Community Structure along Timberline Ecotone in Relation to Micro-topography and Disturbances in Western Himalaya
Four communities, formed as a result of locally varying site conditions, were identified and studied along the timberline ecotone in part of Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS). Communities on the vicinity of pilgrimage site and along gentler slopes were highly disturbed having sharp timberlines, whi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Society of Land Measurements and Cadastre from Transylvania (SMTCT)
2012-05-01
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| Series: | Notulae Scientia Biologicae |
| Online Access: | http://www.notulaebiologicae.ro/index.php/nsb/article/view/7411 |
| _version_ | 1818011506640420864 |
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| author | Ishwari D. RAI Bhupendra S. ADHIKARI Gopal S. RAWAT Kiran BARGAL |
| author_facet | Ishwari D. RAI Bhupendra S. ADHIKARI Gopal S. RAWAT Kiran BARGAL |
| author_sort | Ishwari D. RAI |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Four communities, formed as a result of locally varying site conditions, were identified and studied along the timberline ecotone in part of Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS). Communities on the vicinity of pilgrimage site and along gentler slopes were highly disturbed having sharp timberlines, while those located far and in the steep slopes were less affected, forming a little broader transition. The tree density ranged from 340 to 780 trees/ha, while the basal cover of communities varied greatly and ranged from 6.4 to 55.1 m2/ha. Birch dominated community had lowest basal area among all the communities, while mixed community had the highest. In all the respective communities, from subalpine zone, density and basal area was higher than that of timberline zone. The Importance Value Index (IVI), which used to determine the overall importance of each species in the community structure, of dominant species at timberline was more than 200 in all the communities, except in the mixed community. Influence of the anthropogenic disturbances was apparent on the regeneration performance of all the studied tree species. Rhododendron campanulatum was the dominant shrub species of the area and formed krummholz, while distribution of other species varies greatly with forest type. The shrub density decreased from high to low disturbance, while the herbaceous species density increased with prevalence of a few species favoring the high disturbance (grazing). The shrub and herb species richness was higher in the ecotone zone. Some uncommon species like Balanophora involucrata and Aralia cissifolia were also found at timberline. Three species of Ladys Slipper orchid were reported together from Betula utilis community at timberline ecotone. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T06:08:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8f65d8da9e354bc88c4991a0bcf48ff0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2067-3205 2067-3264 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T06:08:40Z |
| publishDate | 2012-05-01 |
| publisher | Society of Land Measurements and Cadastre from Transylvania (SMTCT) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Notulae Scientia Biologicae |
| spelling | doaj.art-8f65d8da9e354bc88c4991a0bcf48ff02022-12-22T02:08:26ZengSociety of Land Measurements and Cadastre from Transylvania (SMTCT)Notulae Scientia Biologicae2067-32052067-32642012-05-0142415210.15835/nsb4274117100Community Structure along Timberline Ecotone in Relation to Micro-topography and Disturbances in Western HimalayaIshwari D. RAI0Bhupendra S. ADHIKARI1Gopal S. RAWAT2Kiran BARGAL3Wildlife Institute of India, PO Box 18, Chandrabani, 248001 Dehradun, UttarakhandWildlife Institute of India, PO Box 18, Chandrabani, 248001 Dehradun, UttarakhandWildlife Institute of India, PO Box 18, Chandrabani, 248001 Dehradun, UttarakhandKumaun University, Department of Botany, DSB Campus, 263001 Nainital, UttarakhandFour communities, formed as a result of locally varying site conditions, were identified and studied along the timberline ecotone in part of Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS). Communities on the vicinity of pilgrimage site and along gentler slopes were highly disturbed having sharp timberlines, while those located far and in the steep slopes were less affected, forming a little broader transition. The tree density ranged from 340 to 780 trees/ha, while the basal cover of communities varied greatly and ranged from 6.4 to 55.1 m2/ha. Birch dominated community had lowest basal area among all the communities, while mixed community had the highest. In all the respective communities, from subalpine zone, density and basal area was higher than that of timberline zone. The Importance Value Index (IVI), which used to determine the overall importance of each species in the community structure, of dominant species at timberline was more than 200 in all the communities, except in the mixed community. Influence of the anthropogenic disturbances was apparent on the regeneration performance of all the studied tree species. Rhododendron campanulatum was the dominant shrub species of the area and formed krummholz, while distribution of other species varies greatly with forest type. The shrub density decreased from high to low disturbance, while the herbaceous species density increased with prevalence of a few species favoring the high disturbance (grazing). The shrub and herb species richness was higher in the ecotone zone. Some uncommon species like Balanophora involucrata and Aralia cissifolia were also found at timberline. Three species of Ladys Slipper orchid were reported together from Betula utilis community at timberline ecotone.http://www.notulaebiologicae.ro/index.php/nsb/article/view/7411 |
| spellingShingle | Ishwari D. RAI Bhupendra S. ADHIKARI Gopal S. RAWAT Kiran BARGAL Community Structure along Timberline Ecotone in Relation to Micro-topography and Disturbances in Western Himalaya Notulae Scientia Biologicae |
| title | Community Structure along Timberline Ecotone in Relation to Micro-topography and Disturbances in Western Himalaya |
| title_full | Community Structure along Timberline Ecotone in Relation to Micro-topography and Disturbances in Western Himalaya |
| title_fullStr | Community Structure along Timberline Ecotone in Relation to Micro-topography and Disturbances in Western Himalaya |
| title_full_unstemmed | Community Structure along Timberline Ecotone in Relation to Micro-topography and Disturbances in Western Himalaya |
| title_short | Community Structure along Timberline Ecotone in Relation to Micro-topography and Disturbances in Western Himalaya |
| title_sort | community structure along timberline ecotone in relation to micro topography and disturbances in western himalaya |
| url | http://www.notulaebiologicae.ro/index.php/nsb/article/view/7411 |
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