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Comparison of Plant Diversity of Natural Forest and Plantations of Rema-kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary of Bangladesh

Norul Alam Sobuj*
Department of Forestry and Environmental Science, School of Agriculture and Mineral Sciences, Shah Jalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet-3114, Bangladesh

and Mizanur Rahman
Department of Forestry and Environmental Science, School of Agriculture and Mineral Sciences, Shah Jalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet-3114, Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

The purpose of the study was to assess and compare the diversity of plant species (trees, shrubs, herbs) of natural forest and plantations. A total of 52 plant species were recorded in the natural forest, of which 16 were trees, 15 were shrubs and 21 were herbs. On the contrary, 31 species of plants including 11 trees, 8 shrubs and 12 herbs were identified in plantation forest. Shannon-Wiener diversity index were 2.70, 2.72 and 3.12 for trees, shrubs and herbs respectively in the natural forest. However, it was 2.35 for tree species, 2.31 for shrub species and 2.81 for herb species in the plantation forest. Jaccard’s similarity index showed that 71% species of trees, 44% species of shrubs and 43% species of herbs were same in plantations and natural forest.

Keywords: Shannon-Wiener diversity index, Jaccard’s similarity index, Natural forest, Plantation forest, Plant diversity

Location: Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary at Chunarughat Upazila (sub-district; administrative entity) of Habigonj district in Sylhet division.

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Conservation and Biodiversity

Commodity: Forest

Objectives:

The objective of this paper is to compare the diversity of plant species (trees, shrubs, herbs) of natural forest and plantation forest of the study site. Therefore, adequate measures would be taken to conserve and enrich its diversity according to forest types.

Methodology:

Study site Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary is located at Chunarughat upazila (sub-district; administrative entity) of Habigonj district in Sylhet division. It is about 130 km east-north east of Dhaka and about 80 km south south-west of Sylhet city. With an area of 1795 ha, the Wildlife Sanctuary was established in 1996. Previously it was Tarap Hill Reserve Forest (NSP, 2007). The sanctuary encompasses several hills of different elevations and the low-laying valleys. The highest peak of the hills is about 67 m from the sea level (Rizvi, 1970). The hills are composed of Upper Tertiary rocks in which sandstone largely predominates (Ahmad, 1970) along with siltstones and mudstones, locally altered to slates and shales. Soil of the sanctuary varies from clay to sandy loam exceedingly fertile and show low pH. In some cases, soils texture consists of yellowish red sandy clay mixed with granules of magniferous iron ore (Ahmed, 1970). The sanctuary enjoys a most tropical climate characterized by a period of high precipitation from April to September and five months of relatively dry period from November to March.

The study was carried out through stratified random quadrate method. Data were collected from both the plantations and natural forest of the sanctuary. The vegetation analysis was carried out by 24, 20 m × 20 m sample plots placed randomly for tree layer. From each forest site equal 12 sample plots were taken. For herb and shrub species 5, 2 m × 2 m sample plots were nested within each plot of tree layer (Total 120 plots, 60 from natural forest and 60 from plantation forest). After collection of field data, they were analyzed for richness, Shannon- Wiener diversity index and Jaccard’s similarity index.

Species richness At its simplest level, diversity can be defined as the number of species found in a community, a measure known as Species Richness. Species richness was determined following Whittaker (1976) by tabulating the number of tree, shrub and herb species in the natural and plantation forest of the study area.

The Shannon- Wiener diversity index One of the most commonly used measures of species diversity is the Shannon- Wiener diversity index. It combines two quantifiable measures; 1. the species richness (the number of species in the community) and 2. species equitability (how even are the numbers of individuals of each species). The higher the number, the higher is the species diversity. The index equals zero when there is only a single species, increases with richness and evenness, and commonly has a value between 1.5 and 3.5 for many sampled ecological communities (Legendre and Legendre, 1998). The Shannon- wiener index for diversity was calculated according to Michael (1990).

Source of Information: Journal of Forest Science Vol. 27, No. 3, pp. 127~134, December 2011

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

Budget:

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Achievement/Findings:

One of the most universal features of natural systems is that species richness, the number of different species co-occurring in a given area, varies enormously from place to place. Species richness may differ substantially between areas with comparable environments. In the study site, differences were observed in the number of tree, shrub and herb species, families and vegetation composition between plantations and natural forest. In the plantation forest, richness of tree species is regulated by the management authority. They select the species according to their management objectives, site suitability and associate species. Lower density of tree species in the natural forest contributes to the higher richness of shrubs and herbs. Several herbs and shrubs were restricted only to natural forest of the study site. Management with care in the study area may lead one of the biodiversity richest areas of the country.

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