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Ecological Comparison of Vegetation Structure and Avifauna on Burned and Unburned Areas of Mixed Deciduous Forest at Doi Suthep-Pui National Park, Chiangmai, Thailand
Thesis Abstract:
Seventy-five 10 x 10 m plots, 75 4 x 4 m plots were laid out in each burned and unburned study area to study the vegetation structure in tree, shrub, and herb layers, respectively. A 3 x 15 m transect was laid out in each area for vertical structure analysis. A series of nested plots was laid out in each area to determine the minimal sampling area. Finally, an existing trail was selected in each area to serve as transect for avifauna observation.
Results a high similarity of floristic composition in the three layers of two areas and the index of similarity was 83 percent. A total of 43 and 49 species were found in the burned and unburned areas, respectively. In the shrub layer, the total number of species was 31 in burned and unburned areas, but the index of similarity was 68 percent. The greatest difference in species composition as well as richness was found in the herb layer, where the index of similarity was only 57 percent. The total number of species were 42 and 25 species in the burned and unburned areas, respectively.
Dominant species did not differ remarkably in three layers of the two areas. The common dominant species were Tectona grandis, Lagerstroemia calyculata, Xylia xylovarpa, and Pterocarpus macrocarpus. Dominant species in shrub and herb layers, on the other hand, differed greatly. Lagerstroemia calyculata, Xylia xylovarpa, and Pterocarpus macrocarpus dominated the burned area, while Eupatoriam odoratum, Terminalia nigrovenulosa, and Schoepfia acuminata dominated the unburned area. The dominant species common to both areas were Tectona grandis, Lagerstroemia calyculata, Lygodium japonicum, and Cratoxylum sumatramum.
The number of seedlings in the burned area was much greater then in the unburned area. Seedling densities were 18,796 and 7,666 trees/ha in the burned and unburned areas, respectively.
Conversely, less sapling were found in burned areas. The densities of saplings and trees in the burned area were 2,123 and 1,650 trees/ha, respectively, whereas the corresponding densities in the unburned area were 3,099 and 2,675 trees/ha, respectively.
Profile diagrams of the two areas showed no difference in the average stature of the forest as well as the layer classification. On the other hand, the percentage of crown cover in the unburned area was higher than in the burned area.
Avifauna showed a slight preference for the unburned area but it was not significant. There were 29 and 33 species in the burned and unburned areas, respectively, with 20 species common to both areas. A total of 114 and 162 birds were tallied during the observations in the burned and unburned areas, respectively. There was an obvious difference in species composition, but the index of similarity was only 65 percent. The dominant species were also different. Saxiola torquata and Criniger pallidus dominated the burned area, while Dicrurus paradiseus and Oriolus chinensis dominated the unburned area. However, Centropus sinensis and Copsychis malabaricus were dominant in both areas.
