Altitudinal variation in plant community, population structure and carbon stock of Quercus semecarpifolia Sm. forest in Kumaun Himalaya

Abstract

Aim: To study the impact of altitudinal variation on plant community composition, structure, dispersion and regeneration status of Quercus semecarpifolia forest in Kumaun Himalaya. Methodology: Along the altitudinal gradient, the forest stands between 2400 and 2610 m asl were selected at low, mid and high altitude. The phyto-sociological analysis was carried by laying ten quadrats of 10m × 10m at each site. Soil samples were collected with the help of soil corer from two depths. Various ecological indices and population structure were investigated for each forest stand and regeneration status of forest was predicted by the population size of seedlings, saplings and trees. Tree biomass was estimated using allomatric equations and carbon stock was determined by multiplying biomass of species to factor 0.475. Results: With increasing altitude the number of tree species decreased and the shrub species richness increased, while herb species showed a unimodel pattern. Q. semecarpifolia was the dominant tree species at all the three sites with the IVI values of 220.14, 255.22 and 286.23 at LA, MA and HA, respectively. A complete absence of Q. semecarpifolia seedlings indicated no regeneration in low and high altitude stands while low proportion of seedlings in mid altitude forest stand indicated poor regeneration. Soil was acidic (pH 5.66-5.86), with higher silt content and showed decreasing pattern in physico-chemical properties with increasing altitude. The biomass of tree layer ranged from 871.49 to 1050.17 t ha-1. The tree layer carbon stock was maximum in high altitude forest (498.84 t ha-1) which was largely contributed by bole, stump roots and branches. Interpretation: Variation in species richness, distribution pattern and regeneration potential is related to site characteristics governed by altitude and require various efforts to conserve and protect these forests to check ecosystem imbalance.

A comprehensive review of Quercus semecarpifolia Sm.: An ecologically and commercially important Himalayan tree

“…They found that increasing altitude is inversely proportional to the number of tree species. Q. semecarpifolia was the dominant tree species at all the studied sites; however, the absence of seedlings indicated no regeneration or poor regeneration of the seeds (Fartyal et al, 2022). In the Q. semecarpifolia-dominated forests, tree species richness ranges between 5 and 23 species, sapling richness from 4 to 14, species and seedling richness from 6 to 16 species Rawat et al, 2015).…”

“…Soil organic carbon, soil total nitrogen, and the ratio of carbon and nitrogen are very important parameters to understand the biogeochemical cycles in the ecosystem, but still, it is poorly studied and understood (Yang et al, 2010). Fartyal et al (2022) reported that variation in species richness, distribution pattern, and regeneration potential is related to site characteristics, which is a very important aspect to check the ecosystem imbalance.…”

“…Shrubs are also found to be associated in the Q. semecarpifolia forest such as Rosa, Rubus, Viburnum, Lonicera, Rhododendron, Myrsine, Berberis, Daphne, and dwarf bamboo (Troup, 1921;Viswanath et al, 2002). Recently, Fartyal et al (2022) have reported the impact of altitudinal variation on community composition, structure, dispersion, and regeneration status of Q. semecarpifolia. They found that increasing altitude is inversely proportional to the number of tree species.…”

Naturalization of an alien ancient fruit tree at a fine scale: Community structure and population dynamics of Cydonia oblonga in China

“…Following the accurate identification of C. oblonga , we undertook a detailed community survey using 20 quadrats measuring 5 m × 5 m in August 2021. This quadrat size has been previously applied in surveys of shrub communities (Fartyal et al, 2022; Malakar & Joshi, 2020; Wang et al, 2020). Within each quadrat, clumped shrubs with an average height of 1.73 m (maximum height = 3.9 m) were the dominant species in the community.…”

Response of understory plant species diversity to plant mixture on the Loess Plateau: A case study of Hippophae rhamnoides

“…However, it has substantially declined worldwide as a consequence of rapidly changing climate and land uses (Newbold et al, 2015). In forest ecosystems, plant species diversity mitigates the competition between species by partitioning resources (light, nutrients, and water), thereby promoting biomass production, carbon accumulation, and ecosystem stability (Awasthi, Bargali, Bargali, Khatri, & Jhariya, 2022; Fartyal et al, 2022; Wang, Zhao, et al, 2019; Zhang et al, 2017). Moreover, plant species diversity can reduce the variability of ecosystem productivity in a fluctuating environment through compensatory effects (Awasthi, Bargali, Bargali, & Jhariya, 2022).…”