• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
• /
• v.32 no.3
• /
• pp.237-252
• /
• 2016

Improved knowledge of the environmental factors affecting the natural regeneration of tree species in limestone forest is urgently required for species conservation. We examined the environmental factors and tree species characteristics that are important for colonization in diverse forest stands growing on a limestone hill in northern Thailand. Our analysis estimated the relative influence of forest structure and environmental factors on the regeneration traits of tree species. We established sixty-four $100-m^2$ plots in four forest stands on the limestone hill. We determined the species composition of canopy trees, regenerating seedlings, and saplings in relation to the physical environment. The relationships between environmental variables and tree species abundance were assessed by canonical correspondence analysis (CCA), and we used generalized linear mixed models to examine data on seedling/sapling abundances. The CCA ordination indicated that the abundance of tree species within the mixed deciduous forest was closely related to soil depth. The abundances of tree species growing within the sink-hole and hill-slope stands were positively related to the extent of rocky outcropping; light and soil moisture positively influenced the abundance of tree species in the hill-cliff stand. Physical factors had a greater effect on tree regeneration than did factors related to forest structure. Tree species, such as Ficus macleilandii, Dracaena cochinchinensis, and Phyllanthus mirabilis within the hill-cliff or sink-hole stand, colonized well on large rocky outcroppings that were well illuminated and had soft soils. These species regenerated well under conditions prevailing on the limestone hill. The colonization of several species in other stands was negatively influenced by environmental conditions at these sites. We found that natural regeneration of tree species on the limestone hill was difficult because of the prevailing combination of physical and biological factors. The influence of these factors was species dependent, and the magnitude of effects varied across forest stands.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.177-191
• /
• 2015

The effect of environmental variables on the presence and abundance of tree species in a tropical lowland undisturbed limestone and non-limestone forest in Ben En National Park, Vietnam was investigated. The relationships between 13 environmental variables and 29 tree species with a DBH ${\geq}10cm$, as well as between six 6 physical variables with 26 species of seedling and sapling communities were assessed by canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). Data concerning all tree species ${\geq}10cm$ DBH were collected from eighteen $400m^2$ sample plots, while the abundance of regeneration (all individuals ${\leq}5cm$ DBH) was counted in fifty $2{\times}20m$ strip-plots. The significance of species-environments correlations were tested by distribution-free Monte Carlo tests. The CCA of the 29 examined tree species and 13 environmental variables indicated that the presence and abundance of the tree species were closely related to topographic factors. We may confirm that soil properties including pH, soil moisture content, and soil textures, were the most crucial factor in tree species composition and their distribution. Several species including Pometia pinnata, Amesiodendron chinense, Gironniera cuspidate, Cinnamomum mairei, and Caryodaphnopsis tonkinensis were not controlled by soil properties and topographic variables. The CCA also indicated that the abundance of regeneration tree species at all sites had positive and significant correlations with soil depth, while the occurrence of several other tree species (such as Koilodepas longifolium and Aglaia dasyclada) was positively correlated with a higher slope and rocky outcrop.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
• /
• v.28 no.4
• /
• pp.199-204
• /
• 2012

This study was conducted to estimate climax index by eco-morphology for major 36 tree and sub-tree species in natural deciduous forests so as to interpret seral position of each species in the forest community. Fourteen eco-morphological characters which were considered to be associated with successional gradient in the forest were selected for the study. Four levels per character for each species were given on a standardized scale of increasing climax, and the index was computed by the proportion of the sum of total scores, expressed by percent values. With calculated mean value of 54.8 for all indices, Carpinus cordata had the highest index value of 90.5, and Populus davidiana recorded the lowest of 13.2. The most climax group, greater than 70 of the index, contained only 8 species, intermediate group, between 41 to 70 of the index, had 23 species, and the most pioneer group, less than 40 of the index comprised 5 species. The result has noticed that the large number of species would take advantage of most diverse resource and niche in the intermediate stage of the sere in the forest. By cluster analysis all 36 species were subjected to be classified into several species groups which had common similar eco-morphological characteristics. The indices were additionally plotted on the two dimensional graph to recognize the positions related to the light absorption factor and reproduction factor. The climax index of tree and sub-tree species developed by this study could be applied to understand the present status of successional stage on the basis of species composition by the method of summing up the indices. And comparison of forest successional stage among various forest communities could be done by summing up the climax indices of composed species in each community. However, this kind of applied methodology should be limited to the forest of similar species composition and site condition.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.192-201
• /
• 2015

Information on plant diversity and community structure are required to chalk out necessary actions for conservation management. The present study assessed the composition and diversity of tree species in Kamalachari Natural Forest of Chittagong South Forest Division, Bangladesh, during April 2010 to November 2011. A total of 107 tree species belonging to 72 genera and 37 families were recorded, where Moraceae family was represented by maximum (11) species. Density, Basal area and volume of tree species were $418{\pm}20.09stem/ha$, $21.10{\pm}2.62m^2/ha$ and $417.4{\pm}79.8m^3/ha$ respectively. Diameter and height class distribution of tree species revealed an almost reverse J-shaped curve. Both the number of species and percentage of tree individuals were maximum in the lower DBH and height ranges. Anthropogenic disturbances like illegal tree cutting, over extraction, settlement inside forest area etc. were noticed during the study, which are supposed to cause gradual decrease of both tree species and individuals in the higher DBH and height classes. However, Artocarpus chama was found dominant showing maximum IVI followed by Schima wallichii, Aporosa wallichii, and Lithocarpus acuminata. The quantitative structure of the tree species of Kamalachari natural forest is comparable to other tree species rich tropical natural forests. The findings of the study may help in monitoring future plant population changes of the identified species and adopting species specific conservation programs in Kamalachari natural forest.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.157-164
• /
• 2013

The campus of Chittagong University in Bangladesh is rich in forest ecosystem. The campus has large area with vast tract of land planted with valuable timber tree species. The present study identifies and discovers the potential growing stock of the plantations in the campus area. This Growing stock was measured in three parameters viz. volume, biomass and organic carbon stock. Study identified thirty three economically valuable forest tree species in the plantations of Chittagong University. Out of three growing stock parameters, volume of timber was found to be low in indigenous tree species in the plantation sites other than exotic species. This might be due to their slow growth rate and low density in the plantation sites. However, biomass and organic carbon stock of trees per hactre area showed that indigenous species gather and sequester more timber and carbon respectively than introduced species. Plantations of Chittagong University campus can acquire $25.51m^3/ha$ volume of economically important tree species, where biomass and organic carbon stock is 222.33 tonne/ha and 107.48 tonne/ha respectively. This result shows a positive impression on the plantation site to be considered as good forest reserve.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.126-135
• /
• 2018

Wood decay fungi were collected in 47 different locations in eight provinces of South Korea from 2011 to 2013. One thousand and five hundreds three fruiting bodies of wood-decay fungi were collected, identified, and classified into 2 phyla, 7 classes, 19 orders, 56 families, 159 genera and 365 species. The most dominant genus and species found were Trametes and T. versicolor. The highest species diversity was found in broad-leaved forest (273 species), and was also found at elevations of 500-1,000 m (227 species). A total of 333 species were collected from broad-leaved trees, 87 species from coniferous trees, and 55 species were collected from both forest types. Gymnopilus liquiritiae was the most dominant species in coniferous trees, while T. versicolor, which was mostly collected from tree trunks below 500 m in elevation, was dominant in broad-leaved trees. Results from the quantitative cluster analysis of wood decay fungi showed that the highest species diversity index was 1.80 in the mixed forests, while the highest similarity among forest types was shown between the broad-leaved and mixed forests.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
• /
• v.14 no.6
• /
• pp.1-15
• /
• 2011

We recently witnessed increasingly more natural disturbances on forested land. On the other hand, only limited number of nursery grown tree species are available for restoration projects. At the same time, so little on the disturbance resistance of species has been studied that a selection of right species for right site condition becomes very difficult. This study is a compilation of the site specificities and disturbance resistance of each species native to South Korea. Each species was surveyed for 11 items related to site specificities, and 12 items related to disturbance resistance including the resistance to snow damage. This study was conducted for 161 tree species from 44 families : 21 evergreen conifer species, 2 deciduous conifer species, 18 evergreen broad-leaved species, 118 deciduous broad-leaved species, and 2 monocotyledon species. This study suggests that native species in South Korea show resistance to all types of natural disturbances except drought.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.65-78
• /
• 2011

Ozone ($O_3$) is a main component of photochemical oxidants, and a phytotoxic anthropogenic air pollutant. In North America and Europe, the current concentration of $O_3$ has been shown to have significant adverse effects on vegetation. In this review, we summarize the experimental studies on the effects of $O_3$ on the growth and photosynthetic activity of Japanese forest tree species to understand the present knowledge and provide sound basis for future research toward the assessment of $O_3$ impacts on Japanese forest ecosystem. Since the 1990s, several Japanese researchers have conducted the experimental studies on the effects of ambient levels of $O_3$ on growth and physiological functions such as net photosynthesis of Japanese forest tree species. Although the sensitivity to $O_3$ of whole-plant growth is quite different among the species, it was suggested that the current ambient levels of $O_3$ in Japan are high enough to adversely affect growth and photosynthetic activity of Japanese forest tree species classified into high $O_3$ sensitivity group such as Japanese beech. The N load to soil has been shown to reduce the sensitivity to $O_3$ of Japanese larch and increase that of Japanese beech. To establish the critical level of $O_3$ for protecting Japanese forest tree species, therefore, it is necessary to take into account the N deposition from the atmosphere. There is little information on the combined effects of $O_3$ and other environmental factors such as elevated $CO_2$ and drought on growth and physiological functions of Japanese forest tree species. Therefore, it is necessary to promote the experimental study and accumulate the information on the combined effects of $O_3$ and any other abiotic environmental factors on Japanese forest tree species.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.395-410
• /
• 1992

Disturbance regime and tree regeneration were studied in kwangnung natural forest, an old-growth deciduous hardwood forest located in central korea. This forest is dominated by carpinus laxiflora, c.erosa, and quercus species. The area occupied by canopy gaps was 4.6% of the total forested area, and the mean size of canopy gaps was 92 $m^2$ with the maximum being 524 $m^2$. More than half of the gaps were less than four years old, and 3/4 of the gaps were created by death of only or two canopy trees, indicating the dominance of small-sized gaps in kwangnung forest. about half of the gap-makers were c. laxiflora, and another one third were quercus species. In contrast, the most frequent relacers were c. laxiflora while quercus species filled only 5% of the gaps, suggesting a future shift in tree species composition under the current disturbance regime. tree regeration was more conspicuous even in small gaps than non-gaps regardless of shade-tolerance of tree species, indicating the importance of gaps in tree regeneration.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
• /
• v.32 no.2
• /
• pp.219-235
• /
• 2016

Forest tree diversity inventory and its periodical monitoring are important to understand changes in tree population structure and to provide information useful for biodiversity conservation and reserve management. In a long-term forest dynamics program in Indian tropical dry evergreen forest, this communication deals with tree diversity changes at decadal interval. The initial inventory of tree diversity was carried out in 2003, in four tropical dry evergreen forest sites - (much disturbed sites Shanmuganathapuram - SP and Araiyapatti - AP and moderately disturbed sites - Karisakkadu - KR and Maramadakki - MM) on the Coromandel Coast of peninsular India, by establishing four 1ha permanent plots, one in each site. In 2013, the four plots were re-inventoried for tree diversity (${\geq}10cm\;gbh$) changes which yielded 56 species from 46 genera and 26 families. The studied forest sites are threatened by disturbance due to multiple reasons; cutting of trees inside of the forest, grazing by goats, construction of temple approach road, and some aspects cultural attachment of local people like constructing new, additional strctures of temple by denuding a portion of forest etc.. Tree species richness over a decade increased by four species in site SP, two species in site AP, and one species in site KR, but decreased by one species in site MM. Tree density decreased drastically by 480 (28.92%) and 102 (12.63%) stems $ha^{-1}$ respectively in sites SP and AP, but moderately increased by 82 (12.09%) stems $ha^{-1}$ in site KR and 26 (3.46%) stems $ha^{-1}$ in site MM. Tree basal area declined in site KR from $21.6m^2$ to $20.26m^2ha^{-1}$ and in site SP from 21.1 to $20.38m^2ha^{-1}$, but increased from $19.1m^2$ to $19.43m^2$ and from 15.5 to $18.63m^2ha^{-1}$ in sites AP and MM respectively. Three tree species (Allophylus serratus, Maytenus emarginata and Ehretia pubescens) were lost out of the 57 species recorded in 2003, and two species (Jatropha gossypiifolia and Streblus asper) were new additions in ten years. The long-term forest monitoring data will be valuable to understand forest dynamics and for conservation and management of this and similar tropical forests.