Factors Affecting Natural Regeneration of Tropical Forests across a Precipitation Gradient in Myanmar

Abstract

Natural regeneration is an essential component of forest dynamics and the recovery of ecosystem functions. Therefore, understanding regeneration status, and how abiotic and biotic factors affect it, is important for ecological studies. This study discovered different regeneration statuses of tropical forests in response to differences in rainfall in Myanmar, and the environmental and overstory factors that had the most influence on understory regeneration. Study sites were set up in regions with 625 to 2035 mm of annual rainfall, and ecological characteristics were measured. According to the results, natural regeneration increased with rainfall, showing a good regeneration status at all sites. Forests within a range of 1411-2035 mm of annual rainfall had a significantly higher density and species diversity at specific natural regeneration stages than those with 625-1029 mm. Not only abiotic but also overstory structure affected the natural regeneration of forests. However, not all factors influenced natural regeneration status. Overstory size distribution parameters did not show a significant influence on natural regeneration. Average annual rainfall (abiotic), as well as ecosystem complexity, density, species richness, and diversity (overstory), were found to be the most influential factors for the density and diversity of natural regeneration. The results of this study will support silviculture and the management of tropical forests.

A comparative study of tree community structure and natural regeneration status in Bontang urban forest and conservation forest of the LNG Industrial Plant Area, East Kalimantan, Indonesia

“…Factors that effectively determine the success of regeneration include seed availability, soil cover, seed growth status, tree stand cover, tree canopy average, organic matter content in the soil, soil reaction, rainfall and variation in growth requirements (Özel et al 2010;Smith et al 2016). Meanwhile, Khaine et al (2018) reported that in Myanmar's tropical rainforest the average annual rainfall (abiotic) factors, as well as ecosystem complexity, density, species richness, and overstory were found to be the most influential factors for density and diversity of natural forest regeneration.…”

Plant Diversity and Regeneration Potentials in Protected Area Forests of Sierra Leone

“…Nonetheless, climate change and anthropogenic actions have had great impacts on forest resources across PAs in Sierra Leone [5]. Theories have proven that climate change and anthropogenic actions, especially in developing countries, affects virtually all aspects of plant diversity, regeneration and growth [5,6]. Climatic factors and anthropogenic activities have resulted in continuous wild species transformations and their distribution on a broad scale across the globe due to precipitation regimes, increased accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere, flooding and warm climate [5].…”

“…According to the FAO [7] report, only 5% of Sierra Leone is covered with high forest. The decline in forest cover is primarily a result of climate change, anthropogenic actions, weak forest resources protection policy, and the 11 years civil war period, where in the total forest cover per chiefdoms in Sierra Leone declined from 67.5% to 57.9% [6,8]. Although a few studies on plant diversity have been conducted, primarily in Gola Rain Forest National Park a well-protected park in the eastern part of the country, the extensive literature on plant diversity, and regeneration status of plant species in Sierra Leone is grossly scanty and most times unavailable.…”

“…Natural regeneration of any forest is the biological and reproductive process that facilitates the replacement and sustainable growth of that forest over time [6,[39][40][41][42]. The abundance of seedlings, saplings and trees greatly determine the regeneration potential of a forest [6].…”

“…Natural regeneration of any forest is the biological and reproductive process that facilitates the replacement and sustainable growth of that forest over time [6,[39][40][41][42]. The abundance of seedlings, saplings and trees greatly determine the regeneration potential of a forest [6]. The assessment of life stages of plant species helps in determining the relative importance of their niche as well as their community assembly neutral processes [9,41].…”