Earticle

The aim of the present study was to assess the variation in species composition and diversity of woody species at different altitudes (900 to 2600 m asl) in Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary (KWLS) and its adjoining areas in Garhwal Himalaya, India. A total of 94 woody plant species (including 44 tree and 50 shrub species) belonging to 72 genera and 44 families were reported. Density varied from 235±9 to 505±21 trees ha−1 and 4,730±474 to 9,530± 700 shrubs ha−1. Total basal cover varied from 10.49±0.66 to 42.92±2.57 m2 ha−1 (trees) and 0.36±0.024 to 0.62± 0.047 m2 ha−1 (shrubs). Shannon-Wiener Index fluctuated between 2.30 to 3.53 (trees) and 2.74 to 3.78 (shrubs). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that altitude and aspect had significant effect on the distribution of woody species. Taxonomically, Rosaceae with 15 species emerged as the dominant family. Low value of maturity index and contiguous distribution of species denoted the early successional status of the studied forests. The conservation assessment based on altitudinal regimes and the information on species structure and function can provide baseline information for monitoring and sustaining the biodiversity.

Cyathea gigantea is a tree fern distributed throughout humid tropical regions of northeast India and other parts of the country. However, wild populations of this species are largely affected by various natural and anthropogenic activities. Therefore, an attempt was made to study the population structure and regeneration status of C. gigantea in and around greater Itanagar area of Papum Pare district, Arunachal Pradesh. Altogether 45 patches, ranging from 19.63 to 260 m2 of area, were randomly sampled to study population structure and regeneration status of the species. Population study showed highest number of youngs in the height class of 0.50-0.75 m while, immatures were recorded highest in the height class of 2.0 to 2.5 m. Majority of the matures belonged to 6-9 m height class while it was recorded maximum in the diameter class of 10-15 cm. Average density of C. gigantea was 0.07 individuals ha-1 which varied greatly among different patches with a range of 2 to 14. Significant correlations were found between patch size and density of youngs, immatures, matures and total density. Maximum concentration of youngs was observed in patch size 60-140 m2, while for immatures, it was highest in patch size 20-160 m2. Similarly, highest concentration of matures was observed in patch size 20-80 m2 and 80-180 m2. Population structure of the total population exhibited inverted pyramid shaped distribution. Population structure consisting of youngs, immatures, matures showed that around 60% patches lack of regenerating individuals which depict very poor natural regeneration of the species. Effective conservation strategies are therefore to be formulated to save C. gigantea from the threat of extinction in near future.

The effect of environmental variables on the presence and abundance of tree species in a tropical lowland undisturbed limestone and non-limestone forest in Ben En National Park, Vietnam was investigated. The relationships between 13 environmental variables and 29 tree species with a DBH ≥10 cm, as well as between six 6 physical variables with 26 species of seedling and sapling communities were assessed by canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). Data concerning all tree species ≥10 cm DBH were collected from eighteen 400 m2 sample plots, while the abundance of regeneration (all individuals ≤5 cm DBH) was counted in fifty 2x20 m strip-plots. The significance of species- environments correlations were tested by distribution-free Monte Carlo tests. The CCA of the 29 examined tree species and 13 environmental variables indicated that the presence and abundance of the tree species were closely related to topographic factors. We may confirm that soil properties including pH, soil moisture content, and soil textures, were the most crucial factor in tree species composition and their distribution. Several species including Pometia pinnata, Amesiodendron chinense, Gironniera cuspidate, Cinnamomum mairei, and Caryodaphnopsis tonkinensis were not controlled by soil properties and topographic variables. The CCA also indicated that the abundance of regeneration tree species at all sites had positive and significant correlations with soil depth, while the occurrence of several other tree species (such as Koilodepas longifolium and Aglaia dasyclada) was positively correlated with a higher slope and rocky outcrop.

Information on plant diversity and community structure are required to chalk out necessary actions for conservation management. The present study assessed the composition and diversity of tree species in Kamalachari Natural Forest of Chittagong South Forest Division, Bangladesh, during April 2010 to November 2011. A total of 107 tree species belonging to 72 genera and 37 families were recorded, where Moraceae family was represented by maximum (11) species. Density, Basal area and volume of tree species were 418±20.09 stem/ha, 21.10±2.62 m2/ha and 417.4±79.8 m3/ha respectively. Diameter and height class distribution of tree species revealed an almost reverse J-shaped curve. Both the number of species and percentage of tree individuals were maximum in the lower DBH and height ranges. Anthropogenic disturbances like illegal tree cutting, over extraction, settlement inside forest area etc. were noticed during the study, which are supposed to cause gradual decrease of both tree species and individuals in the higher DBH and height classes. However, Artocarpus chama was found dominant showing maximum IVI followed by Schima wallichii, Aporosa wallichii, and Lithocarpus acuminata. The quantitative structure of the tree species of Kamalachari natural forest is comparable to other tree species rich tropical natural forests. The findings of the study may help in monitoring future plant population changes of the identified species and adopting species specific conservation programs in Kamalachari natural forest.

Site index curves were developed for Larix kaempferi and Pinus koraiensis in Gangwon and North Gyeongsang provinces in Korea. For the development of site index, Schumacher and Chapman-Richards model were applied using the data collected from 2012 to 2014. Base age was set to 40 years for Larix kaempferi and Pinus koraiensis in site index of this study. Coefficient of determination and root mean square error of site index models were provided by species, and the models were compared with the previous studies to check the suitability. Overall, site index models developed in this study fitted in the current data well. Thus, the site indexes are considered to be properly used in Gangwon and North Gyeongsang provinces.

It is estimated that there is a total of approximately 100,000 species in Korea. However, the number is currently about 30,000 and only 16,027 species are listed in the ‘Species Korea’ (as of December, 2014). Of the listed species, 51 species are designated as the Endangered Species Class I while 195 species are in the Class II, totaling 246 endangered species including 20 mammals. Under the circumstances that development (e.g., roads) is increasingly threatening the persistence of endangered mammals, it is significant to identify and preserve suitable habitats for them. In this context, evaluating the values of the suitable habitat environment would serve as essential information for development decision making. This study estimated the values of endangered mammals’ forest habitats through spatialization of habitat services. In doing so, a species distribution model, Maximum Entropy Model (MaxEnt) was utilized for a group of endangered mammals including, mountain goat, wildcat, marten cat, and flying squirrel. To calculate the values per unit area, a benefit transfer method was used based on the point-estimate technique with the best available values estimated previously. The range of discount rate of 3.0 to 5.5 percent was applied taking the notion of social discount rate into account. As a result, the province with the highest values for endangered mammal habitats appeared to be Gangwon, followed by Gyeongbuk and Gyeongnam. The monetary values of the endangered mammal habitats were estimated to be 330 billion to 421 billion won per year.

The economy of India and so also of many Asian countries depends on bamboos and their uses are not only in domestic items but also in rural housing and raw materials to several industries and germplasm characterization is an important link between the conservation and utilization of plant genetic resources. Classical taxonomic studies of the bamboos are based on floral morphology and growth habit, which can cause problems in identification due to erratic flowering coupled with different biotic agencies and environmental factors. Identification and genetic relationships among accessions of Thamnocalamus falconeri were investigated using morphology and random amplified polymorphic DNAs (RAPD) technique. Analysis started by using 51 vegetative characters and forty two 10-mer primers that allowed us to distinguish different genotypes hailing from different eco- zones of Garhwal Himalayas (India). The selected primers (12) were used for identification and for establishing a profiling system to estimate genetic diversity. A total of 79.33% polymorphism was estimated by using 12 selected primers. The genetic similar analysis was conducted based on binary digits i.e. presence (1) or absence (0) of bands, which revealed a wide range of variability among the species whereas genetic relatedness was quite high based on vegetative characters. Cluster analysis clearly showed two major clusters for both of the markers viz. morphology and RAPD belonging to 10 accessions of T. falconeri. Two major clusters were further divided into minor clusters. Cluster based on RAPD marker showed grouping of accessions of closed locality whereas analogy was reported for vegetative traits. The RAPD technique has the potential for use in species identification and genetic relationships studies of bamboo for breeding program.

Mangroves are important coastal ecosystems and are located at the inter-tidal zones of tropical and sub -tropical belts. The global mangrove forests are declining dramatically because of the conversion of forests to shrimp farming, over-exploitation, pollution and freshwater diversion. The Bangladesh Forest Department initiated mangrove afforestation throughout the coastal belts of Bangladesh in 1966 to provide better protection for the coastal communities. Up to 1990, 120,000 ha of mangroves had been planted and it is one of the largest coastal afforestaton programs in the world. The objective of this study is to exploit the spatial extent of mangrove plantation and their dynamics of changes over the last two decades using multispectral Landsat imagery. The study area covers the coastal areas of Bangladesh that is extended over the eastern part of Sundarbans up to Teknaf, the southern tip of mainland Bangladesh. Mangrove plantations were interpreted visually on computer screen and interactive delineation of forest boundary was done. The mangrove plantation area has been estimated as 32,725, 47,636 and 43,166 ha for the year of 1989, 2000 and 2010, respectively. Mangrove deforestation by human activity has increased almost six times in the recent decade in comparison to the previous one. The mangrove forest loss due to coastal erosion has slightly declined in the 2000s. Mangroves have been lost primarily because of agricultural expansion. The result of this investigation will be helpful to understand the dynamics of mangrove plantation and the main drivers of changes in this coastal ecosystem.

Zelkova serrata is an important hardwood species for the timber industry in Japan. Tree breeding programs for this species have mainly focused on growth characteristics such as stem diameter (D), tree height (TH), stem form, and branching. In order to fulfill timber industry needs, wood quality improvement should be included in the tree breeding program of this species. In the present study, growth characteristics, such as D and TH, and the stress- wave velocity (SWV), which is highly correlated with Young’s modulus of wood, were measured for 20-year-old Z. serrata from eight half-sib families planted in a progeny test site with three different initial spacings. Significant differences in all the measured characteristics were found among the eight half-sib families. The variance components of the half-sib families for D, TH, and SWV were 27.2%, 47.3%, and 33.5%, respectively. These results indicate that all the measured characteristics of this species could be improved by tree breeding programs. In addition, only low correlation coefficients were obtained between the growth characteristics and SWV, indicating that extensive selection on SWV in tree breeding programs may not always lead to a reduction in yield volume.