Effect of Forest Fire on Community Structure in Sal (Shorea robusta Gaertn.) Dominated Forests of Dehradun
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36808/if/2024/v150i9/170099Keywords:
Forest Fire, Adiantum Venustus, Bray-Curtis Index, Sorensen's Index of Similarity.Abstract
A study was carried out to assess the influence of forest fires on the structure of herb-shrub and tree communities, as well as tree regeneration in the Moist Bhabhar-Dun Sal Forest of Dehradun across four seasons. The Lachhiwala Range of Dehradun Forest Division, Uttarakhand, India, a high sensitive fire zone, was undertaken for this study. The results showed variations in Simpson's index of diversity for herbs over the four seasons, ranging from 0.78 to 0.88 for the unburnt site and 0.00 to 0.84 for the burnt site. During the monsoon season, the unburnt site displayed the highest richness of shrub species, with a total of 26 different species observed. The impact of the forest fire on the herb-shrub community was further supported by the significant dissimilarity and lower similarity observed between the herbs and shrubs of the fire-affected site compared to the unaffected site, as indicated by Sorensen's index of similarity and Bray-Curtis index of dissimilarity. Furthermore, the presence of Flaccourtia montana and Naringi crenulata in the repeatedly fire-affected site suggests the ingress of xerophytic species into the area, which indicates the transformative effects of frequent fires on the composition and dynamics of the local plant community.References
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