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V i k r a m S i ng h et al. Vegetation Composition, Species diversity and Soil Carbon Storage in Tropical Dry deciduous forests of Southern Haryana, Indian Journal of Science, 2014, 7(18), 28-39, www.discovery.org.in http://www.discovery.org.in/ijs.htm © 2014 Discovery Publication. All Rights Reserved

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Vikram Singh, Gupta SR☼, Narender Singh Department of Botany, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra -136 119, India ☼Corresponding Author: Department of Botany, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra -136 119, India; Email: [email protected]

Publication History Received: 06 November 2013 Accepted: 29 December 2013 Published: 18 January 2014

Citation Vikram Singh, Gupta SR, Narender Singh. Vegetation Composition, Species diversity and Soil Carbon Storage in Tropical Dry deciduous forests of Southern Haryana. Indian Journal of Science, 2014, 7(18), 28-39

ABSTRACT This study was carried out in tropical dry deciduous forests of Aravalli hills located in Gurgaon district ( 270 27’ to 280 32’ North latitude and 760 39’ to 770 32’ East longitudes; altitude 186 m to 437 m above mean sea level) in southern Haryana. The study sites were located at Bhondsi,Gawalpahari, and Raisina hills. The dry deciduous forests are dominated by Ailanthus excelsa and Cassia fistula at Bhondsi (IVI=38.71 to 36.71); Acacia leucophloea, Balanites aegyptiaca and Prosopis cineraria at Gawalpahari (IVI=50.27 to 41.47) ; Anogeissus pendula,Acacia leucophloea and Prosopis juliflora at Raisina hills (IVI=89.20 to 58.04). Most of the individuals of tree species were in intermediate girth classes. The dominance diversity curves of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants in the three forests showed a lognormal distribution of plants indicative of the highly mixed species composition of vegetation. The niches of various shrub species were found to be partitioned equally among various species. The Shannon index of diversity for trees in the three forests was in the order Bhondsi (2.610) > Gawalpahari (2.233)> Raisina hills (1.601). The Pielou’s index of equitability for trees and shrubs varied from 0.826 to 0.941. The concentration of dominance was greatest in the forest at Raisina hills (0.221). In the three forest, the soil organic carbon pool across soil depths (Mg C ha-1) was : 7.383 to 4.923 (0-15cm); 6.693 to 4.183 (15-30cm); 4.166 to 3.335 (30-45cm); 3.590 to 2.500 (45-60cm).The soil organic carbon pool at 0-30cm soil depth was 54.73% to 64.52 % of the total organic carbon pool up to 60cm soil depth in the three forests. Keywords: Plant diversity, tree density, Importance value index (IVI), tree Population structure, Shannon index, Soil carbon pool

1. INTRODUCTION Human beings depend on biodiversity for their food, shelter, and clothing. Biodiversity is source of food for humans, about 85% of our food supply comes from just 20 kinds of plants. A wide range of industrial materials are derived

RESEARCH • BOTANY Indian Journal of Science, Volume 7, Number 18, January 2014

Vegetation Composition, Species diversity and Soil Carbon Storage in Tropical Dry deciduous forests of Southern Haryana

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directly or indirectly from biological resources. Biodiversity also supports a number of natural ecosystem processes and services. There are clear causative relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (Singh, 2002). The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment identified climate change as a dominant driver of future biodiversity loss and indicated that it will adversely affect key development challenges, including the provision of clean water, energy services, and food; maintenance of a healthy environment; and conservation of ecological systems, their biodiversity, and associated ecosystem goods and services (MEA, 2005). Forests form a major

Table 1 Some Physical and Chemical soil characteristics at different soil depth in the dry deciduous forests Bhondsi, Gawalpahari and Raisina hills in Gurgaon

Forest/ Site Soil depth (cm) pH (1:2)

Organic carbon (%)

Inorganic carbon (%)

Bulk density (g mˉ3)

Dry Deciduous Forest Bhondsi

0-15 8.46±0.052 0.31±0.014 0.42±0.004 1.48±0.008 15-30 8.52±0.054 0.27±0.012 0.43±0.003 1.54±0.009 30-45 8.57±0.063 0.17±0.023 0.43±0.004 1.57±0.004 45-60 8.61±0.043 0.14±0.015 0.44±0.005 1.59±0.004

LSD (P<0.05) 0.164 0.0511 0.0127 0.0216 F value 1.425 NS 24.115** 3.315* 43.319** Dry Deciduous Forest Gawalpahari

0-15 8.11±0.051 0.21±0.011 0.42±0.005 1.56±0.016 15-30 8.41±0.043 0.17±0.010 0.43±0.005 1.62±0.010 30-45 8.52±0.036 0.16±0.012 0.44±0.003 1.66±0.091 45-60 8.60±0.043 0.14±0.017 0.44±0.003 1.69±0.005

LSD (P<0.05) 0.1347 0.0385 0.0131 0.0332 F value 23.785** 5.602* 3.699* 30.184** Dry Deciduous Forest Raisina hills

0-15 7.29±0.049 0.29±0.011 0.43±0.006 1.50±0.010 15-30 7.42±0.043 0.18±0.014 0.44±0.005 1.58±0.008 30-45 7.51±0.041 0.14±0.014 0.45±0.005 1.62±0.006 45-60 7.62±0.041 0.10±0.008 0.47±0.009 1.65±0.004

LSD (P<0.05) 0.1334 0.0383 0.0167 0.0246 F value 10.169** 40.828** 2.764NS 63.115** d.f.=3,12 * P<0.05; **P<0.01; NS=not significant

Figure 1a

Location of Gurgaon district in Haryana Figure 1b

The Google imagery showing location of study sites in Gurgaon district in Haryana


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component of the carbon reserves in the world’s ecosystems (Houghton, 2007). Managing forests through forestry, agroforestry and plantation forests is seen as an important opportunity for climate change mitigation and adaptation (IPCC, 2007; Canadell and Raupach, 2008).

Seasonally dry forests cover more than 45% of the total area of tropical forests worldwide (Murphy and Lugo, 1986). These forests are considered to be highly threatened and are attracting the attention of workers for their sustainable management and conservation (Janzen, 1988). Various studies on population structure and regeneration status of trees have been carried out in different forest ecosystems (Ashton and Hall, 1992; Cao et al. 1996; Gunatilleke et al. 2001; Umashanker, 2001). Population structure assessment can serve as a useful tool to assess the demographic viability of threatened species (Oostermeijer, 1994; Eckstein et al., 2004). Understanding species diversity and plant distribution patterns is important for assessing the complexity and sustainability of forest ecosystems. The National Forest Policy 1988 has given clear direction and guideline for forest conservation and afforestation in India. There are large anthropogenic demands on forest resources in different regions of India because more than 200 million people dependent on forests for livelihoods. The natural forest cover is only 3.64% of the total geographical area in Haryana (FSI, 2011). There is need for conserving biodiversity of tropical dry deciduous forest ecosystems keeping in view their highly fragmented distribution. These forests are rich in medicinally important plants and various minor forest produce. There are only a few studies on plant diversity in forest ecosystem of southern Haryana (Jain, 1979). This paper discusses vegetation composition, patterns of plant diversity, and soil carbon storage in dry deciduous forest

ecosystems of protected forests in southern Haryana. 2. STUDY SITES The present study was conducted in dry deciduous forests of Gurgaon district in southern Haryana, which lies between 270 27’ to 280 32’ North latitude and 760 39’ to 770 32’ East longitudes. Altitude varies from 186 m to 437 m above mean sea level. The study sites selected for this study are located at Bhondsi, Gawalpahadi and Raisina hills (Figures 1a and 1b). The climate of the study area is semi-arid and monsoonic. The year is divisible into a warm wet period (June to September; rainy season), a cool dry period (October to February; winter season), and a hot dry period (March to May; summer season). During the study period from January 2011 to December 2012, the average monthly rainfall varied from 0.0 mm to 274.0 mm during different months. About 80% of the total annual rainfall was received during the rainy season. Salient features of the climatic conditions at Gurgaon are shown in Figure 2. T he so i l s of the s tudy area are a l luv ia l and sandy. Soil organic carbon (0-15cm soil depth) varied from 0.21 to 0.31% in different forests at the three sites. Soil pH varied from 7.29 to 8.61 up to 60cm soil depth. The bulk density of soil under different systems ranged from 1.48 to 1.69 g mˉ3 across soil depths (Table 1). 3. METHODOLOGY 3.1. Vegetation sampling The quadrat method was used for analyzing vegetation composition and plant diversity in the selected forests at the three sites, i.e., Bhondsi, Gawalpahadi and Raisina, by sampling 12 randomly placed quadrats of 20×20m. The number of trees occurring within in each quadrat was noted. The circumference of trees (> 31.5 cm) was measured at 1.37 m height from above the ground. For determining the density of shrubs observations were recorded from sample plot of

Figure 2 Monthly variation in mean maximum temperature (ºC), mean minimum temperature (ºC) and total rainfall (mm) during January 2011 to December 2012 at Gurgaon (Source: Pollution control Board, Gurgoan)


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5×5m and the density of herbaceous plants was studied using twenty four quadrats of 1x1m marked within 20x20m quadrats. 3.2. Analysis of Vegetation Composition The density, basal area and importance value index of the trees, shrubs and herbs were analyzed following Phillips (1959) and Mishra (1968). Importance value index (IVI) of for trees and shrubs were calculated as: Relative density (%) + Relative frequency (%) + Relative basal area (%) following Curtis and McIntosh (1951). 3.3. Population Structure of Tree Species On the basis of girth measurement (cbh), the population structure of trees was prepared according to NRSA Manual (NRSA, 2008) recognizing following classes:

Class Range in cbh (cm) A 0 to 10.4 B 10.5 to 30 C 31.to 60 D 61 to 90 E 90 to 120 F 121 to 150 G 151 to180 H 181-210 I 221-240 J 240-270

The density of tree species belonging to above girth classes were calculated species- wise for the different forest sites. The percent proportion of each girth class was calculated for various tree species as: No. of individuals in each girth class Percent Proportion = _____________________________________ × 100 Total no. of individuals in all the girth classes 3.3. Analysis of Species Diversity Indices The species diversity (H) for trees, shrubs and herbs was determined using the following Shannon and Wiener equation (Shannon and Weaver, 1963): s H = - (Ni/N) ln (Ni/N) i = 1 Where, Ni = Importance value of one species N = Total of importance value of all species Concentration of dominance (C) was measured by Simpson’s index as follows (Simpson, 1949): s C = (Ni/N)² i = 1 Where, Ni = Importance value of one species N = Total of importance value of all species Equitability (e) was calculated following Pielou (1966) as: E = H/ln S Where, H = Shannon index S = number of species. Margalef’s index of Species richness (d) was calculated following Margalef (1958) as: D = (S – 1) / ln N Where, S = total number of species


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N = total density of all species The dominance-diversity curves (Magurran, 1988) of plant species in each site were plotted. 3.5. Analysis of Soil Organic and Inorganic Carbon Soil organic carbon was analyzed by using the dichromate oxidation method (Kalembasa and Jenkinson, 1973) and inorganic carbon was estimated by rapid titration method. The amount of organic and inorganic carbon stock in soil

Table 2 Structure of tree layer in the dry deciduous forest at Bhondsi, Gurgaon

Tree species Density

(trees ha-1) Basal area (m2 ha-1) IVI

Acacia leucophloea (Roxb.) Willd. 47.5 1.38 22.22

Acacia senega( L.) Willd. 37.5 1.02 17.86

Ailanthus excelsa Roxb. 87.5 4.40 38.71

Albizia lebbeck (L.) Benth. 65 3.03 26.81

Anogeissus pendula Edegw 32.5 0.60 14.01

Azadirachta indica A. Juss. 55 3.20 29.84

Butea monosperma (Lamk.)Taub. 30 0.85 15.98

Cassia fistula L. 95 2.80 36.91

Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. 37.5 1.25 17.59

Derris indica (Lamk.)Bennet 35 1.96 21.47

Diospyros cordifolia Roxb. 17.5 0.18 7.33

Kigellia pinnata (Jacq.)DC. 47.5 1.58 24.35

Leucaena leucocephala (Lamk.) de Wit 25 0.75 10.93

Nyctanthes arbor-tristis L. 7.5 0.05 3.97

Syzygium cuminii (L.) Skeels 15 0.35 7.67

Tamarix articulata Vahl. 7.5 0.14 4.33

Table 3 Structure of tree layer in the dry deciduous forest at Gawalpahari, Gurgaon

Tree species Density (trees ha-1)

Basal area (m2 ha-1) IVI

Acacia leucophloea (Roxb.) Willd. 112.5 2.44 50.27

Azadirachta indica A. Juss. 32 1.97 19.38

Balanites aegyptiaca (L.)Del. 82.5 1.58 41.66

Butea monosperma (Lamk.)Taub. 62.5 1.83 29.92

Cordia dichotoma Forst.f.

17.5 0.92 13.13

Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. 15 0.94 11.91

Diospyros cordifolia Roxb. 55 0.87 31.03

Prosopis cineraria (L.) Druce 85 1.94 41.47

Prosopis juliflora DC. 57.5 1.52 21.52

Ziziphus mauritiana Lamk. 80 1.51 39.71


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was estimated from the bulk density, soil depth and organic and inorganic carbon concentration in soil of the respective soil depth. 4. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS One-way ANOVA was used to evaluate the influence of forest systems on soil organic and inorganic carbon at various soil depths. A significance level of P<0.05 was used for all tests. All analyses were conducted following the program SPSS, ver. 16.0.

Table 4 Structure of tree layer in the dry deciduous forest at Raisina hills, Gurgaon

Tree species Density (trees ha-1)

Basal area (m2 ha-1) IVI

Acacia leucophloea (Roxb.) Willd. 125 3.36 70.60

Acacia senegal ( L.) Willd. 72.5 2.86 56.53

Anogeissus pendula Edgew 175 4.60 89.20

Boswellia serrata Roxb. ex Colebr. 12.5 0.15 10.19

Diospyros cordifolia Roxb. 22.5 0.29 15.43

Prosopis juliflora DC. 85 3.36 58.04

Table 5 Composition of shrub layer in three forests

Sites/ shrub species Density

(stems ha-1) Basal area (m2 ha-1) IVI

Dry deciduous forest ,Bhondsi Adhatoda vasica Nees. 600 0.29 57.86

Calotropis procera (Ait.) R. Br. 166.7 0.20 29.33

Capparis sepiaria L. 766.8 1.38 111.28

Carissa spinarum L. 566.7 0.21 53.22

Lantana camara L. 233.3 0.38 38.83

Lycium europaeum L. 66.7 0.08 9.47

Dry deciduous forest, Gawalpahari Adhatoda vasica Nees. 466.7 0.13 48.99

Calotropis procera (Ait.) R. Br. 100 0.05 14.02

Capparis sepiaria L. 466.7 1.03 83.74


Lantana camara L. 266.7 0.15 36.73

Lycium europaeum L. 200 0.39 38.33

Maytenus emarginatus Ding Hou 66.7 0.06 12.60

Dry deciduous forest, Raisina hills Adhatoda vasica Nees. 766.8 0.25 99.45

Calotropis procera (Ait.) R. Br.

66.7 0.01 16.74

Capparis sepiaria L. 400 0.42 110.61


Maytenus emarginatus Ding Hou 33.3 0.01 9.41


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Table 6 Comparison of IVI of herbaceous species in the three forests

Importance Value Index (IVI)

Plant species Dry deciduous forest Bhondsi

Dry deciduous forest Gawalpahari

Dry deciduous forest Raisina

Achyranthes aspera L 20.42 11.79 27.73 Aerva javanica (Burm. f.) Juss. - 4.92 - Alternanthera pungens HBK 9.94 4.21 - Amaranthus viridis L. 7.51 - - Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f.) Wall. 4.41 - 16.22 Aristida adscensionis L. 15.02 9.26 15.69 Asparagus racemosus Willd. - 4.92 - Boerrhavia diffusa L. 9.39 12.43 - Cassia tora L. - 5.54 - Cenchrus setigerus Vahl. - 109.83 111.64 Chrysopogon fulvus (Spreng.) Chiov. 13.81 - 7.43 Cissampelos pareira L. 8.48 5.85 - Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers 45.09 20.08 - Cyperus rotundus L. 9.05 12.65 - Dactyoctenium aegyptium (L.) P. Beauv. 13.29 - - Desmostachya bipinnata (L.) Stapf 4.23 9.98 - Eragrostis ciliaris (L.) R. Br. 5.97 - - Euphorbia hirta L. 16.52 - - Fagonia cretica L. - 9.53 - Heteropogon contortus (L.) P. Beauv. 13.95 - 13.41 Indigofera cordifolia Heyne ex Roth 3.36 - - Ipomoea pestigridis L. 3.36 - 7.43 Leucas biflora (Vahl)R. Br. - 7.38 - Melothria heterophylla (Lour.)Cogn. - 4.61 - Momordica balsamina L. - 6.61 - Ocimum americanum L. - 9.85 30.15 Peristrophe bicalyculata (Retz) Nees 18.18 - - Phyllanthus simplex Retz. 7.14 - - Plumbago zeylanica L. - - 9.72 Pupalia lappacea (L.)Juss. - 5.85 - Saccharum munja Roxb. - 4.21 - Saccharum spontaneum L. 13.03 - - Sida ovata Forsk. 17.17 - 24.99 Tephrosia purpurea (L.) Pers. 3.36 1.79 13.85 Tribulus terrestris L. 4.23 13.94 - Tridax procumbens L. 15.37 10.25 12.93 Vernonia cinerea (L.) Less 5.07 - 8.80 Vitis carnosa (Lamk.)Wall.ex W.&A. - 4.95 - Xanthium indicum Koen. 11.98 - -

Table 7 Number of plant species, Shannon’s diversity index (H), Simpson’s index (Cd) Species equitability index (Pielou index;e) and Margalef’s species richness index (d) in forest ecosystems at Bhondsi, Gawalpahari Raisina hills, Gurgaon

Plant funcional group / site Plant

Species (n)

Shannon’s index H

Margalef’s index (D)

Simpson’s index (Cd) Pielou index (e)

Tree layer Bhondsi 16 2.610 2.320 0.082 0.941 Gawalpahari 10 2.233 1.401 0.113 0.969 Raisina hills 6 1.601 0.807 0.221 0.894 Shrub layer Bhondsi 6 1.593 0.642 0.234 0.889 Gawalpahari 7 1.781 0.784 0.187 0.915 Raisina hills 5 1.333 0.537 0.295 0.826 Herbaceous layer Bhondsi 26 6.088 8.855 0.059 1.869 Gawalpahari 23 2.554 6.562 0.156 0.815 Raisina hills 13 2.153 3.766 0.178 0.839


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5. RESULTS 5.1. Vegetation Composition A total of 66 plant species including trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants belonging to 36 families were recorded in the dry deciduous forests at the three sites. The number of species was greater in the dry deciduous forest at Bhondsi (48) as compared to that of the dry deciduous forests at Gawalpahari (30) and Raisina hills (24). A total of 16 tree species were recorded in the dry deciduous forest at Bhondsi, which was dominated by Ailanthus excelsa (IVI 38.71) followed by Cassia fistula (IVI 36.91), Azadirachta indica (IVI 29.84) and Albizia lebbeck (IVI 26.81). The Importance value index of other tree species varied from 3.97 to 24.35 (Table 2). The IVI of various tree species in the forest at Gawalpahari varied from 11.91 to 50.27 (Table 3). The forest was dominated by Acacia leucophloea (IVI= 50.27), and co-dominated by Balanites aegyptiaca (IVI= 41.66) and Prosopis cineraria (IVI= 41.47). The Importance value index of other tree species varied from 11.91 to 39.71 (Table 3). The forest at Raisina hills was dominated by Anogesisus pendula (IVI= 89.20) was co-dominated by Acacia leucophloea (IVI =70.60) and Prosopis juliflora (IVI= 58.04). The IVI of other tree species in the forest varied from 10.19 to 56.53 (Table 4). In shrub layer of dry deciduous forest at Bhondsi, the IVI value ranged from 9.47 to 111.28 (Table 5). Capparis sepiaria was the dominant shrub (IVI =

111.28) followed by Adhatoda vasica (IVI = 57.86) and Carissa spinarum (IVI=53.22) (Table 5). In the dry deciduous forest at Gawalpahari, Capparis sepiaria was the dominant shrub (IVI = 83.74) followed by Carissa spinarum (IVI = 65.58) and Adhatoda vasica (IVI = 48.99) (Table 5). The shrub layer of the forest at Raisina hills forest was dominated by Capparis sepiaria (IVI= 110.61) followed by Adhatoda vasica (IVI = 99.45) and Carissa spinarum (IVI = 63.78) (Table 5). In the case of ground floor herbaceous vegetation, a total of 26 plant species were found in the dry dec iduous f orest at Bhondsi having IVI values ranging from 3.36 to 45.09 ( Table 6). The herbaceous layer of plants in the forests was composed of Cynodon dactylon (IVI = 45.09) Achyranthes aspera (IVI=20.42), Peristophe bicalyculata (IVI=18.88) and Euphorbia hirta (IVI=16.52). Cenchrus setigerus was dominant having IVI value of 109.83 at Gawalpahari and IVI of 111.64 in the forest at Raisina hills (Table 6).

Table 8 Organic carbon, Inorganic carbon and Total Carbon pool in soil at different soil depth in the dry deciduous forests at Bhondsi, Gawalpahari and Raisina hills, Gurgaon

Forest/ Site Soil Carbon Pool (Mg ha-1) Soil depth (cm) Organic carbon Inorganic carbon Total carbon

Dry Deciduous Forest Bhondsi

0-15 7.383±0.348 9.933±0.092 17.316 15-30 6.693±0.314 10.443±0.111 17.136 30-45 4.166±0.575 10.828±0.116 14.994 45-60 3.590±0.391 11.010±0.128 14.600

Dry Deciduous Forest Gawalpahari

0-15 4.923±0.310 9.872±0.161 14.795 15-30 4.182±0.241 10.475±0.184 14.657 30-45 3.948±0.259 10.655±0.055 14.603 45-60 3.583±0.443 10.740±0.109 14.323

Dry Deciduous Forest Raisina hills

0-15 6.408±0.242 9.670±0.177 16.078 15-30 4.200±0.356 1.0484±0.094 14.684 30-45 3.335±0.340 10.791±0.116 14.126 45-60 2.500±0.204 11.127±0.158 13.627

Figure 3

opulation structure of different tree species in the dry deciduous forest at Bhondsi AL=Acacia leucophloea; AS=Acacia senegal ; AE=Ailanthus excelsa , AL=Albizia lebbeck, AP=Anogeissus pendula, AI=Azadirachta indica, BM=Butea monosperma, CF=Cassia fistula, DS=Dalbergia sissoo, DI=Derris indica, DC= Diospyros cordifolia, KP=Kigellia pinnata , LL=Leucaena leucocephala, NA=Nyctanthes arbor-tristis, SC=Syzygium cuminii; TA=Tamarix articulata


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5.2. Tree Population Structure The Population structure of trees was prepared according to the Manual of NRSA (2008). The population structure of tree species in dry deciduous forest at Bhondsi showed that most of the individuals were present in intermediate girth classes. Albizia lebbeck, Ailanthus excelsa, Butea monosperma , Derris indica and Azadirachta indica showed 13.33to 63% individuals in higher girth class of 91 -120 cm (Figure 3). In the dry deciduous forest at Gawalpahari, about 16.67% individuals of Cordia dichotoma and Dalbergia sissoo were found to be present in higher girth class of 91-120 cm (Figure 4). In the case of dry deciduous forest at Raisina hills, about 34.38 to 88.89% of trees were found in girth classes of 30-60cm and 28% to 59.37% in the girth class of 61 to 90 cm. Only 6.89% and 6.25% individuals of Acacia senegal and Prosopis juliflora, respectively, were present in higher girth class of 91 -120 cm (Figure 5). The density of tree seedlings and saplings in the different forest sites was low indicating low regenerative capacity. The forests could be impacted by some biotic interference or physical degradation of soil resulting in unfavourable conditions for seedling establishment. 5.3. Dominance diversity Curves Dominance of different species in relation to their availability of suitable niche and resource apportionment in a community has often been interpreted from dominance-diversity curve (Whittaker, 1965; Saxena and Singh, 1982).The dominance diversity curves of different functional groups of plants, i.e., trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants in three forests are shown in Figures 6 to 8. All the functional groups of plants showed a lognormal distribution of plants as the niches were shared by several species. 5.4. Species Diversity Indices The diversity indices of trees, shrubs and herbs in different forest ecosystems are given in Table7. The Shannon index of diversity in the case of trees was higher in the dry deciduous forest at Bhondsi (2.610) as compared to that of the forest at Gawalpahari (2.233), Raisina hills forest (1.601). The concentration of dominance was greater in the forest at Raisina hills (0.221) followed by Gawalpahari forest (0.113) and the forest at Bhondsi (0.082). The Margalef’s index of species richness in all the three forests varied from 0.807 to 2.320. The Shannon’s diversity index for the shrub layer was higher in the dry deciduous forest at Gawalpahari (1.781) as compared to that of Bhondsi forest (1.593) and Raisina hills forest (1.333). The Pielou’s index of equitability varied from 0.827

to 0.915.The concentration of dominance was greater in the case of Raisina hill forest (0.295) followed by that of the forest at Bhondsi (0.234) and Gawalpahari (0.188). The diversity indices of the herb layer showed that the value of Shannon index in studied forests varied from 2.153 to 6.088, equitability index 0.815 to 1.869, and concentration of dominance ranged from 0.059 to 0.178.The concentration of dominance was found to be lowest in dry deciduous forest at Bhondsi (0.059) showing the presence of more number of species. The Margalef’s index of species richness was higher in the case of forest at Bhondsi (8.855) as compared to that of the forest at Gawalpahari (6.562) and Raisina hills (3.766). 5.5. Soil Carbon Storage Soil organic carbon showed marked decrease with increase in soil depth in all the forests. The soil organic concentration in the forest at Bhondsi varied from 0.31% to 0.14% whereas from 0.21% to 0.14% at Gawalpahari and

Figure 4

Population structure of different tree species in the dry deciduous forest at Gawalpahari; AL=Acacia leucophloea;AI= Azadirachta indica; BA = Balanites aegyptiaca; BM= Butea monosperma CD= Cordia dichotoma; DS=Dalbergia sissoo; DC= Diospyros cordifolia; PC= Prosopis cineraria;PJ= Prosopis juliflora ZM= Ziziphus mauritiana

Figure 5

Population structure of different tree species in the dry deciduous forest at Raisina hills; AL=Acacia leucophloea; AS=Acacia Senegal; AP=Anogeissus pendula; BS= Boswellia serrata, DC= Diospyros cordifolia, PJ=Prosopis juliflora


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0.29 to 0.10% at Raisina hills across soil depths. The variations in soil organic carbon pool at different soil depths are shown in Table 8. In the three forests, the soil organic carbon pool (Mg C ha-1) at different soil depths was: 7.383 to 4.923 (0-15cm); 6.693 to 4.183 (15-30cm); 4.166 to 3.335 (30-45cm); 3.590 to 3.335 (45-60cm), Table 8. The soil organic carbon pool at 0-30cm soil depth accounted for 54.73% to 64.52 % of the total organic carbon pool up to 60cm soil depth. The total soil organic carbon pool up to 60cm soil depth was greatest in the case of dry deciduous forest at Bhondsi ( 21.832Mg C ha-1), followed by the forest at Raisina hills (16.443g C ha-1) and the forest at Gawalpahari (16.636Mg C ha-1).

In contrast to soil organic carbon distribution, most of soil inorganic carbon was found concentrated below 30cm soil depth. In three forests, there was significant increase in soil inorganic carbon with increase in soil depth (P<0.05). In all the systems studied, there were significant variations in quantity and vertical distribution of SIC. The soil inorganic carbon (Mg IC ha-1) pool in the three forests was: 9.933 to 9.670 (0-15cm), 10.443 to 10.475 (15-30cm), 10.828 to 10.655 (30-45cm) and 11.010 to 10.740 (45-60cm). There was more soil inorganic carbon pool in soils under the forest at Bhondsi ( 42.216 Mg IC ha-1) as compared to that of the forest at Gawalpahari ( 32.444 Mg IC ha-1), and the forest at Raisina hills ( 32.075 Mg IC ha-1). The total soil carbon (Mg C ha-1) pool in the three forests was: 17.316 to 14.795 (0-15cm); 17.136 to 14.657 (15-30cm); 14.994 to 14.126 (30-45cm); 14.600 to 14.323 (45-60cm soil). The significant variation in total soil carbon was found due to soil depth and the forest type. 6. DISCUSSION The concept of diversity is commonly considered as an important attribute of an organized community (Hairston et al., 1964). Generally, species diversity is defined as a function of the number of species present in a given area and the evenness with which the individuals are distributed among the species (Odum, 1983). Forest diversity depends on ecosystem processes and functions such as soil formation, nutrient cycling, maintenance of hydrological cycle and organic matter decomposition. A total of 66 species belonging to 36 families were found in different forest ecosystems indicating moderately high diversity of the plant species. Some of the dominant species like Acacia leucophloea, Diospyros cordifolia, Prosopis cineraria, Prosopis juliflora and Ziziphus mauritiana of different forest ecosystems exhibited the population structure with most of the individuals in higher and intermediate girth classes.

Trees form the major structural and functional basis of tropical forest ecosystems and can serve as robust indicators of changes and stress at the landscape scale. Plant diversity at local scale has been studied by

using various indices, such as number of species per unit area (species richness) or the Shannon index. These are used as indicators of the degree of complexity of a community and provide information on the homeostatic capacity of the system to unforeseen environmental changes (Magurran, 1988). The interrelationships among species distribution in each community could be inferred quantitatively from dominance diversity curves, i.e., geometric, log, log-normal and random niche-boundary types (Preston, 1948; Whittaker, 1965). The curves for the tree layer in the natural forest ecosystem were found to approach the log-normal model of Preston (1948). This lognormal distribution of trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants was due to apportionment of resources among several species in the forest. In the present study, the lognormal distribution is indicative of the highly mixed species composition of vegetation. The niches of various shrub species appear to be partitioned equally among various species in the mixed forest ecosystems.

Figure 6

Dominance–diversity curves of tree species in the three dry deciduous forests

Figure 7

Dominance–diversity curves of shrub species in the three dry deciduous forests


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In this study, the value of Shannon diversity index of trees ranged from 1.60 to 2.61. The reported range of Shannon’s index has been found to vary 0.83-4.1 for the forests of the Indian sub-continent (Jha and Singh, 1990; Pandey and Shukla, 1999). In this study, the concentration of dominance of tree species varied from 0.082 to 0.221. The concentration of dominance was greatest in the dry deciduous forest at Raisina hills (Cd = 0.221) indicating single species dominance. Concentration of dominance was low for the dry deciduous forest at Bhondsi (Cd = 0.082) indicating that dominance is being shared by several species. The Concentration of dominance values are higher than the average value of tropical forest (Cd= 0.06), (Knight, 1975).

Soil carbon plays a vital role in regulating climate, water supplies and biodiversity, and providing the ecosystem services that are essential to human well-being. Climate change is expected to have significant impacts on soil carbon dynamics (Conant et al., 2011). The soil organic carbon (SOC) decreased with increasing soil depths. The higher organic carbon content in the top soil layer may be due to rapid decomposition of ground floor litter due to high microbial activity. Gupta and Rao (1994) reported SOC stock of 24.3 Pg C (1Pg=1015g) for the soils ranging from surface to an average subsurface depth of 44 to 186cm in Indian soils. Velayuthum et al. (2009) and Bhattacharya et al. (2000) have estimated

soil organic carbon stock (21 to 63.2 Pg C) in different soil orders and different agro ecological regions of India. Surface layer of soil was found to store less inorganic carbon as compared to sub-surface layers. The soil inorganic

carbon stock ranged from in all the tree forest sites. The largest amount of soil inorganic carbon (SIC) is present in the form of soil carbonates, which accounts for one third of the total carbon in soil at different soil depths (Pal et al., 2009). The Soil inorganic carbon stock has the potential to help in the establishment of vegetation as well as sequestration of organic carbon in the soils (Pal et al., 2009). In arid and semi-arid regions of Rajasthan, carbon stock has been reported to be 2.13 Pg in the 0-100 cm soil depth, of which 1.23 Pg being soil organic carbon and 0.90 Pg (1Pg=1015g) as soil inorganic (Singh et al., 2007).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We wish to acknowledge the help and support received from Haryana Forest Department, Gurgoan and Dr Ravi Kumar during the field survey. Thanks are due to Dr B.D. Vashistha, Chairperson, Department of botany, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra for providing necessary facilities in the ecology laboratory. REFERENCE

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