Trends in Tree Diversity and Stand Structure during Restoration: A Case Study in Fragmented Moist Deciduous Forest Ecosystems of Northeast India

Ecological implications for the conservation of fragmented forests to managed local plant diversity have recently drawn much attention of most conservationists. Present study investigates the importance of fragmented forests using different quantitative measures of species diversity and stand structure as indicators of natural restoration from past disturbances. Eleven independent 500？m × 10？m belt transects (5.5？ha) were established within fragmented low land moist deciduous forests of Tripura. All woody plants ≥10？cm girth at breast height (GBH) were measured. A total of 7,134 individuals with mean density of 648.55 stems ha？1 and 16.36？m2？ha？1 of basal area were recorded, which represented 134 species, 93 genera, and 43 families of woody plants. Diversity-dominance curve showed that maximum number of species were ranked >10 due to low abundance value. Maximum distributions of stems (>50%) were recorded at lowest girth class (10–30？cm) as an indication of advanced regeneration and significantly declined towards upper girth ( ; ) and height ( ; ) classes, which also indicated that some plants were adopted with ongoing disturbances through both seeded and nonseeded regeneration. Species richness ( ; ), dominance ( ; ), and density ( ; ) were significantly increased at different disturbance intensities. Disturbances strongly influenced typical community association and structure by increasing diversity and population at certain magnitude and thereby showed declining trend towards maturation. Fragmented moist deciduous forests seek immediate attention as they represent spatial habitat for many economical or ecological important species, thus sustaining local biodiversity for livelihoods. 1. Introduction Small forest fragments or areas lying outside fully protected zones maintain a significant number of species and their genetic diversity [1, 2]. Even forest patches of less than 1？ha in size could play major roles in maintenance of regional biodiversity [3]. During the past several years, large complexes of natural habitat have been converted into agricultural, industrial, or urbanized landscapes, leading to severe loss of the original habitat and an increasing fragmentation of the remnant patches [4]. High fragmentation rate stimulate habitat modifications and the loss of valuable portions of the forest ecosystem, the number of rare and shade - tolerant species increases due to fragmentation especially during recovery at the early successional stage [5]. Tree species with small population will be the first to be lost in the process of forest fragmentation