Effect of adult density on regeneration success of woody plants in natural and restored tropical dry evergreen forest fragments in Puducherry region, India

摘要

Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Puducherry University, Kalapet, Puducherry 605 014, IndiaRe-establishing species in degraded or abandoned land is a challenging task in restoration ecology. Efficient methods that hasten rehabilitation of species are still not well defined. We assessed the regeneration of plant species in natural and restoredfragments of the tropical dry evergreen forest (TDEF) in the Puducherry region, South India. We tested whether adult densities, site-specific differences, life forms and dispersal modes influenced regeneration. Our results show that adult density was significantly related to sapling regeneration in all sites. Species traits did not influence regeneration. Adult densities were higher in natural fragments and proportion of species regenerating was lowest in a restored site. We conclude that restoration success depends upon the population size of adults in that site. Site-wise differences indicate that management interventions are needed for successful rehabilitation of species in the TDEF in the Puducherry region.