Indian Forester, 139 (7) : 636-644, 2013 http://www.indianforester.co.in
ISSN No. 0019-4816 (Print) ISSN No. 2321-094X (Online)
VEGETATION STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION IN CORE AREA OF SARISKA NATIONAL PARK, RAJASTHAN ZAARA KIDWAI The Corbett Foundation, Village and P.O. Dhikuli, Ramnagar – 244715, India. Email:
[email protected] ABSTRACT Species richness, diversity, basal cover and importance value index of the vegetation was analyzed in the Sariska National Park in the north-eastern part of Rajasthan from February to May 2009. Sixteen transects ranging from 1.8 to 2 km in length were laid throughout the 80 km² study area covering all the available habitat types. EstimateSWin750, PCORD, and TWINSPAN were used to calculate richness, diversity, and dominance of the region. The observed mean tree density (258.44/ha) was lower than the mean shrub density (1178.74/ha), though the diversity value was found to be higher for trees (46.47±0.53) compared to shrubs (8.0±0.02). Majority of the intensive study area comprised of grasses (56.74%). Anogeissus pendula was found to be the most dominant species with GBH of individuals within class interval of mostly 40-50 cm and highest IVI value (44.01). Whereas for Acacia senegal the IVI value came out to be the lowest (8.98). Keywords: Density, Diversity, Dominance and Richness.
Introduction Tropical dry deciduous forest constitutes about 38% of the total forest area in India (Dixit, 1997). Only a few attempts have been made to evaluate the structure of plant community of these forests (Singh and Misra, 1978; Khan, 1996; Pauline et al., 1996; Dixit, 1997; Parthasasrthy and Sethi, 1997). Tropical forest ecosystems are one of the richest terrestrial ecosystems which support a variety of life forms and maintain huge global biodiversity (Shi and Singh, 2002). Both structure and diversity of vegetation have strong functional role in controlling ecosystem processes like biomass production, cycling of water and nutrients (Gower et al., 1992). A strong correlation also exists between structural diversity and species diversity (Sahu et al., 2008). Previously, considerable amount of research has been carried out regarding diversity index of tropical dry deciduous forest areas. Beard (1944); Lugo et al. (1978) and Murphy and Lugo (1986) also suggested that the number of species tends to increase along moisture gradient in a semi-deciduous dry Guanica forest in Puerto Rico. Marod et al., (1999) reported low stem density and basal area, and relatively high species diversity in the natural mixed deciduous forest in western Thailand, and attributed it to bamboo undergrowth and frequent fires which prevent continuous regeneration. The tropical dry deciduous thorn forests of Rajasthan may be characterized as fragile ecosystems according to criteria given by Nilsson and Grelsson (1995). Sabogal and Valerio (1998) evaluated the
structure and natural regeneration of trees in a dry deciduous forest in Nicaraguan and observed that these forests are in process of biological degeneration and economic depletion. Apart from human induced disturbances (Rai, 1985; Murphy and Lugo, 1986; Pauline et al., 1996; Hare et al., 1997; Yadav and Gupta, 2006), natural disturbances such as hurricanes (Kelly et al., 1988), typhoon (Shibuya et al., 1997), salt sprays and other coastal influences (Smith and Vankat, 1992; Hare et al., 1997) have great impact on the species diversity of dry deciduous forests. In view of the conservation of the rich biodiversity of this forest, it was declared as the Sariska Tiger Reserve by the government of India and the Rajasthan state in 1979 (Yadav and Gupta, 2006). Thus, the present study aimed at evaluating the structure, composition and diversity of vegetation in the tropical dry deciduous forest of Sariska National Park that supports its diverse fauna. Study Area The Sariska Tiger Reserve, spread over an area of 881 km2 , is located in the Aravalli Hills (79°17’-76°34’E, 27°05’-27°33’N). It is divisible into two distinct zones (Shahabuddin et al., 2006): the 274 km2 National Park and the 607 km2 Sanctuary. The climate is subtropical, characterised by distinct winter, summer, monsoon and post-monsoon seasons. Winter commences from November during which the temperature can be as low as 3° C, and average annual rainfall is 650 mm. The Sariska terrain is undulating to hilly in nature and there are numerous narrow valleys (Sankar, 1994). The dominant
Observed mean tree density (258.44/ha) was lower than mean shrub density (1178.74/ha) while diversity value was higher (46.47) for trees.
2013]
Vegetation structure and composition in core area of Sariska National Park, Rajasthan
vegetation is Northern tropical dry deciduous forests and Northern Tropical Thorn forest (Champion and Seth, 1968). Anogeissus pendula is the dominant tree species that covers approximately 40% of the forest habitat. Boswellia serreta and Lannea coromandelica grow largely on rocky patches, Albizia lebbeck, Diospyros melanoxylon, Holoptepia integrifolia and Ficus sp. are dominant plant species in moist localities (Sankar, 1994). Nine different vegetation and land cover categories have been reported in Sariska Tiger Reserve by Sankar and Qureshi (2009) (Table 1). Low hills and slopes of Sariska Tiger Reserve are covered by deciduous forests dominated by Anogeissus pendula, mixed with Boswellia serrata, Lannea coromandelica and Wrightia tinctoria. The ridges, hilltops and drier strata are dominated by B. serrata. Floors of valleys that have seasonal streams or perennial springs, harbour much more diverse semideciduous riparian forests of Mitragyna parvifolia, Ficus glomerata, Phoenix sylvestris, Syzygium cumini, Diospyros melanoxylon, Mangifera indica and Terminalia bellerica, along with bamboo clumps Dendrocalamus strictus. In narrow rocky valleys with perennial water sources, Phoenix sylvestris is commoner than the other associate species of riparian forest. In drier and flatter terrain, tropical scrub forest dominates, consisting of Ziziphus mauritiana, Acacia leucophloea, Butea monosperma, Balanites aegyptiaca, Acacia catechu and Aegle marmelos. The understorey of scrub forests consists of shrubs such as Capparis sepiaria, C. decidua, Ziziphus nummularia and Adhatoda vasica. Grasses such as Cenchrus ciliaris, Dicanthium annulatum and Heteropogon contortus occur in the scrub forest and other flatter terrain (Shahabuddin et al., 2006). Carnivores like tiger (Panthera tigris), leopard (Panthera pardus), striped hyaena (Hyaena hyaena), jungle cat (Felis chaus), common mongoose (Herpestes edwardse), small Indian mongoose (H. auropunctatus), palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) and small Indian civet (Viverricula indica) are also found in the Tiger Reserve. Chital Axis axis, sambar (Cervus unicolor) and Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus) are major ungulate species (Sankar, 1994). Material and Methods Surveys were conducted from February to May 2009, within the 80 km² National Park, which was divided into four sections for the purposes of the study. Within each section we laid four line transects, ranging in length from 1.8 to 2 km and covering all major vegetation and terrain types representative of the national park. To obtain the density, diversity and dominance parameters of the forest, at each 100 m on the line transects, 10 m
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and 5 m radius plots were laid to enumerate the tree and shrub layer respectively (Baker and Pearson, 1981) followed by percentage ground cover evaluation by using line intercept method (Cummings and Smith, 2000) using 25 m rope on either side of the transect line which was marked at each meter length. Thus, a total of 318 sample plots were laid in the intensive study area to estimate the above parameters for the evaluation of density (no. of trees per unit area), diversity and dominance of trees and shrubs along with evaluation of ground layer composition (Cummings and Smith, 2000) in the Sariska National Park. Sobs richness is the total number of species observed in a sample, or in a set of samples. On the other hand, diversity of species is calculated by the following formula (Chao, 1984; Colwell and Coddington, 1994):
S1 = Sobs
F12 + 2F2
where Sobs is the number of species in the sample, F1 is the number of singletons (i.e., the number of species with only a single occurrence in the sample) and F2 is the number of doubletons (the number of species with exactly two occurrences in the sample). A software ‘EstimateSWin750’ (Colwell, 1997) was used to estimate diversity and richness of trees, shrubs and ground flora. For calculating dominance of trees and shrubs, density of trees and shrub species was calculated in ‘per hectare’. Dominance of a species is determined by the value of the basal cover. GBH was calculated to determine the most dominant species in Sariska. Furthermore, a Software ‘PC - ORD’ (McCune and Mefford, 1999) was used for the calculation of dominance of plant species in the study area. The vegetation composition was analyzed using software ‘TWINSPAN’ (Hill, 1979b, Gauch and Whittaker, 1981). The importance value index (IVI) for tree species was estimated as the sum of relative density, relative frequency and relative dominance following Curtis (1959). Result and Discussion a)
Diversity and Richness of trees, shrubs and ground layers
In total, 36 species of trees, 8 species of shrubs, 13 species of grasses, two species of herbs, and 7 species of weeds were recorded in the intensive study area. The Sobs (‘Mao Tau’; Colwell et al., 2004) richness and Chao diversity index values (Chao, 1984) of each category of vegetation is given in the Table 2. The mean richness (±SE) of trees was found to be 36 ± 0.21. Bamboos were also reported from some transects and so their richness
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Table 1 : Vegetation and land cover in Sariska National Park (Sankar and Qureshi, 2009)
S. No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Vegetation/ Landcover type Anogeissus dominated forest Scrubland Boswellia dominated forest Agriculture/Habitation Zizyphus mixed forest Butea dominated forest Acacia mixed forest Barren land Water body Total
Area (sq. km.) 283.3 152.5 123.5 74.7 63.6 47.5 32.2 20.6 1.6 799.432
Percentage 35.43 19.07 15.50 9.34 7.95 5.94 4.02 2.58 0.20 100
Table 2 : Richness and diversity of vegetation in Sariska National Park estimated during February to May 2009.
Species Tree Shrub Grass Weed
Richness
Mean
SE
Diversity
Mean
SE
43.48 8 13 7
36 8 13 7
0.21 0.07 0.12 0
83.1 8 13 7
46.47 8 13 7
0.53 0.02 0.04 0.03
and diversities were calculated in combination with the trees (35 ± 0.098). Mean diversity of trees was found higher than the diversity of shrub or ground layer (46.47 ± 0.53). b)
Vegetation Density Estimates
The mean density of trees (±SE) was found to be 258.44 (±3.18) per hectare, while density of shrubs was found to be 1178.74 (±16.09) per hectare. Coefficient of variation is the measure of dispersion which came out to be 0.22 for trees and 0.24 for shrubs. Density estimates of trees and shrubs are given in Table 3 and Fig. 1. c)
Dominance estimation
Dendrograms - Fig 2.a and 2.b gives the details of the dominant tree and shrub species in the different habitats of the intensive study area (Annexure) along with their respective eigenvalues. Eigenvalues determine the degree of variation observed between
Table 3 : Density (per hectares) of trees and shrubs in Sariska National Park estimated during February to May 2009.
Statistics
Density (ha ) Tree Shrub 258.44 1178.74 3.18 16.09 0.22 0.24
Mean Standard Error Coefficient of Variation Table 4 :
Dominant tree species with their respective mean GBH and IVI in Sariska National Park estimated during February to May 2009. Tree Species
1. Anogeissus pendula 2. Butea monosperma 3. Boswellia serrata 4. Zizyphus mauritiana 5. Acacia leucophloea 6. Acaccia catechu 7. Acacia senegal 8. Balanites aegyptiaca
Mean GBH (cm) 38.77 60.74 51.37 33.27 38.87 38.13 32.93 19.58
Std. Error
IVI
0.38 0.86 0.36 0.45 0.97 0.65 0.77 0.26
44.01 29.21 19.51 21.73 38.08 19.20 8.98 37.44
species in a dichotomy (Kline, 1972). Anogeissus pendula was found to be the most dominant tree species in the intensive study area followed by Boswellia serrata. In case of shrubs, Gervia favescens was found to be the most dominant, followed by Zizyphus nummularia and Capparis seperia. d)
Population Structure of trees
Dominant tree species and their mean GBH values and IVI are given in Table 4, whereas, the frequency distribution of different interval classes (Girth at breast height - GBH) of 8 dominant tree species is given in Fig. 3 (a - h). Fig. 1 : Density of trees and shrubs in Sariska National Park
In case of Anogeissus pendula, the individuals with GBH class 40 - 50 cm were found to be in greater numbers
Euphorbia nerifolia, Acacia leucophloea
N= 4
Acacia nilotica
N=9
Butea, Capparis decidua
0.55
N = 45 Zizyphus, Prosopis
N = 50
Acacia catechu, Acacia Senegal, Dichrostachys
0.72
1.12
0.41
Prosopis
N = 36
0.09
N=4
N = 15
Balanites
N = 21 Zizyphus, Prosopis
Zizyphus
N = 14
Acacia Senegal
0.37
N=9
Butea
N = 13
Acacia catechu
N = 10
0.23
N= 83
0.92
0.55
Zizyphus, Butea
Anogessus pendula
N = 30
Bencha
N=1
N =31 Acacia catechu, Dichrostachys
N = 23 Zizyphus, Butea
0.43
N= 23
0.16
N=129 Prosopis, Butea
Acacia leucophloea,
0.88
Butea, Boswellia,
N= 46
N = 64
Dauda
Acacia leucophloea
Balanites
N=68
0.84
N= 52
N = 37
Anogessus
N = 15
Bencha, Bouhinia,
Anogeissus, Boswellia
Vegetation structure and composition in core area of Sariska National Park, Rajasthan
Fig. 2a : Dendrogram showing the dominant tree species (with their respective eigenvalues) in Sariska National Park, Rajasthan. Anogeissus pendula was found to be the most dominant tree species (eigenvalues are written in italics).
0.27
N=95 Acacia Senegal, Zizyphus, Prosopis
Dichrostachys, Prosopis, Balanites
Euphorbia nerifolia, Phoenix sylvestris
0.52
N=163
N= 5
N=1
N=168
Anogeissus, Boswellia
Div 1 N= 297
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N = 14
N = 23
N = 93
N = 19 Lantana
N = 51
Cap sep, Zizyphus
Cass tora
N=9
Cassia tora, Grevia
N = 70
Zizy n, cass tora
Adathoda , Zizy n
Grev flav
N = 25
N = 20
N = 45 Cassia tora, cap sep
N = 25 Cap dec, grevia teryx
Grevia, Cap sep,
N = 22
Clerodendron
N=1
Zizyphus num
Cassia tora, Grevia
N = 173
Proso, grfl, lantana
N = 10
Zizyphus
N =18
Zizyphus n, Capp sep
N = 28
Rhus
N=2
Cap dec
N=5
Rhus myso
N=7
Capp sep, Cap dec
N = 35
Cassia tora, Zizy n, Adathoda N = 45
Zizy, cassia occi
N = 10
Cap sep, Cassia tora
N = 24
Jungli guar
N=7
Adathoda , Cap sep,
N = 12
N = 19 Adathoda , Cassia occi
N = 26 Grevia flav, lantana
Cassia tora, Cassia occi
Fig. 2 b : Dendrogram showing the dominant shrub species (with their respective eigenvalues) in Sariska National Park. Gervia flavescens was found out to be the most dominant shrub species (eigenvalues are written in italics).
Grevia teryx
Adathoda , Cassi occi, Grev flav
N= 45
Grevia flav
Zizyphus num
N = 12
N = 28
Zizy, Adathoda
Capparis sep
N = 96
N =128
N = 124
N=2
Zizy n, Grevia teryx
Grevia flavcense
N=138
Div 1 N= 311
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Vegetation structure and composition in core area of Sariska National Park, Rajasthan
Table 5 : Ground layer composition in the study area estimated during February to May 2009.
Mean Std. Error of Mean Std. Deviation Coefficient of Variation
%Grass 56.74 2.18 8.71 0.15
%Herb 2.07 2.58 1.54 5.0
%Stone 15.1 1.09 4.37 0.29
%Bare ground 10.9 0.81 3.25 0.3
%Litter 15.19 1.18 4.72 0.31
Fig. 3a
Fig. 3b
Fig. 3c
Fig. 3d
Fig. 3e
Fig. 3f
Fig. 3g Fig. 3 (a - h) : Frequency distribution of dominant tree species found in Sariska National Park
Fig. 3h
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Fig. 4 : Proportion of different components forming ground layer in the study area, Sariska National Park (Prepared).
as compared to younger or older trees. In case of Acacia species, the individuals with medium sized GBH (30 - 45 cm) most frequent followed by younger individuals having a GBH of < 20 cm. In case of Balanites aegyptiaca, more young individuals were recorded and this could be attributed to better regeneration of their seedlings. The regeneration of Zizyphus mauritiana seedlings and the rate of survival is very low in Sariska (Sankar, 1994), and this was confirmed in the present study where in maximum individuals of Zizyphus mauritiana were observed in GBH class of 30 - 40 cm. In case of Boswellia serrate and Butea monosperma, few or no individuals were recorded with GBH class of k M h + ? k u R o ( 1 1 7 8 7 4 @ g s) l sd e F k k A ; | f i o { `k k as d so f So è ; d h f L F k f r ( 4 6 4 7 ± 0 5 3 ) > k f M +; k sa ( 8 0 ± 0 0 2 ) d h r qy u k e sa m P p F k h A x g u v è ; ; u { k s= k e sa ? k k l & { k s= k d k c k g qY ; ( 5 6 7 4 %) F k k A , u k sx sl l i sU M ªy k ] , d y t h c h , p d s l k F k e q[ ; i zt k f r i k b Zx b ZA f t l e sa J s. k h v ar j k y i zk ; % 4 0 & 5 0 l se h v k Sj m P p r e v k b Zo h v k b Ze wY ; ( 4 4 0 1 ) F k k A t c f d v d sf l ; k l su sx y d k v k b Zo h v k b Ze wY ; U ; wu r e ( 8 9 8 ) F k k A References Baker, R.L. and Pearson, H.A. (1981). Plot delineation with a pin-and chain. Journal of Range Management. 34: 336-337. Beard, J.S. (1944). Climax vegetation in tropical America. Ecology, 25: 127–158. Champion, H.G. and Seth, S.K. (1968). A revised survey of the forest types of India. Manager of publications, Govt., of India Press, New Delhi. Chao, A. (1984) Non-parametric estimation of the number of classes in a population. Scandinavian Journal of Statistics, 11: 265–270. Colwell, R.K., Mao, C.X. and Chang, J. (2004) Interpolating, extrapolating, and comparing incidence-based species accumulation curves. Ecology, 85: 2717–2727. Colwell, R. (1997). Estimates: Statistical estimation of species richness and shared species from samples. Version 7.5. User’s guide and application published online. [URL:http://viceroy.eeb.uconn.edu/estimates] Colwell, R.K. and Coddington, J.A. (1994). Estimating terrestrial biodiversity through extrapolation. PhilosophicalTransactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 345:101-118. Connell, J.H. and Orias, E. (1964). The ecological regulation of species diversity. American Naturalist, 48: 399–414. Cummings, J. and Smith, D. (2000). The line-intercept method: A tool for introductory plant ecology laboratories, 22: 234-246. Curtis, J.T., (1959). The vegetation of Wisconsin. In: An Ordination of Plant Communities, Wisconsin Press, Madison. Dixit, A.M., (1997). Ecological evaluation of dry tropical forest vegetation: an approach to environmental impact assessment, Tropical Ecology, 38: 87–99. Fischer, A.G. (1960). Latitudinal variation in organic diversity. Evolution, 14: 64– 81. Gauch, H.G., Whittaker, R.H., and Singer, S.B. (1981). A comparative study of nonmetric ordinations. Ecology. 69: 135-152. Gower, S.T., Vogt, K.A. and Grier, C.C. (1992). Carbon dynamics of rockey mountain Douglas – fir : Influence of water and nutrient availability. Ecological Monographs, 62(1): 43-65. Hare, M.A., Lantange, D.O., Murphy, P.G. and Checo, H. (1997). Strcuture and tree composition in a sub tropical dry forest in the Dominican Republic: comparison with a dry deciduous forest in Puerto Rico. Tropical Ecology, 38: 1–18. Hill M.O. (1979b). DECORANA: A FORTRAN program for de-trended correspondence analysis and reciprocal averaging. Section of Ecology and Systematics. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. Kelly, D.L., Tanner, E.V.J., Kapos, V., Dickinson, T.A., Goodfriend, G.A. and Fairbairn, P. (1988). Jamaican limestone forests: floristics, structure and environment of three examples along a rain-fall gradient. Tropical Ecology, 40: 121–256. Khan, J.A. (1996). Analysis of woody vegetation of Gir Lion sanctuary and national park, Gujarat, India, Tropical Ecology, 37: 247–256. Kline, M., (1972). Mathematical thought from ancient to modern times, Oxford University Press. Lugo, A.E., Gonzalaz-Liboy, J.A., Cintron, B., and Dugger, K. (1978). Structure, productivity and transpiration of a sub-tropical dry forest in Puerto Rico. Biotropica, 10: 278–291. Marod, D., Kutintara, U., Yarwudhi, C., Tanaka, H., Nakshisuka, T., Dokark, M., Utis, K., Chanchai, Y., Nakashizuka, T., Kohyama, T., Whitmere, T.C., and Ashton P.S. (1999). Structural dynamics of a natural mixed deciduous forest in western Thailand. Journal of Vegetation Science, 10: 777–786. McCune, B., and Mefford, M.J. (1999). PC-ORD: Multivariate Analysis of Ecological Data. MjM Software design, Gleneden Beach, Oregon. MOEF, (2006). Evaluation Reports of National Parks in India. Project Tiger Directorate, Ministry of Environment and Forests. Government of India. pp 197 -202. Murphy, P.G., and Lugo, A.E. (1986). Structure and biomass of a sub-tropical dry forest in Puerto Rico. Biotropica, 18: 89–96.
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