In
1988, a Forest Dynamics Plot was set up in Mudumalai Game Reserve in
the eastern foothills of the Western Ghat Mountains of Southern India
by the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore and STRI. The Mudumalai
forest is seasonal semi-evergreen lowland forest, typical of the
lowland dry teak forest of the Indian subcontinent. Mudumalai is much
less diverse than the other Forest Dynamics Plots surveyed to date,
with 76 species and about 26,000 stems. The forest is an open-canopy
woodland with grass cover that is subject to nearly annual fires and to
browsing by large herds of elephants. A major focus, with significance
for forest management practices through much of India, is the impact of
fire and elephants on forest regeneration. The plot is recensused every
year, although diameter measurements are not taken during every census.
Remeasurement censuses have occurred in 1992 and 1997.
Year Initiated |
Plot Size |
Latitude-Longitude
& Altitude |
Rainfall & Dry Season |
Species & Trees |
1988 |
50 ha |
11.5989 - 76.5338
980-1120 M |
1250 mm
6 mos |
72 spp
25,500 trees |
|