Tendu (Diospyros melanoxylon) leaves,bidi cigarettes,and resource management

The design and management of tropical forests, as sources of nontimber products, is a major economic issue for tropical nations. The exploitation of leaves of the tendu tree,Diospyros melanoxylon Roxb. (Ebenaceae), in the Madhya Pradesh Province of India, for wrappers of bidi cigarettes, is a good example of such a system. It is shown that a whole culture depends upon the harvests of these leaves as a source of income as the demand for bidis is very high. Yet revenues generated by the industry do not filter back in any appreciable amounts to the tribes harvesting the tendu leaves, nor is there an effort to manage the tendu forests as a continuous resource. Because the forest is a resource for other products beyond tendu leaves, the absence of sound forest conservation and protection programs means the almost certain destruction of the ecosystem. The development of an effective forest management program and the improvement of the economic state of Madhya Pradesh Province must be undertaken if India is to continue to develop itself in terms of replenishable natural resources.     

Neoflavanoids of Dalbergia melanoxylon

The heartwood of Dalbergia melanoxylon has yielded new examples of known neoflavanoid types. The isolates included 4-phenylcoumarins, (S)-4-methoxydalbergiones and benzophenones which have the corresponding oxygenation pattern. The structures of the extractives have been examined by physical methods, and confirmed by conversion to known compounds or by independent synthesis. A 2-cinnamylphenol (6) and 3-cinnamylflavan (7) were the only products in a condensation reaction in the attempted synthesis of the 4-methoxydalbergione (1b).     

Short-term changes in tree populations in a tropical evergreen forest at Varagalaiar, Western Ghats, India

Within a 30-ha permanent plot of a tropical evergreen forest in the Anamalais, Indian Western Ghats, all the 13415 trees 30cmgbh (belonging to 153 species) were identified and tagged during 1997–1998. This communication reports the results of tree population changes based on two annual censuses (1999 and 2000) of the plot after the initial census, and compares the results with other tropical forest sites. One species, Ficus beddomei, disappeared from the plot and there was no new addition of species. Of the 96 species that showed changes in their population density, for 12 species recruitment and mortality matched. Tree recruitment (5 treesha^–1year^–1) exceeded mortality (4 treesha^–1year^–1) during the two-year period. Four modes of tree deaths were recorded in our site. The per cent mortality of trees differed between tree size classes during each recensus. The plot tree density increased progressively in the two-year period, indicating that shifts in species composition and density in natural forests, without major catastrophic disturbance, occur slowly.     

Plant species diversity and tree population structure of a humid tropical forest in Tamil Nadu, India

Vegetation structure and species composition of tropical ecosystems were studied through nine transects at Veerapuli and Kalamalai reserve forests in the Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu, India. Species diversity, dominance, species richness and evenness indices of plant communities and also population structure of woody plants were enumerated. A total of 244 species (183 genera and 76 families) were recorded. Species richness (number of species) were 82,142 and 96 species per 0.3 ha respectively for the study areas of low-elevation forest (LEF), mid-elevation forest (MEF) and high elevation forest (HEF). Species diversity indices were greater in MEF compared to the other two forests except juveniles. In contrast, greater dominance value indices were recorded in LEF than other forests. Density and basal area of the MEF were twice greater than the LEF, while HEF showed greater tree density and low basal area when compared to LEF. The stem density and species richness (number of species) decreased with increased size classes of trees observed in the present study indicated good regeneration status. Population structure of juveniles and seedlings also reflects good regeneration status. Terminalia paniculata (IVI of 99.9) and Hopea parviflora (IVI of 103.8) were dominant tree species respectively in LEF and MEF whereas in HEF Agrostistachys meeboldii (63.65), Cullenia excelsa (63.67) and Drypetes oblongifolia (39.67) share the dominance. Past damage (anthropogenic perturbation) may be one of the reasons for single species dominance in LEF and MEF. Occurrence of alien species such as Eupatorium odoratum and Ageratum conyzoides also indicated the past disturbance in LEF. The variations in plant diversity and population structure are largely due to anthropogenic perturbation and other abiotic factors.     

Landscape-level tree diversity assessment in tropical forests of southern Eastern Ghats,India

This large-scale, landscape-level study aims to assess tree species diversity, stem density and stand structure of six major tropical hill forests of southern Eastern Ghats, India, namely, Bodamalai (BM), Chitteri (CH), Kalrayan (KA), Kolli hills (KO), Pachaimalai (PM) and Shervarayan hills (SH). The Eastern Ghats of India is relatively under-studied compared with the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot. The entire stretch of southern Eastern Ghats was divided into smaller grids of 6.25 km × 6.25 km, totaling to 120 grids. Within each grid, a belt transect of 0.5 ha (5 m × 1000 m) area was laid and all trees ≥30 cm girth at breast height (gbh) were enumerated. A total of 272 tree species (≥30 cm gbh) that belonged to 181 genera and 62 families were recorded in the total 60 ha area inventoried. Diversity indices such as Shannon, Simpson and Fisher's alpha indices were 2.44, 0.03 and 42.1, respectively, for the whole 60 ha area. One way ANOVA revealed that the species richness varied significantly across the six sites (F_(5,823) = 4.854, p < 0.0002). Also, the contribution of tree species to total species richness classified by three plant types viz. evergreen, brevi-deciduous and deciduous species varied significantly across the sites (One way ANOVA: F_(2,15) = 10.05, p < 0.002). Similarity indices such as Jaccard and Sørensen showed that sites CH and KA are more similar in terms of species composition. The total stand density and basal area for the total 60 ha area were 27,412 stems (457 stems ha⁻¹) and 1012.12 m² (16.9 m² ha⁻¹), respectively. The stand density and basal area for the six sites ranged from 290 (in site BM) to 527 stems ha⁻¹ (in site KA) and from 5.6 (in site BM) to 24.4 m² ha⁻¹ (in site KO), respectively. Stand density and basal area of tree species varied significantly across the six hill complexes (F_(5,823) = 4.85, p < 0.0002 and F_(5,823) = 2.71, p < 0.02, respectively). A positive correlation was obtained between stand density and species richness in sites PM (r_s = 0.65, p < 0.05) and SH (r_s = 0.67, p < 0.05), but not in other sites. The predominant tree species in the tropical forests of southern Eastern Ghats include Albizia amara, Euphorbia antiquorum, Canthium dicoccum var. dicoccum, Memecylon edule, Chloroxylon swietenia and Nothopegia heyneana. Taxonomically, Euphorbiaceae constituted the most diverse family with 25 species. Whereas, by tree abundance the Mimosaceae with 4126 stems enumerated from the 60 ha area formed the dominant family. Bray–Curtis cluster analysis, based on tree species composition and abundance revealed that the low-diverse site BM formed a separate entity from other hill complexes. This large-scale tree diversity inventory provides a baseline data for a variety of investigations and is expected to be useful for effective forest management and biodiversity conservation of southern Eastern Ghats region.     

Phenology of tree species of tropical moist forest of Uttara Kannada district,Karnataka, India

Phenological observations on tree species in tropical moist forest of Uttara Kannada district (13ℴ55′ to 15ℴ31′ N lat; 74ℴ9′ to 75ℴ10′ E long) during the years 1983–1985 revealed that there exists a strong seasonality for leaf flush, leaf drop and reproduction. Young leaves were produced in the pre-monsoon dry period with a peak in February, followed by the expansion of leaves which was completed in March. Abscission of leaves occurred in the post-monsoon winter period with a peak in December. There were two peaks for flowering (December and March), while fruit ripening had a single peak in May–June, preceding the monsoon rainfall. The duration of maturation of leaves was the shortest, while that of full ripening of fruits was the longest. Mature flowers of evergreen species lasted longer than those of deciduous species; in contrast the phenophase of ripe fruits of deciduous species was longer than that of evergreen species.     

Gap phase regeneration of tree species of differing successional status in a humid tropical forest of Kerala,India

Germination, establishment and growth of seedlings of tree speciesPalaquium ellipticum (primary),Actinodaphne malabarica (late secondary) andMacaranga peltata (early secondary) were studied in a humid tropical forest at Nelliampathy, in the Western Ghats of Kerala. While the primary species completed its germination within a brief period of 1.5 months, at the other extreme, early secondary species showed slow germination extending for about 5 months, the late secondary species falling in between. Although, all the species studied showed higher establishment and growth under gaps, the early secondary species were more responsive compared to the primary species. Primary species showed better establishment in undisturbed sites and natural gaps than under selection felled gaps; the reverse was true for late and early secondary species. Survival of seedlings increased with gap size, but sharply declined with gap age. Shoot/root ratio was consistently higher in the early secondary species than in the primary species.     

Quantifying tree carbon stock in historically conserved Seminary Hills urban forest of Nagpur,India

Urban forests help regulating flow of ecosystem services and are efficient to sequester atmospheric carbon. Tree carbon stock in urban forests and green spaces can help improving human well-being. Nagpur being one of the fastest growing urban agglomerate in India that has faced rapid loss of green spaces in last three decades. Present study assessed tree biomass carbon storage potential of a historically conserved large (67.41 ha) Seminary Hills Reserve forest of Nagpur. A total of 150 quadrats of 100 m² were laid to understand the vegetation structure and tree biomass storage. Overall structure and composition of the forest was assessed while, non-destructive biomass estimation was carried out using tree volume eqs. A total of 27 tree species belonging to 12 plant families were observed from the forest with only 6 tree species being dominant and remaining 21 being rare in occurrence. The maximum tree carbon storage was observed in dominant tree species of Hardwickia binata (76.30 t C ha^?1) followed by 17.04 t C ha^?1 in Tectona grandis and 1.19 t C ha^?1 in Boswellia serrata. Carbon stock in other co-dominant species was reported in Terminalia bellirica (76.57 kg C ha^?1), Gardenia resinifera (1118.6 g C ha^?1) and Terminalia arjuna (84.8 g C ha^?1). Total carbon stock of dominant tree species present in Seminary Hills urban forest was 94.53 ± 39.6 t C ha^?1. The study intends to bring focus ecosystem benefits from Urban Forests in growing urban sprawls of India and the need to include their vital role in urban planning.     

Association between chemical and genetic variation in Calophyllum inophyllum, a medicinally important tree of the Western Ghats of India

Intersubspecific autotetraploid rice hybrids have high heterosis in both vegetative and reproductive growth, but low seed set hinders commercial utilization of autotetraploid rice. Autotetraploid rice hybrids with high and low pollen fertility were used in the present study to compare microtubule distribution patterns and chromosome behavior during pollen mother cell (PMC) meiosis, using indirect immunofluorescence laser scanning confocal microscopy. Microtubule distribution patterns of autotetraploid hybrids were similar to diploid rice, but many different kinds of abnormalities were found in the hybrid with low pollen fertility and seed set. Abnormal microtubule organization including structurally distorted microtubules at pachytene, loosely knitted perinuclear microtubules at diakinesis during prophase?I, and abnormal spindles, viz. multipoles, loss of spindle pole focus, abnormal size of spindles, and so on, were found at metaphase?I and metaphase?II. Some cells developed into triad with no formation of tetrad. Abnormal chromosome behaviors included high percentage of multivalents, chromosome lagging, chromosome bridges, and micronuclei. All these abnormalities were found more frequently in low-fertile hybrid than in high-fertile hybrid. These results suggest that abnormal microtubule distribution pattern is an important factor which affects pollen fertility and percentage seed set in autotetraploid rice, and may also have a close relationship with chromosome behavior.     

In vitro medium-term conservation of Garcinia indica: a tropical recalcitrant seeded fruit tree of India

In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology - Plant - Garcinia indica (Thouars) Choisy is one of the important fruit species of the Clusiaceae family distributed in the Western Ghats of India in...     

Phenology of tree layer species from the timber line around Kumaun in Central Himalaya,India

Phenology of tree layer species from the timber line of Kumaun in Central Himalaya was carried out during the years 1988-1989. The study indicates the prevalence (66%) of deciduous tree species at timber line vegetation. Growth initiation started in early summer with the rise of temperature. Different phenophases succeeded one another, culminating in leaf drop with the advent of winter. The various phenophases of the tree species at timber line have been discussed and compared with the lower Himalayan forests of Kumaun in India. The present study also supports the idea that the intense fluctuations in environmental conditions determine the onset of different growth activities within the short growing season.Financial support from the Department of Environment, New Delhi and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi is gratefully acknowledged.     

Attenuated tree species diversity in human-impacted tropical evergreen forest sites at Kolli hills, Eastern Ghats, India

Tree diversity (30 cm gbh) in undisturbed and human-impacted tropical evergreen forest sites was investigated in the Kolli hills, Eastern Ghats, India. Four 2-ha contiguous permanent plots were erected, one each in Perumakkai shola (site PS), Vengodai shola (VS), Kuzhivalavu shola (KS) and Mottukkadu shola (MS) at 1000, 1050, 1200 and 1250 m elevation, with increasing human disturbance, to evaluate the difference in tree species composition, stand structure and dynamics. This paper discusses the results of the first survey. A total of 3825 individuals and 78 species from 61 genera and 36 families were enumerated in the 8 ha area. Among the four 2-ha sites, species richness was greatest (58) in the undisturbed site PS and lowest (39) in the highly disturbed site MS. Shannon, Simpson, Hill diversity and evenness indexes revealed a progressive reduction in diversity with increasing disturbance. The asymptote species-area curves imply adequate site sampling. Tree density (1151 to 651 trees ha^–2) and basal area (106 to 46.6 m² ha^–2) decreased from undisturbed to disturbed site, due to selective felling. Single species, Memecylon umbellatum dominated sites MS (39%) and VS (26%), while Nothopegia heyneana, Memecylon umbellatum and Diospyros ovalifolia were dominant in PS, and Meliosma simplicifolia, Myristica dactyloides and Phoebe wightii in KS. Based on species abundance, we classify the study area as Memecylon–Phoebe–Beilschmiedia association with Neolitsea and Myristica as codominants. Tree population structure revealed a step-wise decline in girth frequencies with increasing size class in undisturbed site PS, whereas tree density fell sharp (>50%) in medium girth class in the disturbed site MS. Population of the dominant species varied widely. The diversity values of this inventory are compared with similar studies in India and other tropical forests. Evidently, the reduction in species richness (by 52%), basal area (56%) and tree density (58%) in disturbed sites, with 57.6% of species rarity of this tropical evergreen forest, in secluded patches (sholas) of Kolli hills, underlines conservation need to prevent species loss.     

Phenology and water relations of tree sprouts and seedlings in a tropical deciduous forest of South India

The phenology of sprouts (>1 year old, up to 1.5 m in height) and seedlings (<1 year old) of six woody species (four deciduous, one brevi-deciduous, and one evergreen) was examined during the dry season in a tropical deciduous forest of South India. Xylem water potential (_x), leaf relative water content (RWC; % turgid weight), and xylem specific conductivity (K _S; kg s^–1 m^–1 MPa^–1) of sprouts were measured on two occasions during the dry season. In addition, K _S of seedlings (<1 year old) of one deciduous and one evergreen species was determined to allow comparison with sprouts. _x of deciduous species was significantly higher at the second sampling date and was accompanied by a significant increase in K _S and RWC, while the brevi-deciduous and evergreen species did not show any difference in _x. Seedlings of Terminalia crenulata (deciduous) and Ixora parviflora (evergreen) had significantly lower K _S compared to sprouts, while seedlings of all four deciduous species shed their leaves much earlier in the dry season than did conspecific sprouts. More favorable water relations of sprouts compared to seedlings during the peak of the dry season may explain the lower rates of die-back and mortality of sprouts observed in dry deciduous forests of India.

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This revised version was published online in May 2005 with corrections to Received-/Accepted-dates.     

Root competition for phosphorus between the tree and herbaceous components of silvopastoral systems in Kerala, India

Root competition in polyculture systems involving combinations of four tree species and four grass species was evaluated based on ³²P recovery by each species in mixed and sole crop situations. The tree species were: Leucaena leucocephala, Casuarina equisetifolia, Acacia auriculiformis and Ailanthus triphysa, and the grass species were: Pennisetum purpureum (hybrid napier), Brachiaria ruziziensis (congo signal), Panicum maximum (guinea grass) and Zea mexicana (teosinte). Four lateral distance (25 and 50 cm) and depth (15 and 50 cm) treatments were included in the study to characterize the relative fine root distribution of trees. Absorption of ³²P was monitored through radioassay of leaves. Regardless of the species, ³²P uptake from 50 cm soil depth was lower than that of 15 cm depth. Absorption of ³²P from 50 cm lateral distance was also less than that of 25 cm distance in Acacia and Casuarina. Grass species in sole crop situations absorbed more ³²P than in mixed systems. None of the grass species when grown in association with tree components affected the absorption of ³²P by trees. All grass species exerted a complementary effect on ³²P absorption by Casuarina. Leucaena also benefited in the same way when grown in association with congo signal and/or teosinte. Of the tree species, Acacia and Leucaena adversely affected the ³²P uptake by grass species.     

First report of airborne begomovirus infection in Melia azedarach (Pride of India), an ornamental tree in India

The begomovirus infection in plants has been widely reported throughout the world. The chief carrier of this virus is the whitefly. All of the reports, however, concern plants that grow at a stumpy height from the ground; moreover, the whitefly transmits the begomovirus infection to plants at this low height only by residing under their leaves. To date, there has been no record of the begomovirus infection in trees as the prevalence of the whitefly at tree level is unlikely. For this reason, this study focuses on and presents the first report of airborne begomovirus infection in an ornamental tree—the Melia azedarach (or Pride of India) found on the Indian subcontinent.     

Tetrahydrodiospyrin: a reduced binaphthoquinone from the bark of Diospyros montana

A new reduced dimeric 7-methyljuglone isolated from the fresh bark of D. montana is shown to be 3′,7-dimethyl-5′,6′,7′,8′-tetrahydro-1′,5,5′-trihydroxy [2,2′-binaphthalene]-1,4,8′-trione.     

Lignan from calyces of Diospyros kaki

From Diospyros kaki calyces, a new lignan was isolated. Its structure was elucidated as (?)-divanillyltetrahydrofuran ferulate by spectroscopic methods and was established by total synthesis.     

Effect of forest fragment size on tree diversity and population structure of humid subtropical forest of Meghalaya,India

The present study was conducted in subtropical humid forests of Meghalaya to study the distributional pattern of species, floristic composition, community structure and tree population structure.Forest fragments of varying sizes(0.5 ha, 1 ha, 2 ha and 5 ha) were used in the study.All of the forest fragments are distributed within the same altitudinal range, and had similar rainfall and temperature regimes.Four forest fragments were sampled using random quadrats to analyze the impact of fragment size on tree...