Floristic Composition, Structure, Diversity and Conservation Strategies for Rehabilitation of Dry Tropical Forests in Buffer Zone of Achanakmaar Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve (AABR), India

The present study was conducted to assess the floristics, structure and diversity of dry tropical forests in buffer zone of Achanakmaar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve. The biosphere is well recognized for its species richness and biological diversity. However, the increasing anthropogenic activities are causing rapid degradation of native ecosystem, especially the buffer and transition zones are severely affected and becoming ecologically fragile by disappearance of many valuable species. A line transect survey was conducted for inventorying floristic composition. The quadratic sampling approach was employed for determining the structure and diversity of forest types. Results on floristic composition shows that existence of forty three (43) species represented by 24 families, 13 species by 9 families and 16 species by 11 families in tree, shrub and herbaceous layers, respectively. The five vegetation types viz., Mixed Forest, Mixed Sal, Mixed Teak, Teak Mixed and Bamboo Brakes were identified. Density of trees ranged from 246 to 865 trees ha-1. It was highest in Mixed Sal Forest and lowest in Bamboo Brakes. Average crop height and basal area of trees varied from 9.1 to 14.5 m and 12.1 to 29.9 m2 ha-1. Shannon index values in tree layer ranged from 0.61 to 3.07 among different vegetation types in tree layer. It was highest in Mixed Forest and lowest in Teak Mixed Forest. Simpson index values ranged for 0.064 to 0.74, which was found to be highest in Bamboo Brakes and lowest under Mixed Forest. The Evenness Index values ranged for 0.297 to 0.864, Margalef,s Index from 5.30 to16.9. Beta Diversity across vegetation types ranged from 2.96 to 3.60. Mixed Forest showed highest beta diversity. The paper discusses implications of forest management for rehabilitation to conserve the fragile vegetation types of AABR.