scholarly journals Vegetation structure and ecological characteristics of forest of North Andaman Islands (India)

2009 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Prasad ◽  
A. Sringeswara ◽  
C. Reddy ◽  
P. Kumari ◽  
R. Varalakshmi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Vegetation Structure ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Evergreen Forest ◽  
Species Number ◽  
Andaman Islands ◽  
Forest Communities ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Ecological Characteristics ◽  
Girth Class

Vegetation structure and ecological characteristics of forest of North Andaman Islands (India)In this study, 3-ha research plots were established, one each in evergreen, semi-evergreen, and moist deciduous forests of North Andaman Islands. These 3 vegetation types were selected to study the structural aspects of plant diversity in forest communities. Our results showed high species richness and basal area in evergreen forest, high diversity in semi-evergreen forest, and high tree density (trees ha-1) in moist deciduous forest. At family level, the Anacardiaceae and Sterculiaceae dominated all the forest types, and were distributed throughout the North Andaman Islands. In the 3 forest communities, most species exhibited clumped spatial distribution, while random distribution ranked second. Tree girth class distribution revealed a decreasing number of trees with increasing girth class, indicating natural regeneration of these forest types. The species-area curve clearly reached a plateau at 3-ha area in respect of species number, supporting the adequacy of the large plot size selected in the present investigation. The study recorded a total of 136 tree species in the 3 forest communities and was higher than in many other tropical forest sites. The vegetation analysis of 3-ha plot in 3 different forest types substantially contributed data on North Andaman site potentiality, with reference to its species richness and diversity.

scholarly journals Variations in the abundance of three Parulidae species in the southern portion of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, state of Paraná

2012 ◽  
Vol 84 (3) ◽  
pp. 721-726
Author(s):  
Cássius R. Santana ◽  
Gabriela M. Bochio ◽  
Luiz dos Anjos
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Vegetation Structure ◽  
Rain Forest ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Brazilian Atlantic Forest ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Point Counts ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Forest Strata ◽  
The Difference

We evaluated the distribution of abundance of three species of warblers in the southern portion of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (BAF): Tropical Parula (Parula pitiayumi), the Golden-Crowned Warbler (Basileuterus culicivorus) and the White-Rimmed Warbler (Basileuterus leucoblepharus). Three types of forests comprise this region of the Atlantic Forest: seasonal semi-deciduous forest (SF), mixed rain forest (MF) and dense rain forest (DF). These forest types occur at different elevations: SF ranging from 200 to 800 m, MF ranging from 800 to 1,200 m and DF ranging from sea level up to 2,000 m. We used point counts in fifteen study areas distributed in the three forest types. The White-Rimmed Warbler and the Tropical Parula had higher abundances in MF, and their abundance was positively correlated with the elevation. The Golden-Crowned Warbler did not present a significant difference in abundance among the forest types, and no correlation between abundance and elevation was found. We suggest that the difference in the occupancy of the forest strata by the Golden-Crowned Warbler is because this species is more generalist and thus less sensitive to variations in the vegetation structure among the forests types when compared to the other two warbler species.

scholarly journals Liana species composition differs, in spite of trait similarities, in two adjacent forest types in Central Brazil

2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 1215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Carolina Souza Brito ◽  
Alexandre Ferraro ◽  
Robyn J. Burnham ◽  
Ângela Lúcia Bagnatori Sartori ◽  
Vivian Almeida Assunção
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Floristic Composition ◽  
Dry Forest ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Vegetation Types ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Climbing Plants ◽  
Dispersal Syndromes

In the Parana basin, the Serra de Maracaju juxtaposes the Seasonal Dry Forest and the cerradão (a phytophysiognomy of Cerrado), two distinct vegetation types that differ in canopy height, tree density, and composition of the understory. In the same way, these differences may be reflected in the composition of climbing plant species found in these two forest types. Thus, in this study we compared the climbing species in two forest fragments of Serra de Maracaju to understand: (1) Are species richness and floristic composition of climbing plants similar in cerradão and seasonal deciduous forest?, (2) What degree of floristic compositional difference exists between the two vegetation types?, (3) Do the two vegetation types differ significantly in climbing mechanisms, life forms, and dispersal syndromes represented among climbing species? For this, we established and sampled four plots per forest type over 24 months. Species were identified and each one classified, based on three discrete traits. Proportional differences were analyzed using chi-square tests. Our results showed that species richness and floristic composition of climbing plants in the cerradão and the seasonal deciduous forest were not similar. Climber species richness in cerradão was 37 while in the seasonal deciduous forest it was 31; they share only 13 species. Four families, Dioscoreaceae, Fabaceae, Malpighiaceae, and Sapindaceae, included over 60% of the climbing species. The morphological traits most common in both forest types were herbaceous life form, apical twining mechanism, and wind dispersal. Dioscoreaceae was found to be the dominant family, but is the first time to be reported for this condition in Brazil. Bignoniaceae and Passifloraceae ocurred only in the cerradão, and Asteraceae and Combretaceae in the seasonal deciduous forest; some species were found exclusively in a type of forest. Floristic composition of the cerradão and seasonal deciduous forest fragments were substantially different, in spite of physical proximity. However, their climbing species are not statistically distinct in morphological characteristics, possibly due to uniform climatic conditions and the similarity of species because of a shared ancestry (similar families).

scholarly journals A comparison between time-constrained counts and line transects as methods to estimate butterfly diversity in tropical habitats

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suman Attiwilli ◽  
Nitin Ravikanthachari ◽  
Krushnamegh Kunte
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Evergreen Forest ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Butterfly Diversity ◽  
Dry Deciduous Forest ◽  
Feasible Alternative ◽  
Line Transects ◽  
Species Richness And Abundance

Long-term monitoring programmes have revealed catastrophic population declines that are contributing to biodiversity loss. These discoveries and the underlying programmes have been possible because of standardised methods of counting butterflies. Butterflies have been monitored using modified line transects, known in butterfly monitoring schemes as Pollard walks. However, line transects are not feasible in many tropical and mountainous habitats. To tackle this problem, we devised time-constrained (30-min) counts and compared butterfly diversity as estimated through this method with that estimated through line transects (500 m, 10 min) in three tropical habitats in India (evergreen forest, dry deciduous forest and an urban woodland). We tested the efficacy of the two methods to sample species richness and abundance, as well as numbers of rare, endemic and specialist butterflies. We observed greater species richness, and more species of habitat specialists and endemics per sample in time-constrained counts when compared with line transects in evergreen forest, but not in the other two habitats. Thus, time-constrained counts were more efficient at detecting species than line transects in the species-rich evergreen habitat. Apart from this difference, the two sampling methods captured similar levels of species richness and other measures of diversity. Time-constrained counts may thus be viewed as a feasible alternative to line transects to carry out butterfly surveys in tropical and mountainous landscapes. This method is particularly suited for biodiversity assessments and mapping involving citizen science initiatives, which has considerable potential in populous and tech-ready countries such as India.

The cetoniine fauna of the Upper Guinean forests and savannas of Ghana (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae)

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan D. Mudge ◽  
Jesús Orozco ◽  
T. Keith Philips ◽  
Philippe Antoine
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
National Park ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Habitat Associations ◽  
Data Matrix ◽  
Evergreen Forest ◽  
Additional Species ◽  
Guinea Savanna ◽  
Total Species Richness

The cetoniine fauna of Ghana (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae, excluding the tribes Valgini and Trichiini) is presented based on results from the Ghana Insect Project (GIP). Data from 1,571 specimens including the species and number found at each of 16 collecting sites, collecting methods, months collected, ‘common’ species and habitat associations are presented. The fauna now consists of 109 species in 51 genera. Previously known distributions and specimen label data are given for 31 species (including Genuchina, a subtribe of Cremastocheilini) recorded from Ghana for the first time.Comparisons with the works of Endrödi (1973, 1976) and Joly (2001) are made and several misidentifications are annotated and corrected. GIP results suggest moist evergreen/semi-deciduous forest and Guinea savanna/semi-deciduous forest are species-rich habitats. Faunal lists for four protected areas (Ankasa Resource Reserve, Atewa Range Forest Reserve, Bia National Park and Mole National Park) sampled by both the GIP and Joly (2001, 2011) are presented.PAST (Hammer et al., 2001) was used to estimate GIP inventory completeness through individual rarefaction. EstimateS (Colwell, 2009) was used to estimate total species richness using several classic nonparametric species richness estimators. Based on a data matrix of species abundances from each of the 16 GIP sites, the Chao 2 estimator stabilizes at ca. 113 taxa, and the jackknife 2 estimator at ca. 130 taxa. Richness estimates based on a broader, incidence-based matrix from all three sources GIP, Endrödi (1973, 1976) and Joly (2001, 2011) were: Chao 2 = 153, jackknife 1 = 157, jackknife 2 = 173. Additional sampling in under-sampled habitats such as wet and moist evergreen forest and Guinea savanna, and during the dry and early wet seasons should yield additional species.

Ecology of small mammals in tropical forest habitats of southern India

1996 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 561-571 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anjali Chandrasekar-Rao ◽  
Melvin E. Sunquist
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Small Mammal ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Natural Forest ◽  
Evergreen Forest ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Species Richness And Diversity ◽  
Teak Plantation ◽  
Forest Sites

ABSTRACTFive species of rodent (Rattus rattus wroughtoni, Mus platythrix, Funambulus tristriatus, Cremnomys blanfordi and Golunda ellioti) were live-trapped over a period of eight months in three different habitat types (moist evergreen forest, moist deciduous forest and teak plantation) in Anaimalais Wildlife Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu, India. Small mammal densities ranged between 16.3 individuals ha−1 and 20.7 ha−1 for the natural forest sites and were 10.4 ha−1 in the teak plantation. Moist deciduous forest had the highest species richness and diversity scores. Although the teak plantation site had the same mammal species richness as the moist evergreen forest, numbers of individuals and overall small mammal biomass in the plantation was far lower than on the natural forest sites. Compared to moist deciduous forest, species richness and diversity were significantly lower on the teak plantation. R. r. wroughtoni and M. platythrix were the two most common species captured on all three sites. R. r. wroughtoni was the most common small mammal species captured, reaching densities of 14.5 ha−1 in moist evergreen forest. G. ellioti was the least common species, present only in moist deciduous forest. Demographic patterns and microhabitat selection were examined for R. r. wroughtoni, M. platythrix, and F. tristriatus. Only M. platythrix appeared to show any distinct seasonality in reproduction, with an increase in capture of breeding individuals towards the end of the wet season. Discriminant analysis did not reveal any distinct microhabitat preferences for any of the species. However, R. r. wroughtoni showed a significant association with bamboo, and F. tristriatus was associated with areas of higher canopy height and density in moist deciduous forest.

scholarly journals Carbon and Nutrient Inputs by Litterfall in Evergreen and Deciduous Forests in Korea

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Byung Bae Park ◽  
Afroja Rahman ◽  
Si Ho Han ◽  
Woo Bin Youn ◽  
Hwa Ja Hyun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nutrient Dynamics ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Mixed Forest ◽  
Forest Stand ◽  
Evergreen Forest ◽  
Nutrient Fluxes ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Nutrient Inputs ◽  
Temperate Deciduous Forest ◽  
Litterfall Production

Knowledge about carbon and nutrient fluxes by litterfall is important for understanding nutrient cycling in geologically unique ecosystems. However, the determination of forest litterfall production patterns is difficult due to many biophysical factors influencing the process. In this study, we (1) quantified the litterfall production and carbon and nutrient fluxes in warm-temperate evergreen forest stands in Jeju Gotjawal and (2) compared these values to those of a typical cool-temperate deciduous forest stand by forest types and climate differences. Litterfall from evergreen broadleaved forests at Cheongsu (CS) and Seonheul (SHb), a mixed forest at Seonheul (SHm) in Jeju Gotjawal, and a deciduous broadleaved forest at Chungnam National University Forest (CNU) was collected for a full two years using litter traps. Samples were sorted into leaves, twigs, barks, seeds, and unidentified materials, and then weighed and measured for C, N, P, K, Ca, and Mg fluxes by litterfall. Results showed that the mean annual litterfall (846.3 g m−2, average of CS, SHb, and SHm) at Jeju Gotjawal was similar to that of CNU (885.5 g m−2), but varied by site in Jeju Gotjawal: CS (933.1 g m−2) was significantly higher than the average of SHb and SHm (802.9 g m−2). Seasonal patterns of litterfall production differed by forest types; evergreen broadleaved forests showed a bimodal peak in fall and spring while deciduous broadleaved forests showed a unimodal peak in fall. Jeju Gotjawal had significantly higher total macronutrient concentrations and contents (except for K) than CNU and they also varied by site in Jeju Gotjawal: CS had higher N, P, Ca, and Mg contents than SHb and SHm. We conclude that litterfall production and nutrient fluxes differed by forest stand as influenced by forest types and climate. Further, our findings are important for understanding carbon and nutrient dynamics in the geologically unique ecosystem of Jeju Gotjawal and other areas with similar characteristics.

scholarly journals The Potential of EnMAP and Sentinel-2 Data for Detecting Drought Stress Phenomena in Deciduous Forest Communities

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. 14227-14258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Dotzler ◽  
Joachim Hill ◽  
Henning Buddenbaum ◽  
Johannes Stoffels
Keyword(s):  
Drought Stress ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Forest Communities ◽  
Sentinel 2

scholarly journals Bird communities in three forest types in the Pernambuco Centre of Endemism, Alagoas, Brazil

2013 ◽  
Vol 103 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lahert W. Lobo-Araújo ◽  
Mário T. F. Toledo ◽  
Márcio A. Efe ◽  
Ana C. M. Malhado ◽  
Marcos V. C. Vital ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Bird Communities ◽  
Northeastern Brazil ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Risk Of Extinction ◽  
Bird Fauna ◽  
Richness Patterns ◽  
Ombrophilous Forest

The Pernambuco Center of Endemism (PCE) in northeastern Brazil is highly fragmented and degraded. Despite its potential conservation importance the bird fauna in this area is still relatively unknown and there are many remnant fragments that have not been systematically surveyed. Here, we report the results of bird surveys in five forest fragments (one pioneer, two ombrophilous and two seasonal). In total, 162 taxa were recorded, 12 of which are endemic to the PCE. The frequency of endangered species was lower than what has been reported in studies from the same area and most of the taxa considered to be at risk of extinction were sub-species of uncertain taxonomic validity. The comparatively low number of endemic/threatened species may be due to the small size of the fragments in the present study - a consequence of the high levels of habitat loss in this region. Analysis of species richness patterns indicates that ombrophilous forest fragments are acting as refuges for those bird species that are most sensitive to environmental degradation.

Plant species richness mediates the effects of vegetation structure, but not soil fertility, on insect gall richness in a savanna in Brazil

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 197-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter Santos de Araújo
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Plant Height ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Vegetation Structure ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
Plant Abundance ◽  
Insect Galls ◽  
Insect Gall

Abstract:The present study aims to investigate the effects of vegetation structure (plant abundance and height) and soil characteristics (soil organic matter and macronutrients) on insect gall richness, and determine the extent to which these effects are mediated by the indirect effects of plant species richness. The study was performed in forty-nine 100-m2 savanna plots in Parque Nacional das Emas (Brazil) and sampled a total of 985 individual plants of 71 plant species and 97 insect gall morphotypes. Cecidomyiidae (Diptera) induced the most insect galls (38.1%), and the plant family Myrtaceae had the greatest richness of insect gall morphotypes (16). Path analysis of plant abundance, plant height, soil macronutrients, soil organic matter and plant species richness explained 73% of insect gall richness. The results show that soil macronutrient quantity has a direct positive effect on insect gall richness, whereas plant abundance and plant height had only indirect positive effects on insect gall richness via the increase in plant species richness. These findings showed that both plant-related and environment-related factors are important to induce insect gall richness in Neotropical savannas, and that plant species richness should be taken into account to determine the richness of insect galls.

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