ABSTRACT

Biodiversity and productivity are the two most important attributes linked to the functioning of forest ecosystems. Understanding how diversity and productivity of a forest ecosystem change at a regional scale is crucial for conservation priority. We present an investigation of the structural attributes of forest with respect to biodiversity and biomass through a case study of Dachigam National Park (DNP), a protected forest in Indian Kashmir Himalaya. Systematic random sampling was performed in 60 forest stands of five different forest types of the study region. To compare the biodiversity and biomass attributes among forest types, we used Gaussian error distribution followed by the chi-square Wald test. We estimated structural attributes of the forest to visualize how they relate to the changing biodiversity across different forest types within DNP. The highest values of aboveground, below ground and total biomass were found in Pinus wallichiana forest, while it was lowest in scrub forest. Pinus wallichiana and Quercus robur tree species stocked the largest amounts of biomass, 24.83% and 17.20% respectively, and is a dominant carbon sink. The study would assist in evaluating the forested ecosystems by considering two important attributes of forests represented by diversity and productivity.

摘要

生物多样性和生产力是与森林生态系统功能相关的两个最重要的属性。了解森林生态系统的多样性和生产力如何在区域范围内变化对于优先保护至关重要。我们通过印度克什米尔喜马拉雅山的受保护森林 Dachigam 国家公园 (DNP) 的案例研究，对森林在生物多样性和生物量方面的结构属性进行了调查。在研究区域的五种不同森林类型的 60 个林分中进行了系统随机抽样。为了比较森林类型之间的生物多样性和生物量属性，我们使用了高斯误差分布，然后是卡方 Wald 检验。我们估计了森林的结构属性，以可视化它们与 DNP 内不同森林类型的生物多样性变化之间的关系。地上、地下和总生物量的最高值出现在松林最低，灌木林最低。Pinus wallichiana和Quercus robur树种储存的生物量最大，分别为 24.83% 和 17.20%，是主要的碳汇。该研究将通过考虑以多样性和生产力为代表的森林的两个重要属性来帮助评估森林生态系统。