87 research outputs found
Effect of logging on the structure and regeneration of important fruit bearing trees in a wet evergreen forest, southern Western Ghats, India.
No full textGANESAN, R. & DAVIDAR, P. 2003. Effect of logging on the structure and regeneration of important fruit bearing trees in a wet evergreen forest, southern Western Ghats,
India. The effect of selective and clearcut logging on stem density and regeneration of six important resource trees, namely, Cullenia exarillata, Aglaia bourdillonii, Artocarpus heterophyUus, Myrislica dactyloides, Gomphandra coriacea and Palaquium eUipticum, were
studied. Forests logged 24 years ago were compared with an unlogged forest. Belt transects (10 x 100 m) were established to enumerate adult trees (>10 cm dbh). Subplots (10 x 10 m) along the belt transects at 0-10,40-50 and 90-100 m were enumerated for saplings (1-10 cm dbh). Adult stem density was significantly lower in both selectively logged and clearcut logged sites for all species except A. heterophyUus. Palaquium ellipticum-was missing in clearcut logged sites. The higher dbh class (>50 cm) remained missing in the logged forests after 24 years. Sapling densities of A. heterophyUus and P. ellipticumviere significantly reduced in the selectively logged forests. In the clearcut logged forest, other species had significantly reduced sapling density except
A. bourdillonii. Palaquium eUipticum had no saplings in the clearcut logged forest. The adult:sapling ratios were generally high in the unlogged forest. Low adult density and reduced regeneration potential of these species in the logged sites suggest that the medium elevation evergreen forest at Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Agasthyamalai Range, is degraded by logging
Pollination and fruit dispersal in the wet forests of the southern Western Ghats
No full textPollination and seed dispersal can play an important role in the functioning of tropical ecosystems and the maintenance of diversity in them. Wet forests in tropics are known to have exceptionally high diversity of pollination and dispersal mechanisms that are complex and can vary across continents. Identifying modes of pollination and dispersal can, to some extent, delineate
this complexity and help in better understanding of these systems (TharraManriquez and Oyama, 1992). Only recently a detailed analysis of the pollination and dispersal modes of the wet forests of Western Ghats, a biodiversity hotspot, has been carried out (Ganesh and Davidar, 2001; Devy, 1998). This study documents the pollination and seed dispersal modes of tree species in a mid-elevation wet forest at Kakachi in the southern Western Ghats. A total of 89 flowering species and 82 fruiting species were observed. Flowers were watched for visitors from the commencement of an thesis. Similarly fruiting trees were watched for visitors during ripe fruit stage and also frugivore identity was inferred from fruits and seeds in droppings and scats. Nocturnal observations were also done for visitors of several species. The data were obtained over a span of seven years and are based on direct observations of visitors to flowers and fruits. Many of these observations were recorded by ascending the canopy of trees using tree ladders
Fruit biomass and relative abundance of frugivores in a rain forest of southern Western Ghats, India
No full textFruit biomass and frugivore abundance were quantified over 3 y in a rain forest of the south Western Ghats, India. Fruit biomass was estimated by sampling fruit fall in the primary forest, and frugivore abundance by a 2.5-km transect. A total of 645 kg ha−1 of fruit was produced annually in the forest. Only 49% of this is edible to the frugivores and the remaining 51% is in the form of non-edible husks. Mammalian frugivores outnumbered avian frugivores and the majority of the mammals were seed predators. The total fruit biomass produced at Kakachi is lower than in the lowland forest and mountain forests in the neotropics but higher than in the wet sclerophyll forest of Australia. Lower diversity of trees and edaphic factors at Kakachi could be some of the reasons for these differences. On the other hand, paucity of fleshy fruits, low density of trees producing fleshy fruits and irregular fruiting of these species, account for the low number of obligate avian frugivores at Kakachi.</jats:p
Status Survey of the Malabar Pied Hornbill in the Dandeli Region, Northern Western Ghats, India
No full textThe Malabar Pied Hornbill, Anthracoceros coronatus, is a near threatened species, endemic to the tropical deciduous forests of central and southern India and Sri Lanka. The Dandeli region in Karnataka (India) is believed to be the last stronghold of this species in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot. Being a rapidly developing area with a growing human population, the threats to this species and their habitat are mounting, especially due to a large number of hydroelectric projects and habitat fragmentation caused by paper and plywood industries. This study evaluated the change in population status of the Malabar Pied Hornbill over a 23 year period and defined priorities for the long term conservation and monitoring of hornbills in Dandeli. Encounter rates of hornbills were also analysed in relation to the density and species richness of trees and fruiting trees, basal area, canopy cover and distance from river. Hornbill encounters were not significantly different compared to the earlier study carried out by Reddy in 1988, but were significantly different across the five sites in the current study. Higher numbers of hornbills were encountered closer to the river, but these results were only marginally significant. The mean numbers of hornbills recorded at the two roost sites identified in Dandeli were 26 +/- 4.47 (n=16 counts) and 31.78 +/- 3.53 (n=14 counts) respectively. The study also helped build local awareness about the species, train local Forest Department staff in monitoring hornbills and develop a management plan for its conservation
Fruiting Phenology and Pre-dispersal Seed Predation in a Rainforest in Southern Western Ghats, India
No full textDispersal modes of tree species in the wet forests of southern Western Ghats
No full textDispersal modes of tree species in a wet evergreen forest
at Kakachi in the Kalakad–Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, southern India are described here. Frugivore visitors to 82 tree species were observed. Biotic agents involved in seed dispersal and seed predation were six species of birds and five species of mammals. Birddispersed species were the most common species (59%), followed by mammal-dispersed species (26%). Primates were less important than bats and civets in seed dispersal. Fifteen per cent of the species had no apparent adaptation for abiotic dispersal (mechanically dispersed) except one wind-dispersed species. Many bird-dispersed species occurred at low density but the total density of bird-dispersed species compares with that of mammal and mechanically dispersed species. Edge or gap habitat species were less
abundant than the closed forest ones in all three types
of dispersal modes. Species level comparison with other wet forest sites indicates a high degree of similarity between Kakachi and La Selva in central America
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