Tree Diversity and Structure of a Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest in Sri Lankamalla Wildlife Sanctuary, Southern Eastern Ghats, India

Tropical dry forests are the dominant and threatened forest ecosystems in India. Species richness, diversity, importance value index of tree species of tree species were analysed in Sri Lankamalla dry deciduous forest of southern Eastern Ghats. All trees≥30 cm gbh were enumerated in plain and hill slopes of the sanctuary in two hectare area. A total of 1994 tree individuals that belongs to 35 families and 73 genera were recorded. Euphorbiaceae was the dominant family comprising of 11 species. The Shannon index value of 2.9 indicates a moderate level of species richness. Few tree species dominated the forests, the top twenty species had recorded 77% of tree individuals and 54% comprised of density of less than ten individuals per ha. Pterocarpus santalinus, Hardwickia binata and Anogeissus latifolia were the dominant tree species. The population structure of the dominant tree Pterocarpus santalinus has abundance of individuals in lower size classes probably due to selective logging. The topographical features such as plain and hill slope areas has helped in increasing the tree diversity.