Surveying the Forest Biodiversity of Evansburg State Park:Plant Community Classification and Species Diversity Assessment

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 293-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Young ◽  
Lindsey N. Swiacki
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 597-606
Author(s):  
Umeshkumar L. TIWARI ◽  
Kaliamoorthy RAVIKUMAR

The study deals with the floristic diversity assessment and vegetation composition analysis in various forest types from Hosur Forest division situated in Eastern Ghats of Southern India, in the state of Tamil Nadu. The study recorded 468 species of plants belonging to 283 genera and 91 families, including Angiosperms (464 species), Pteridophytes (3 species) and Bryophytes (1 species). Of the total, 94 species are trees, 12 are lianas, 70 are shrubs, 34 species are climbers, 194 species are herbs, sedges 7, grasses 21, ferns 3 and 1 species of moss. The five most abundant families in Hosur Forest Division were Fabaceae (45 spp.), Poaceae (34 spp.), Acanthaceae (30 spp.), Euphorbiaceae (28 spp.) and Rubiaceae (25 spp.). The quantitative features such as density and important value index (IVI) varied greatly among forest and in different forest types. In the present study, the diversity index of shrubs and herbs were found to be higher than that of trees. The maximum species diversity was recorded in Southern dry mixed deciduous forest (SDMDF) followed by Southern Thorn Forest (STF) and Southern Thorn Scrub (STS). The species diversity (H) was recorded the highest for SDMDF (5.61) followed by STF (5.18) and the lowest for STS (5.12). The presence of large number of higher girth class tree species and low number of sapling and seedling indicates that the present forests investigated are old and exhibiting low regeneration.


Scientifica ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Ruhana Hassan ◽  
Muhammad Nur Arif Othman ◽  
Mohd Nasarudin Harith ◽  
Amir Shah Ruddin Md Sah

Gracilaria red algae are notable for their economic importance as agrophytes, sold as salad vegetable, and used as the base for selected food and nonalcoholic beverages. A wild population of Gracilaria exists in coastal areas of Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, but there is only limited knowledge on species diversity and its abundance leaving the untapped economic potential of this resource. This study was carried out to determine diversity of wild Gracilaria populations in Lawas, Santubong, and Asajaya, Sarawak, using the combination of morphological character examination and 5′ region of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase 1 (CO1-5P) gene analysis. Identification of the species using morphological characters revealed three species, namely, Gracilaria changii, G. blodgettii, and G. arcuata, had been collected from the sampling sites. However, based on 672 bp CO1-5P gene sequence analysis, all the three species were identified as G. blodgettii; besides, low genetic divergence values (0.17%–0.34%) were scored between samples in this study with the same species in GenBank. In the phylogenetic trees, all samples in this study group together with other G. blodgettii have high bootstrap values; thus, this species is monophyletic. This study implies that species identification of Gracilaria and other seagrass taxa which have a phenotypic plasticity problem should include the CO1-5P gene analysis as it is a reliable gene marker for species diversity assessment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehraj Uddin ◽  
Faqrul Islam Chowdhury ◽  
Mohammed Kamal Hossain

Abstract. Uddin M, Chowdhury FI, Hossain MK. 2020. Assessment of tree species diversity, composition and structure of Medha Kachhapia National Park, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Asian J For 4: 15-21. Tree species diversity assessment is considered an essential task to design robust conservation action plans of Protected Areas (PAs). Numerous researches have assessed tree diversity of different PAs of Bangladesh but tree diversity of Medha Kachhapia National Park (MKNP) is still unknown due to lack of research initiatives. It hinders forest managers of this PA to plan and implement conservation actions successfully. To this end, the study carried out a systematic sampling to ascertain composition, distribution, and diversity of tree species available at MKNP of Bangladesh. Findings revealed that representation of tree diversity of MKNP was very poor. Only 10 tree species representing 6 families were identified. Besides, MKNP was dominated by different Dipterocarpus spp. especially with Dipterocarpus costatus. Dominance in height and diameter classes and high Important Value Index (133.94) of D. costatus indicated that the tree might possess a suitable habitat in MKNP to maintain optimum dispersal, development, and growth. However, recent plantation activities with exotic Acacia auriculiformis and intensified human-induced disturbances might hamper its habitat. Thus, to conserve the habitat of D. costatus and remaining forest resources of MKNP, reforestation efforts should be shifted from exotic to native tree species, and community anthropogenic disturbances should be minimized.


Author(s):  
Martin B. Bagaram ◽  
Diego Giuliarelli ◽  
Gherardo Chirici ◽  
Francesca Giannetti ◽  
Anna Barbati

Forest canopy gaps are important for the ecosystem dynamics. Depending on tree species, small canopy openings might be also associated to intra-crown porosity and to space between crowns. Yet, little is known on the relationships between the fine-scaled pattern of canopy openings and biodiversity features. This research explored the possibility of i)- mapping forest canopy gaps from a very high resolution orthomosaic (10 cm), processed from a versatile imaging platform such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), ii)- to derive patch metrics that can be tested as covariates of variables of interest for forest biodiversity monitoring. This is attempted in a test area of 240 ha covered by temperate deciduous forest types in Central Italy and containing 50 forest inventory plots of about 530 m2. Correlation and linear regression techniques were used to explore relationships between patch metrics and understorey (density, development and species diversity) or forest habitat biodiversity variables (density of micro-habitat bearing trees, vertical species profile, tree species diversity). The results revealed that small openings in the canopy cover (75% smaller than 7 m2) can be faithfully extracted from UAV RGB imagery, using the red band and contrast split segmentation. Highest correlations were observed in the mixed forest (beech and turkey oak), while beech forest had the poorest ones and turkey oak forest displayed intermediate results. Moderate to strong linear relationships were found between gap metrics and understorey variables in mixed forest type, with adjusted R2 from linear regression ranging from 0.52 to 0.87. Equally good results, in the same forest types, were observed for forest habitat biodiversity variables (0.52<adjusted R2<0.79) with highest values found for density of trees with microhabitats and vertical species profile. In conclusion, this research highlights that UAV remote sensing can potentially provide covariate surfaces of variables of interest for forest biodiversity monitoring, conventionally collected in forest inventory plots. By integrating the two sources of data, these variables can be mapped over small forest areas with satisfactory levels of accuracy, at a much higher spatial resolution than would be possible by field-based forest inventory solely.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanjar Mulya ◽  
Yanto Santosa ◽  
Iwan Hilwan

Abstract. Mulya H, Santosa Y, Hilwan I. 2021. Comparison of four species diversity indices in mangrove community. Biodiversitas 22: 3648-3655. Mangrove communities have a tidal environment that affects their species composition, which may be finite but the abundance may vary between species individuals. Many ecologists have used indices to measure species diversity without knowing the best suitable index for the community and its statistical characteristics. Therefore, this study aimed to compare species diversity indices in mangrove communities to obtain the best and most appropriate index for mangrove diversity. The comparison was done using the Simpson (1-D), Shannon, Menhinick, and Margalef indices, which were widely used and considered the best measures in various communities. The data was obtained from the field sampling using a single plot of 80×40 m2, and then it was simulated to obtain standardized variables so that the indices got the same treatment. It was calculated with descriptive statistics and species diversity indices among other Simpson, Margalef, Shannon, and Menhinick indices. Pearson correlation and UPGMA cluster were used to get conformity based on the best index criteria. The results showed the Margalef index was the best in performance that passed the assessment criteria more than Simpson (1-D), Shannon, and Menhinick index. It had a low correlation with sample variance and normality marker but had high variability of the index value. It was also sensitive to the number of species, good reduced individual sample, and good correlation with similar indices. Thus, we concluded that the Margalef index was the best index for mangrove community diversity measurement. The index was recommended for monitoring and evaluating the species diversity assessment for the mangrove community. It should not use several species diversity indices with similar meaning.


2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-31
Author(s):  
Mengistu Teshome ◽  
Zebene Asfaw ◽  
Gemedo Dalle

Abstract For forest ecosystem management to be effective, explicit understanding of the species diversity-environmental relationship along elevation gradient is crucial. This study aimed at identifying and describing plant communities and also documenting their species diversity. Evaluation of relationships between selected environmental variables and species diversity was another objective of this study. Systematic sampling techniques were used to collect vegetation data in a total of forty two sample plots (size=20×20 m). Within main plots, four sub-plots of 5×5 m were established at four corners and – one sub-plot of the same size in the center. These plots were used for shrub and herb diversity assessment. Within each sample plot, all plant species were documented and their scientific names were identified. Environmental variables, such as: elevation, aspect and slope, were also recorded for each main plot. Species diversity was determined using Shannon-Wiener diversity index and evenness in R statistical software. Agglomerative hierarchical clustering method was used for plant community classification. The total of 44 plant species belonging to 30 families was documented. Four plant community types were identified with different diversity, evenness and species richness. These plant communities were: Afrocurpus falcatus-Ficus sur, Maesa lanceolata-Bersama abyssinica, Vernonia myriantha-Urera hypselodendron and Croton machrostachus-Tecleanobilis occurring at average elevation of 2521, 2429, 2329, and 2364 m asl, respectively. Maesa lanceolata-Bersama abyssinica community type exhibited the highest species diversity and evenness followed by Croton machrostachus-Teclea nobilis community type showing the fact that median elevation ranges were rich in species. Elevation and slope gradient explained significant variation in species richness in the studied forest. For effective conservation of biodiversity and sustainable management of the forest ecosystem, further research on the impacts of anthropogenic disturbances and soil properties is recommended as a result of this study.


2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
李婷婷 LI Tingting ◽  
姬兰柱 JI Lanzhu ◽  
于大炮 YU Dapao ◽  
周莉 ZHOU Li ◽  
周旺明 ZHOU Wangming ◽  
...  

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