Table 1.
Study site characteristics, mean ecosystem-level aboveground and belowground biomass (Mg/ha) of different components at seven selected forest sites of KWLS, Western Ghats, India.
| Parameter | Tropical dry deciduous | Tropical semi-evergreen | Tropical evergreen | Mean total | P-value | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TDD I | TDD II | TSE I | TSE II | TEF I | TEF II | TEF III | |||
| Latitude | 8.449 | 8.524 | 8.539 | 8.524 | 8.536 | 8.540 | 8.541 | – | – |
| Longitude | 77.320 | 77.291 | 77.313 | 77.289 | 77.321 | 77.318 | 77.311 | – | – |
| Elevation (m MSL) | 115–229 | 317–392 | 532–630 | 306–431 | 521–677 | 508–655 | 477–544 | – | – |
| Tree species richness (No./4,000 m2) | 55 | 24 | 45 | 67 | 56 | 44 | 76 | 151 | 0.0001 |
| Tree density (No./ha) | 370 | 448 | 525 | 775 | 900 | 863 | 850 | 675.9 | 0.0001 |
| Tree basal area (m2/ha) | 24.2 | 30.8 | 35.1 | 45.7 | 49.05 | 64.6 | 75.3 | 46.4 | 0.0001 |
| Mean DBH of adults (cm) | 24.9 ± 1.21 | 26.2 ± 1.03 | 25.9 ± 0.92 | 23.3 ± 0.83 | 23 ± 0.68 | 26.1 ± 0.91 | 28.1 ± 1.02 | 25.4 ± 0.9 | 0.0001 |
| Aboveground biomass (Mg/ha) | |||||||||
| Tree juveniles (< 10 cm) | 3.96 ± 0.7ab | 1.23 ± 0.2c | 4.66 ± 0.59ab | 2.20 ± 0.3bc | 5.82 ± 0.6a | 5.35 ± 0.6a | 6.07 ± 0.6a | 4.18 | 0.0001 |
| Tree adults (≥ 10 cm) | 160.8 ± 16d | 216.7 ± 18cd | 364.5 ± 44bc | 282 ± 27.8cd | 502.1 ± 46b | 708.2 ± 51.8a | 868.2 ± 76.6a | 443.2 | 0.0001 |
| Woody climbers | 7.4 ± 3.5ab | 0.03 ± 0.01b | 0.001 ± 0.0b | 2.5 ± 0.9ab | 10.2 ± 3.6a | 5.5 ± 2.4ab | 2.8 ± 2ab | 4.06 | 0.015 |
| Bamboo and palms | 0.2 ± 0.1a | – | – | – | 0.01 ± 0.01a | 0.02 ± 0.02a | – | 0.03 | 0.080 |
| Understorey | 0.33 ± 0.05c | 36.9 ± 1.63a | 3.16 ± 0.4b | – | – | – | – | 5.77 | 0.0001 |
| Litter | 2.5 ± 0.17c | 2.1 ± 0.13c | 5.8 ± 0.43b | 7.1 ± 0.40ab | 5.8 ± 0.54b | 7.7 ± 0.22a | 6.9 ± 0.43ab | 5.44 | 0.00 |
| Deadwood | 27.6 ± 9.2c | 7.3 ± 3.9c | 53 ± 23.2b | 36.1 ± 9.1a | 40.8 ± 18.9b | 58.1 ± 16.9a | 15.4 ± 3.6a | 34.03 | 0.11 |
| Belowground biomass (Mg/ha) | |||||||||
| Tree juveniles (< 10 cm) | 1.03 ± 0.1ab | 0.32 ± 0.06c | 1.21 ± 0.1ab | 0.57 ± 0.08bc | 1.51 ± 0.1a | 1.39 ± 0.1a | 1.58 ± 0.1a | 1.09 | 0.0001 |
| Tree adults (≥ 10 cm) | 25.7 ± 2.2e | 34.6 ± 2.5de | 55.5 ± 6.4cd | 45.6 ± 4.3de | 76.4 ± 7.2bc | 101.8 ± 6.3ab | 121.6 ± 9.8a | 65.9 | 0.0001 |
| Woody climbers | 1.93 ± 0.9ab | 0.01 ± 0.0b | 0.0002 ± 0b | 0.66 ± 0.2ab | 2.66 ± 0.9a | 1.43 ± 0.6ab | 0.73 ± 0.5ab | 1.06 | 0.015 |
| Bamboo and palms | 0.05 ± 0.03a | – | – | – | 0.0a | 0.01 ± 0.0a | – | 0.01 | 0.080 |
| Understorey | 0.09 ± 0.01c | 9.6 ± 0.42a | 0.82 ± 0.11b | – | – | – | – | 1.50 | 0.0001 |
Mean value ± standard error. Mean values within a row followed by different lower case letters are significantly different.