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Proceedings of the International Academy of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, 2016, 6(4): 97-109
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Article

Tree inventory along the altitudinal gradients in Singara Range, Western Ghats, India

Dharmatma Singh, Satyam Verma, Shanmuganathan Jayakumar
Environmental Informatics and Spatial Modeling lab, Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Pondicherry University, Puducherry-605 014, India

Received 8 September 2016;Accepted 27 September 2016;Published 1 December 2016
IAEES

Abstract
Environmental gradients are the driving forces that shape species density, community composition, stand structure and diversity. Distribution of plants in Nilgiri hill is the result of topographic variations and climatic differences. This study was conducted in Singara range of The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, which lies between the altitudes of 900 to 2150 Meter above mean sea level (MSL). A total of 60 quadrates of 10กม50 m size were laid in the forest across five elevational ranges with 250-meter interval covering 1250 meter altitude. A total of 181 species in 115 Genera & 56 Families were recorded in the present study. Anogeissus latifolia was the most dominant species across the study area and was present in four zones except the highest elevation zone E (1900-2150), which is shola forest while the former zones were tropical dry deciduous and semi-evergreen forest. A total of 56, 62, 46, 40 and 82 tree species were found in Zone A, Zone B, Zone C, Zone D and Zone E respectively.

Keywords Western Ghats;Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve;elevation gradient;tree diversity;tropical forest.


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