVI), and identified the dominant and ubiquitous species in the five study sites having variable edaphic properties. Species varied markedly in the composition and IVI at different sites. The semi-evergreen species, Shorea robusta, was dominant at the wettest site at all the three growth stages; at the driest site, highly deciduous species Lannea coromandelica was the dominant adult species and Nyctanthis arbortristis the dominant sapling and seedling species. Soil moisture content (SMC) altered the distribution of about 8% of the adult species. ANOVA indicated significant site-wise differences in the Shannon-Wiener index, Whittaker’s evenness, Margalef’s species richness, and β-diversity for the woody species at all the three stages. The Shannon-Wiener index, Whittaker’s evenness, Margalef’s species richness, and β-diversity were greater in seedlings as compared to adult and saplings of tree species. These variations in species composition and distribution are evidently on account of different levels of SMC as well as habitat heterogeneity as indicated by β-diversity which was independent of SMC. |
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Keywords: | tropical dry forest soil moisture content woody species diversity indices distribution pattern |
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