Vegetos
(An International Journal of Plant Research & Biotechnology)
Species diversity, community structure and regeneration status of the six major forest types of Eastern Himalaya, India
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Research Articles | Published: 02 March, 2026
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Keywords: Conservation, Disturbance, Jhum land, Primary forest, Vegetation
Abstract
The remnant primary forests in Eastern Himalaya, India harbour various species of flora and fauna, of which, many are unique to this region. It is important to understand the current status of these forests in terms of species diversity and regeneration potential for formulating future management strategies. Hence, the present study aims to investigate the species diversity, community structure and regeneration status of the six major forest types of this region. We found that the tropical wet evergreen forest harbour the maximum number of species diversity (131 tree species belonging to 89 genera and 42 families) among the major forest types, followed by montane sub-tropical forest (106 species belonging to 82 genera and 41 families), temperate forest (70 species belonging to 55 genera and 35 families), quercus forest (51 species belonging to 37 genera and 20 families), bamboo forest (28 species belonging to 37 genera and 23 families) and jhum land (21 species belonging to 20 genera and 14 families). The highest number of species diversity loss was observed in jhum land. Tree regeneration appeared to be good in four forest types’ i.e., montane sub-tropical forest, temperate forest, quercus forest and jhum land. Whereas, tropical wet evergreen forest and bamboo forest exhibited fair regeneration pattern. Overall, the results obtained would be beneficial in understanding these forests in terms of species diversity, vegetation structure and regeneration potential which would be further helpful in prioritizing these forests for better management and future conservation actions.
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Author Information
Department of Forestry, School of Earth Sciences & Natural Resource Management, Mizoram University, Aizawl, India