Floristic and edaphic attributes of a shola forest ecosystem in Mankulam forest division Kerala

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dc.contributor.advisorGopakumar, S
dc.contributor.authorAbin M, Thadathil
dc.contributor.authorKAU
dc.date.accessioned2021-09-10T05:16:41Z
dc.date.available2021-09-10T05:16:41Z
dc.date.issued2020
dc.descriptionPGen_US
dc.description.abstractA study was undertaken in the shola forest ecosystem at Anakulam range of Mankulam forest division, Idukki, Kerala with a principal objective to understand the floristic composition, diversity and vegetation structure and also to investigate the physico-chemical properties of soil that supports this unique forest ecosystem. On this context the hypothesis examined was whether the shola forest exhibits high floristic diversity, structure and soil properties comparable to tropical evergreen forests. A total of 106 plant species was recorded from 0.5 ha. It included 50 species of trees, 20 shrubs, 12 herbs, 8 climbers and 16 fern species. The diversity indices of the shola forest ecosystem were Simpson’s index (0.97), Berger- Parker Dominance Index (0.05), Shannon – Wiener index (3.67), Pielou’s Equitability index (0.93) and Margaleaf Richness index (7.18) which are on par with similar published reports from the shola forests and tropical evergreen forests. A total number of 918 individuals were recorded from 0.5ha with a basal area of 22.46 m2 ha-1. Microtropis ramiflora, Vaccinium leschenaultia, Actinodaphne bourdillonii, Daphniphyllum neilgherrense, Schefflera racemosa, Syzygium lanceolatum, Syzygium densiflorum, Cinnamomum sulphuratum, Rhodomyrtus tomentosa and Symplocos obtuse are the dominant tree species in Mankulam shola. Lauraceae, Myrtaceae and Celastraceae are the tree dominant families. The diameter frequency as well as height frequency distribution of shola forest showed the “inverse J” shaped curve which reflects the existence of new recruits. The total number of plant species in the understory was 2353 belonging to 75 different species. The dominant understory plant species was Strobilanthes luridus, Ageratina adenophora, Strobilanthes lawsone and Strobilanthes neoasper. Profile diagram revealed that the trees are short boled and rarely exceed 15m. Soil was sandy clay loam (60.95%) followed by clay (24.35%) and silt (14.7%). Electrical conductivity was 0.52 dS/m, while bulk density was 0.82 g cm-3. Shola soil was moderate to slightly acidic (4.67 to 5.84), while SOC content was 7.99%. Total nitrogen content was 1.85 % and available phosphorus was 71.58 kg ha-1. The available potassium (K) was 562.42 kg ha-1 which are comparable to the published reports from the shola forests and tropical evergreen forests.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810175611
dc.keywordsNatural Resource Management, forest ecosystemen_US
dc.language.isoEnglishen_US
dc.pages124p.en_US
dc.publisherDepartment of Natural Resource Management, College of Forestry, Vellanikkaraen_US
dc.subNatural Resources Managementen_US
dc.themefloristic composition, diversity and vegetation structure of forest ecosystemen_US
dc.these.typeM.Scen_US
dc.titleFloristic and edaphic attributes of a shola forest ecosystem in Mankulam forest division Keralaen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
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