NATURAL DISTRIBUTION OF Vitex altissima IN SRI LANKA

Vitex altissima is one of the most important timber species in Sri Lanka. Traditionallytimber of this species is used for construction of door and window frames. Historicalrecords reveal, this is a widely distributed species in Sri Lanka found both in dry zone andwet zone. However due to over exploitation, this species has become somewhat rare inmany parts of the country.The NCR study shows the distribution of woody species in the country. It has a higherrelative frequency in disturbed forests than in least disturbed forests. It is more common inperipheral areas of the forests. The NCR results revealed that V altissima has a widedistribution range The distribution range of V altissima is from very dry monsoon foreststo ever wet rain forests. However, it is not recorded in sub-montane or montane regions.This data shows V altissima is not a rare species and it has a wide distribution in lowcountry irrespective of rainfall. This information on ecological range of this species can beused in forest management.

Dietary Shifts, Niche Relationships and Interspecific Competition in Sympatric Grey Langur (Semnopithecus entellus) and Purple-faced Langur (Trachypithecus vetulus) in Sri Lanka

Understanding how niche differences evolve in ecologically similar species and how these differences are maintained ecologically is a fundamental question in ecology. Interspecific competition has been shown to influence the behavior and ecology of organisms in a wide range of ecological communities. However, the broader role of interspecific competition in primate communities is unclear as relatively few studies have explored this question. This is especially true for folivorous primate communities, such as those of colobine monkeys, in which the influence of interspecific competition on aspects of the ecology of these monkeys is yet to be determined. In this dissertation, I present data and analyses on the dietary ecology, ranging behavior, and interspecific interaction in Trachypithecus vetulus and Semnopithcus entellus. I use this work to assess the possible role of interspecific competition on the behavior and ecology of these species. I specifically explored this issue by investigating: 1) the monthly variation in dietary overlap in relation to monthly resource availability, 2) interspecific interactions in relation to resource availability, 3) the influence of interspecific interaction on feeding effort, and 4) the influence of interspecific interaction on vertical habitat use patterns. In this study, both species showed similar feeding patterns when feeding on seasonal plant items, but showed a preference for fruit and flowers over leaves, a trend not reported in previous studies on these species. The langurs in this study also consumed a high proportion of flowers in comparison to other colobine monkeys, making this population one of the most florivorous colobine populations. In addition, both species preferred to feed on tree species that were relatively rare and showed clumped distributions. Clumped resource distributions have been suggested to promote within-group and interspecific competition. Home range overlap between T. vetulus and S. entellus was extensive. Although resource availability within the home ranges of S. entellus and T. vetulus were similar, the index of defendability: D) of S. entellus was higher than the index of defendability: D) of T. vetulus. This suggests that the two groups of S.entellus traversed their home range more intensely than T. vetulus. Trachypithecus vetulus travelled a relatively short distance on any given day in comparison to S. entellus and consequently utilized only a fraction of its total home range. The dietary overlap between S. entellus and T. vetulus showed considerable temporal variation in comparison to dietary overlap between other closely related primate species. There was no significant relationship between monthly dietary overlap of immature leaves and monthly immature leaf availability. However, dietary flower overlap was high during periods of flower availability and low during periods of flower scarcity. This observation was consistent with observations from other studies, which show competitors to reduce diet overlap in response to the decline in resources. On the contrary, dietary fruit overlap tended to be high during periods of fruit scarcity as both species converged on the same fruit tree species. However, these primates were never observed to occupy feeding trees at the same time. Interactions between S. entellus and T. vetulus occurred mostly during the period when fruit availability was low. These interactions resulted in a reduction in the proportion time devoted to feeding by T. vetulus. In addition, during these interactions T. vetulus was displaced from feeding trees, which also resulted in T. vetulus altering its vertical habitat use pattern. These observations demonstrate that S. entellus was dominant over T. vetulus during intergroup interactions and hence it is possible that the low level of mobility and the low intensity of home range use observed for T. vetulus, and dietary niche partitioning by these species are adaptations by these primates to mitigate ecological competition and promote coexistence

Fodder plants and foraging behaviour of Asian elephants in Srivilliputhur Elephant Reserve, Tamil Nadu, India

The Srivilliputhur Elephant Reserve is one of India's 32 elephant reserves. It is home to wild elephants as well as other wildlife. This study aims to document the fodder plants and foraging behaviour of elephants in the Srivilliputhur Elephant Reserve. Elephants in the Srivilliputhur Elephant Reserve consumed 61 plant species from 25 different families. In the current study, the majority of the fodder plants of Asian Elephants belonged to the families of Fabaceae, Poaceae, and Malvaceae. Elephants were found to feed more frequently on trees (66%), followed by shrubs (16%), herbs (9%), and climbers (6%). It was observed that the elephants ate both the browsing tree and grazing grass species during the wet season, but browsing tree species dominated during the dry season

Comparing Floristic Diversity between a Silviculturally Managed Arboretum and a Forest Reserve in Dambulla, Sri Lanka

Repeated slash and burn cultivation creates wasteland with thorny shrubs, which then takes a long time to become secondary forests through serial stages of succession. Assisted natural regeneration through silvicultural management is a useful restoration method to accelerate succession. This survey evaluates the effectiveness of a simple silvicultural method for the rehabilitation of degraded lands to productive forest, thereby increasing floristic wealth. Field-based comparative analyses of floristic composition were carried out at a silviculturally managed forest (Popham Arboretum) and a primary forest (Kaludiyapokuna Forest Reserve) which is located in Dambulla in Sri Lanka. Floristic analysis was used to examine the effectiveness of silvicultural techniques for successful restoration of degraded forest in the dry zone. Nine 20 m × 20 m plots in each forest were enumerated and the vegetation ≥ 10 cm girth at breast height was quantitatively analyzed. Cluster analysis resulted in five distinguishable clusters (two from Popham Arboretum and three from Kaludiyapokuna Forest Reserve). Similarity indices were generated to compare the plots within and between sites. Floristic similarity was higher in forest reserve plots compared to arboretum plots. A total of 72 plant species belonging to 60 genera and 26 families were recorded from the study sites. Of the recorded species, Grewia damine and Syzygium cumini (Importance Value Index, IVI = 24 and 23 respectively) were the ecologically co-dominant taxa at the Popham Arboretum. In contrast, Mischodon zeylanicus (IVI = 31), Schleichera oleosa (IVI = 25) and Diospyros ebenum (IVI = 21) were the abundant taxa in the forest reserve

Species-habitat associations in a Sri Lankan dipterocarp forest

Forest structure and species distribution patterns were examined among eight topographically defined habitats for the 205 species with stems ≥ 1 cm dbh inhabiting a 25-ha plot in the Sinharaja rain forest, Sri Lanka. The habitats were steep spurs, less-steep spurs, steep gullies and less-steep gullies, all at either lower or upper elevations. Mean stem density was significantly greater on the upper spurs than in the lower, less-steep gullies. Stem density was also higher on spurs than in gullies within each elevation category and in each upper-elevation habitat than in its corresponding lower-elevation habitat. Basal area varied less among habitats, but followed similar trends to stem density. Species richness and Fisher\u27s alpha were lower in the upper-elevation habitats than in the lower-elevation habitats. These differences appeared to be related to the abundances of the dominant species. Of the 125 species subjected to torus-translation tests, 99 species (abundant and less abundant and those in different strata) showed at least one positive or negative association to one or more of the habitats. Species associations were relatively more frequent with the lower-elevation gullies. These and the previous findings on seedling ecophysiology, morphology and anatomy of some of the habitat specialists suggest that edaphic and hydrological variation related to topography, accompanied by canopy disturbances of varying intensity, type and extent along the catenal landscape, plays a major role in habitat partitioning in this forest. Copyright © 2006 Cambridge University Press

Plant Vegetation of Waru-Waru Forest Region, Sempu Island Nature Reserve

Waru-waru Forest Region is a designation for one of the areas to the northern part of the Sempu Island Nature Reserve (CAPS), which is an easy area to get to by boat because of its sloping beaches. The name of this region refers to many waru trees (Hibiscus tiliaceaus) that found growing around the beach area. In general, the CAPS forest condition is still quite good, including in the Waru-waru Forest Region. Only a few meters from the shoreline, natural vegetation conditions can be found. This study aims to determine the composition of plant vegetation in the Waru-waru Forest Region (CAPS). As many as 33 species of trees were recorded in this study, with individual tree density of 162.5 trees / ha. The results of vegetation analysis carried out showed that the tree vegetation in the region was dominated by species: Pterospermum javanicum, Syzygium syzygioides, and Excoecaria agallocha. At the pole level the dominant species are Drypetes longifolia, Canarium sp. and Pterospermum diversifolium. Orophea hexandra, Drypetes longifolia, Cyathocalyx sumatranus, Mallotus moritzianus, Pterospermum javanicum, and Buchanania sp. are species of tree regeneration that dominate at the sapling level. Tree seedlings are dominated by Mallotus moritzianus and Pterospermum javanicum

Angiosperms, tropical dry evergreen forests of southern Coromandel coast, India

We provide a check list of angiosperm plant species with their bioresource potential as medicinal plants enumerated from a total of seventy-five tropical dry evergreen forest sites along the Coromandel coast of peninsular India. These are poorly known sites even within Indian sub-continent and form an under-studied forest type. Tropical dry evergreen forests harbour 312 species belonging to 251 genera and 80 families. The families with the greatest numbers of species were Euphorbiaceae (20 species), Apocynaceae (18 species), Rubiaceae (15), Fabaceae (12), Mimosaceae (11) and Capparaceae and Asteraceae (10 each). Physiognomically evergreen species dominated the forest. Plant specimens are identified and confirmed using regional floras. These forests are conserved by the local people on religious ground as sacred groves, although they are also subjected to various levels of anthropogenic impacts

Biodiversity of the public green spaces in the Urban District of Marrakesh (UDM) (Morocco)

En milieu urbain, l’espace vert public (EVP) constitue un enjeu majeur du développement durable, tant en matière d’environnement que de qualité de vie de leurs usagers. La présente étude présente une première recherche sur les EVP de la ville de Marrakech permettant de disposer d’une base de données scientifiques sur ces EVP qui va aider à la prise de décision et de planification environnementale de la ville. Elle vise (i) l’étude de la diversité de la flore ornementale (ii) et l’analyse de la structure et la répartition spatiale de ces EVP. La prospection a concerné 50 EVP urbains répartis sur les 5 arrondissements de la ville. Les résultats ont montré une diversité de la flore ornementale qui s’élève à 297 espèces asculaires, réparties en 212 genres et 88 familles et dont 77 % des espèces sont exotiques. Cette richesse spécifique est dominée par 12 familles qui détiennent 142 espèces réparties en 85 genres. La fréquence, l’origine et le type biologique des espèces sont très diversifiés. L’étude de la structure a fait ressortir 4 types d’EVP qui diffèrent par leur taille et leur fonction. L’analyse de l’affinité floristique des EVP-CUM a fait apparaître 13 groupes qui se distinguent par leurs compositions floristiques. En conséquence, les EVP de la ville contribuent vivement à la conservation et l’accroissement de la diversité floristique et à l’amélioration de la qualité esthétique de la ville de Marrakech