The montane closed evergreen forests found at altitudes above 1,800 m in the Western Ghats of India possess a distinct vegetation type and are called shola forests. Despite the fact that these forests are located in r...The montane closed evergreen forests found at altitudes above 1,800 m in the Western Ghats of India possess a distinct vegetation type and are called shola forests. Despite the fact that these forests are located in relatively inaccessible areas, they are still under anthropogenic pressure leading to continued habitat degradation and loss of biomass and biodiversity. A case study was conducted in Mananvan shola, the largest shola forest in Kerala of Western Ghats, to recognize the impact of disturbance on vegetation structure, composition and regeneration pattern, to identify the socio-economic reasons for disturbance and to evolve strategies for its management. In the disturbed part of the forest, dominance of light demanding species in tree, shrub and herb communities has been recorded. Here even the dominance of exotic species in tree seedling, shrub and herb communities is prominent. Skewed girth class distribution of tree community with poor representation by the individuals of girth class 30.1 to 90.0 cm, is also an indication of the collection of small wood and poles from the forest. The RISQ (Ramakrishnan Index of Stand Quality) in the disturbed area of the forest is above 2.0 as against near to 1.0 in relatively undisturbed forest standssuggesting that the disturbance is intensive and thus natural recovery process would be slow. Socio- economic analysis in villages located near the shola forest revealed the fact that the people depended heavily on this forest for their livelihood. Thus, the crux and the success of future management and conservation strategy depend on how one can reduce the dependency of people on the shola vegetation. Enrichment planting in disturbed parts of shola, enhancement of firewood by raising energy plantations, as well as development of lemongrass and firewood based agroforestry systems and reduction of grazing pressure by developing silvopastoral systems are the major strategies for the conservation of these shola forests.展开更多
Tropical montane forests (alternatively called tropical montane cloud forests or simply cloud forests) represent some of the most threatened ecosystems globally. Tropical montane forests (TMF) are characterized and de...Tropical montane forests (alternatively called tropical montane cloud forests or simply cloud forests) represent some of the most threatened ecosystems globally. Tropical montane forests (TMF) are characterized and defined by the presence of persistent cloud cover. A significant amount of moisture may be captured through the condensation of cloud-borne moisture on vegetation distinguishing TMF from other forest types. This review examines the structural, functional and distributional aspects of the tropical montane forests of peninsular India, locally known as shola, and the associated grasslands. Our review reveals that small fragments may be dominated by edge effect and lack an “interior” or “core”, making them susceptible to complete collapse. In addition to their critical role in hydrology and biogeochemistry, the shola-grassland ecosystem harbor many faunal species of conservation concern. Along with intense anthropogenic pressure, climate change is also expected to alter the dynamic equilibrium between the forest and grassland, raising concerns about the long-term sustainability of these ecosystems.展开更多
In a tropical wet montane evergreen forest in the southern peninsular India, the estimated stocking of dead wood is 90 ± 3 stems·ha-1 and the total dead wood volume is 70.7 m3·ha-1. When the logs (downe...In a tropical wet montane evergreen forest in the southern peninsular India, the estimated stocking of dead wood is 90 ± 3 stems·ha-1 and the total dead wood volume is 70.7 m3·ha-1. When the logs (downed dead trees more than 10.1 cm in diameter) constitute about 80% of the total deadwood stocking and volume, the rest is by snags (sound and rotting standing dead trees). Since the shola forest trees are characterized by their short stature with low to medium girth, about 89% of the total number of deadwood is of the size ranging from 10.1 cm to 40.0 cm in diameter. The estimated standing dead wood/standing live tree ratio is 0.16 indicating that the forest represents an old stand. Variations observed between logs and snags to change from a given decay class to the higher decay classes in two year period could be attributed to the facts that the logs would be in contact with soil for a relatively longer time and in turn would be in more contact with microorganisms and other decomposing agents.展开更多
Edge to interior gradients in forest fragments can influence the species composition and community structure as a result of variations in microenvironment and edaphic variables. We investigated the response of microen...Edge to interior gradients in forest fragments can influence the species composition and community structure as a result of variations in microenvironment and edaphic variables. We investigated the response of microenvironment and edaphic variables to distance from a tropical montane forest (locally known as shola)-grassland edge using one-edge and multiple-edge models. The edpahic variables did not show any differences between the grassland and shola soils. We observed that conventional one-edge models sufficiently explained variation trends in microenvironment along the edge to interior gradient in large fragments. As with other studies on small fragments though, we observed no edge effects with the use of a conventional one-edge model. However, the inclusion of multiple edges in small fragments signifycantly improved model fit. We can conclude that small fragments dominated by edge habitat may in fact resemble larger fragments with the inclusion of multiple edges. Our models did not evaluate non-linear effects which often better explain patterns in edge-interior gradients. The incorporation of such non-linear models in the system might further improve model fit.展开更多
文摘The montane closed evergreen forests found at altitudes above 1,800 m in the Western Ghats of India possess a distinct vegetation type and are called shola forests. Despite the fact that these forests are located in relatively inaccessible areas, they are still under anthropogenic pressure leading to continued habitat degradation and loss of biomass and biodiversity. A case study was conducted in Mananvan shola, the largest shola forest in Kerala of Western Ghats, to recognize the impact of disturbance on vegetation structure, composition and regeneration pattern, to identify the socio-economic reasons for disturbance and to evolve strategies for its management. In the disturbed part of the forest, dominance of light demanding species in tree, shrub and herb communities has been recorded. Here even the dominance of exotic species in tree seedling, shrub and herb communities is prominent. Skewed girth class distribution of tree community with poor representation by the individuals of girth class 30.1 to 90.0 cm, is also an indication of the collection of small wood and poles from the forest. The RISQ (Ramakrishnan Index of Stand Quality) in the disturbed area of the forest is above 2.0 as against near to 1.0 in relatively undisturbed forest standssuggesting that the disturbance is intensive and thus natural recovery process would be slow. Socio- economic analysis in villages located near the shola forest revealed the fact that the people depended heavily on this forest for their livelihood. Thus, the crux and the success of future management and conservation strategy depend on how one can reduce the dependency of people on the shola vegetation. Enrichment planting in disturbed parts of shola, enhancement of firewood by raising energy plantations, as well as development of lemongrass and firewood based agroforestry systems and reduction of grazing pressure by developing silvopastoral systems are the major strategies for the conservation of these shola forests.
文摘Tropical montane forests (alternatively called tropical montane cloud forests or simply cloud forests) represent some of the most threatened ecosystems globally. Tropical montane forests (TMF) are characterized and defined by the presence of persistent cloud cover. A significant amount of moisture may be captured through the condensation of cloud-borne moisture on vegetation distinguishing TMF from other forest types. This review examines the structural, functional and distributional aspects of the tropical montane forests of peninsular India, locally known as shola, and the associated grasslands. Our review reveals that small fragments may be dominated by edge effect and lack an “interior” or “core”, making them susceptible to complete collapse. In addition to their critical role in hydrology and biogeochemistry, the shola-grassland ecosystem harbor many faunal species of conservation concern. Along with intense anthropogenic pressure, climate change is also expected to alter the dynamic equilibrium between the forest and grassland, raising concerns about the long-term sustainability of these ecosystems.
文摘In a tropical wet montane evergreen forest in the southern peninsular India, the estimated stocking of dead wood is 90 ± 3 stems·ha-1 and the total dead wood volume is 70.7 m3·ha-1. When the logs (downed dead trees more than 10.1 cm in diameter) constitute about 80% of the total deadwood stocking and volume, the rest is by snags (sound and rotting standing dead trees). Since the shola forest trees are characterized by their short stature with low to medium girth, about 89% of the total number of deadwood is of the size ranging from 10.1 cm to 40.0 cm in diameter. The estimated standing dead wood/standing live tree ratio is 0.16 indicating that the forest represents an old stand. Variations observed between logs and snags to change from a given decay class to the higher decay classes in two year period could be attributed to the facts that the logs would be in contact with soil for a relatively longer time and in turn would be in more contact with microorganisms and other decomposing agents.
文摘Edge to interior gradients in forest fragments can influence the species composition and community structure as a result of variations in microenvironment and edaphic variables. We investigated the response of microenvironment and edaphic variables to distance from a tropical montane forest (locally known as shola)-grassland edge using one-edge and multiple-edge models. The edpahic variables did not show any differences between the grassland and shola soils. We observed that conventional one-edge models sufficiently explained variation trends in microenvironment along the edge to interior gradient in large fragments. As with other studies on small fragments though, we observed no edge effects with the use of a conventional one-edge model. However, the inclusion of multiple edges in small fragments signifycantly improved model fit. We can conclude that small fragments dominated by edge habitat may in fact resemble larger fragments with the inclusion of multiple edges. Our models did not evaluate non-linear effects which often better explain patterns in edge-interior gradients. The incorporation of such non-linear models in the system might further improve model fit.
