Impacts of Coriaria nepalensis colonization on vegetation structure and regeneration dynamics in a mixed conifer forest of Indian Central Himalaya

Abstract

This study evaluated impacts of Coriaria nepalensis Wall. colonization on soil characteristics, vegetation structure and composition, regeneration status and expected future compositional changes, biomass and carbon stock in tree species of a mixed conifer forest of Central Himalaya. Three sites (1 ha each in an old landslide area) differing in Coriaria density (low: 20 individuals ha⁻¹; medium: 120 indiv. ha⁻¹; high: 190 indiv. ha⁻¹) were used to enumerate the tree species. A total of 9 tree species and 2830 individuals were recorded from the three study sites that represented a gradient of Coriaria density. Number of species varied from 3 to 7 and the individuals from 690 to 1270 per site with lowest numbers at low Coriaria density and highest at medium Coriaria density. The number of seedlings increased with increasing Coriaria density, and the sites were unique in their seedling composition, indicating marked temporal dynamics. Site wise regeneration analysis showed that regeneration was poor at the site with low Coriaria density and good at the high-density site where many species emerged as seedlings. These results indicate that the ameliorative effects of Coriaria in terms of soil buildup, and accumulation of nutrients and organic matter helped more species to colonize the area. This facilitative ability of Coriaria can be used to restore degraded forest ecosystems of Indian Central Himalaya.

Keywords

Basal area / Conifer / Coriaria / Density / Facilitation / Species richness

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