Impact of rural community harvesting practices on plant biodiversity in Kudremukh National Park, India

摘要

The Kudremukh National Park in the central Western Ghats (India) is a mega-biodiversity hotspot. However, the dependence on forests of tribal and non-tribal settlements in the core area of the park has resulted in forest fragmentation, posing a threat to the endemic flora. The study focuses on the disturbed forest ecosystem in the park. Using the belt transect method, we studied the vegetation structure and floristic composition of forests in tribal and non-tribal settlement areas. We compared species diversity, richness, dominance and stand quality of the park with an undisturbed nearby forest. Due to harvesting practices of the rural communities, the percentage of light-demanding species was higher in tribal and non-tribal forest compared those in with the undisturbed forest. Differences in species composition were largely due to extensive establishment of light-demanding or pioneer forest species. The pioneer forest species pose a threat to endemic species of the region by suppressing seedling growth and establishment. Our observations will help forest functionaries to prepare site-specific restoration plans. Primary forest species such as Myristica dactyloides, Palaquium ellipticum, Garcinia gummi-gutta and Poeciloneuron indicum can be used in the restoration process. These species help to maintain forest ecosystem stability and improve provision of forest ecosystem services.View full textDownload full textKeywordsecosystem services, Western Ghats, tribal settlement, Shannon-Wiener diversity, pioneer speciesRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21513732.2011.588184