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Proceedings of the International Academy of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, 2017, 7(2): 30-46
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Article

A contemporary assessment of tree species in Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, Southern India

M. Sathya, S. Jayakumar
Environmental Informatics and Spatial Modeling Lab, Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Pondicherry University, Puducherry 605014, India

Received 28 December 2016;Accepted 5 February 2017;Published 1 June 2017
IAEES

Abstract
Tree species inventory was carried out in five forest types of Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR). The forest type was divided into homogenous vegetation strata (HVS) based on the altitude, temperature, precipitation and forest types. A total of 8 ha area was sampled using 0.1 ha (20m by 50m) plot and all tree species >=1cm girth at breast height (gbh) within the plot were enumerated. In all, 4614 individuals were recorded that belonged to 122 species representing 90 genera and 39 families. Fabaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Rubiaceae, and Combretaceae were the species-rich families. The mean stand density of STR was 577/ha, but it varied from 180/ha to 779/ha. Similarly, the mean basal area of the STR was 14.51 m2/ha which ranged between 8.41 m2/ha and 26.96 m2/ha. The stem count was low at the lowest girth class (1-10 cm gbh) and high at 20-30 cm gbh in all the forest types. Anogeissus latifolia was the dominant species in the semievergreen and deciduous forest types while Chloroxylon swietenia was dominant in the thorn forest. The Shannon-Weiner and Simpson's indices ranged from 2.13 to 3.61 and from 0.75 to 0.96 respectively. The Sorenson's similarity index ranged from 0.12 to 0.85. As this study is a pioneer study that provides a baseline information about the tree species present in the STR.

Keywords dry deciduous forest;forest type map;remote sensing data;Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve;species richness;tree diversity.



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