earticle

영어

Tropical forests host around 10% of world’s forests and inhabit nearly half of the world’s tree species. Despite extensive research on the quantitative assessment of tropical flora, enumeration of long-term changes in species composition, population structure, and distribution patterns remain limited. We assessed the changes in structure, composition, and distribution patterns of tree species in preservation plots of Chhattisgarh for 30 years interval. A total of 102 tree species (including three lianas) were recorded across both sampling periods. The 2021 survey quantified 79 tree species belonging to 64 genera and 32 families, while the 1991 survey reported 87 species, 72 genera and 33 families. Only 68 species (66.7%) were common to both surveys, belonging to 55 genera and 30 families. In 1991, species richness ranged from 19 to 46 species while in 2021, it varied from 9 to 43 species. The structural changes at both community and species levels were significant (p＜0.05). The considerable changes were observed in proportionate frequency of tree, sapling, and seedling growth forms. These results exhibit significant change in vegetation structure and composition of forests during past 30 years.