Composition, population structure and distribution of dipterocarps in a tropical evergreen forest at Varagalaiar, Anamalais, Western Ghats, South India
2001
N. Ayyappan | N. Parthasarathy
The diversity, density, basal area, population structure and spatialdistribution of all dipterocarps (> 10 cm dbh) was investigated in a 30-ha permanent plotof tropical evergreen forest at Varagalaiar, Anamalais, Western Ghats, south India.Dipterocarpaceae in our site was represented by three species, Dipterocarpus indicus, Hopeaparviflora and Valeria indica. These contributed 2% of tree species richness, 6.8% of standdensity and 18.3% of stand basal area. The density of dipterocarps in each hectare of thepresent study site varied greatly, ranging from 7 to 62 trees with a mean density of 31 treesha-1. Dipterocarpus indicus was the most abundant species accounting for 59% of dipterocarpdensity. Of the 51 tree families encountered in the 30-ha plot, dipterocarp species rankedfirst in basal area because of their greater girth frequency in the larger girth classes.Population structures of the three dipterocarp species obtained based on the number ofindividuals in each diameter class displayed a greater proportion of individuals in the lowersize class. Spatial patterns of all dipterocarp species and their three stem sizes analysed at1 ha, 0.5 ha and 0.25 ha scales revealed that individuals were dispersed both in clumpedand uniform patterns, except V. indica which was randomly distributed in one subplot atthe 1-ha scale.
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