Variation in bark thickness in a tropical forest community of Western Ghats in India

Hegde, V and Chandran, MDS and Gadgil, M (1998) Variation in bark thickness in a tropical forest community of Western Ghats in India. In: Functional Ecology, 12 (2). pp. 313-318.

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Abstract

1. We examined the relation between bark thickness and girth in a large sample of trees from evergreen and semi-evergreen rain forest. 2. There is a significant tendency for bark thickness to increase with tree girth. Removing this tendency, we find a significant trend for species from more disturbed habitats to possess thicker bark. 3. Species from more disturbed habitats also have a greater propensity for secreting gums and resins. 4. Nine of the 29 species occurring in more than one habitat type and with a sample size of at least 11 individuals show a tendency for possession of a thicker bark by individuals in the more disturbed habitats. 5. We conclude that bark thickness and occurrence of gums and resins are physiognomic-structural attributes of value in characterizing tree communities created by different levels of disturbance.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Functional Ecology
Publisher:	John Wiley and Sons
Additional Information:	Copyright for this article belongs to John Wiley and Sons.
Department/Centre:	Division of Biological Sciences > Centre for Ecological Sciences
Date Deposited:	07 Jan 2005
Last Modified:	11 Jan 2012 05:57
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/1426

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