POST-FIRE REGENERATION STATUS OF TREE SPECIES IN A

Abstract

Fire, a natural event, has been recognised as an important component of ecosystem structure and function for a wide variety of natural systems (Thanos et al. 1996). In recent years many studies have reported an increase in the number of wildfires and areas burned across the globe (Kodandapani et al. 2004, Dimitrakopoulos et al. 2011). Among the global issues, forest fires emerge as a major problem in the tropics. In 2000, about 350 million ha of forest land, which equals 6% of the world’s geographical area, were burned (Bahuguna & Singh 2002). In India, about 9% (4713400 ha) of the total forest area was burned (Bahuguna & Singh 2002). Forest fires are a common phenomenon in India where tropical deciduous forest make up 75% of forested areas. Deciduous forests face large, highly intense wildfires because of higher total and dead fuel loads and greater horizontal fuel continuity. Most forest fires are anthropogenic in origin, i.e. deliberately started to promote agriculture, silviculture, fodder for livestock grazing and to facilitate collection of non-timber products (Murthy et al. 2006). Forest fires impact biodiversity, productivity, POST-FIRE REGENERATION STATUS OF TREE SPECIES IN A TROPICAL DRY DECIDUOUS FOREST OF SOUTHERN INDIA