Species Diversity, Composition and Stand Structure of Tropical Deciduous Forests in Myanmar

The characterization of tree species and forest stand conditions is useful in the planning of activities aimed to conserve biodiversity. The main objective of this study was to describe tree species diversity, species composition and stand structure of tropical deciduous forests distributed in three regions in Myanmar. Forest inventory was conducted in the Oktwin teak bearing forest, the Letpanpin community forest and Alaungdaw Kathapa National Park. According to the Jackknife estimator of species richness, 85 species (${\pm}18.16$), 70 species (${\pm}5.88$) and 186 species (${\pm}17.10$) belonging to 31 families were found in the Oktwin teak bearing forest, 33 families in Letpanpin community forest and 53 families in Alaungdaw Kathapa national park, respectively. Shannon's diversity indices were significantly different among the forests (p<0.05). It ranged from 3.36 to 4.36. Mean tree density (n/ha) of the Oktwin teak bearing forest, Letpanpin community forest and Alaungdaw Kathapa National Park were 488 (${\pm}18.6$), 535 (${\pm}15.6$) and 412 (${\pm}14.1$), while basal areas per hectare were $46.96m^2({\pm}3.23),\;49.01m^2({\pm}5.08)\;and\;60.03m^2({\pm}3.88)$, respectively. At the family level, Verbenaceae, Myrtaceae and Combretaceae occupied the highest importance value index, while at the species level it was Tectona grandis, Lagerstoremia speciosa and Xylia xylocarpa.