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International Journal of Applied Research
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ISSN Print: 2394-7500, ISSN Online: 2394-5869, CODEN: IJARPF

IMPACT FACTOR (RJIF): 8.4

Vol. 2, Issue 10, Part E (2016)

Population structure and biomass partitioning in four congeneric species of Moghania under different disturbance regime in sal forests of Gorakhpur, India

Population structure and biomass partitioning in four congeneric species of Moghania under different disturbance regime in sal forests of Gorakhpur, India

Author(s)
Sanjay Kumar Pandey and RP Shukla
Abstract
The woody perennials of four species of genus Moghania (M. chappar) (Benth.) Kuntze, M. bracteata (Roxb.) L., M. lineata (L.) Ktze. and M. prostrata Roxb.) contribute significantly to the understorey vegetation cover of sal dominated forests of Gorakhpur division. The main objectives were to determine the effects of disturbance on different Moghania spp. with reference to its genet and sprout/ ramet population and its biomass allocation pattern into different compartments. Genet density of Moghania spp. decreases with increasing the level of disturbances, while ramets were highest at moderate disturbance. M. chappar was the most dominant in all the sal forests. M. lineata showed better growth at high disturbance while M. chappar and M. bracteata commonly occurred at low to moderate disturbance. M. prostrata was very sensitive to disturbance and occurred at stands facing low disturbance. At moderate disturbance, the population structure of different Moghania species showed the dominance of young plants but the age pyramid showed normal or stable population structure. The total as well as above ground biomass showed significant difference (P<0.01) among the species and disturbance level as evident from F- test. At high disturbance, the mean biomass allocation towards different compartments of Moghania spp. was significantly different and the total biomass was positively correlated to canopy cover at low as well as moderate disturbance. The ratio of shoot and root biomass ranged from 1.67 to 2.80 for M. chappar, M. bracteata and M. lineata at moderate disturbance. Irrespective of disturbance level, this ratio for M. prostrata remained close to 1. There was significant positive correlation (< 0.01) between number of shoots with shoot biomass and with root biomass for M. chappar at three disturbance level. The species of Moghania, especially M. chappar have considerable high potential of the production of non- timber wood in stochastic environment and can cope-up well with moderate disturbance. They can provide good understorey cover even in presence of considerable disturbance and thus can add to the maintenance of ecosystem attributes of the disturbed forests.
Pages: 336-343  |  1357 Views  123 Downloads
How to cite this article:
Sanjay Kumar Pandey, RP Shukla. Population structure and biomass partitioning in four congeneric species of Moghania under different disturbance regime in sal forests of Gorakhpur, India. Int J Appl Res 2016;2(10):336-343.
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