Forest structure, Carbon stock and plant invasion in Sal and riverine forest of Dhangadhi, Western nepal

Abstract

In this study we evaluated the diversity of tree species, regeneration, carbon stock and impactof IAPS in Sal and Riverine forests in Far western Nepal. A total of 40 plots (20 plots in each forest type) of size 20 m x 20 m were laid using systematic sampling method. Transects were drawn perpendicular to the river at a distance of 200 m each. At least four quadratswere placed in each transect. All the plot and vegetation characters were recorded from thesample plots. Tree species richness of riverine forest (25) was significantly higher than that of (16) Sal Forest (p= 0.01152). The regeneration in Sal Forest was better than riverine forestwith reverse J shaped d-d curve. Tree carbon stock was also significantly higher (250.40t ha -1 ) in Sal Forest than Riverine Forest (126.55 t ha -1 ) (p=0.002957). The invasion of invasiveplant was high in Riverine Forest with IAPS richness (7) than in Sal Forest (3). Our studysuggests that Sal Forest with high canopy cover has less IAPS richness than Riverine Forest.This suggests that maintaining canopy cover could be the effective strategy to limit the IAPSinvasion in forests ecosystem. Keywords: Carbon stock, Community Forest, IAPS, Regeneration, Tree diversity