Journals Information
Advances in Zoology and Botany Vol. 11(5), pp. 336 - 349
DOI: 10.13189/azb.2023.110502
Reprint (PDF) (734Kb)
Community Structure and Distribution of Climbers across Ecosystem Gradients in the Dryland of Kachchh, Gujarat, India
Dipmala Gajjar 1,2, Arun Kumar Roy Mahato 1,3,*, Kalpesh Sorathia 4
1 Terrestrial Ecology Division, Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology, India
2 Department of Earth and Environmental Science, K. S. K. V. Kachchh University, India
3 Department of Zoology, K. B. College, India
4 Department of Biology, Tolani College of Arts and Science, India
ABSTRACT
Climbers are a unique form of vegetation that needs the support of other host species or support for their growth and development. The composition and distribution of climbers are varying among various types of ecosystems and habitats within a larger landscape and climatic region. Kachchh is an arid climatic region of India, while due to its geographical position, topography of the land, large coastline and climatic condition, the distribution and composition of climbers are thought to vary among ecosystems and habitats of the district. Hence, the study was made to assess the phytosociology and distribution of climber species in the major habitat of dryland Kachchh. Systematic field surveys were conducted using line transects in represented ecosystems of the district. A total of 86 species of climber under 55 genera and 19 families were recorded from the district, in which the highest number of species was recorded from the tropical thorn forests (69 species) and agro-ecosystem (68 species), while only 11 species were recorded from Inland wetlands of the district. Among the recorded species, Coccinia grandis, Cocculus hirsutus, Cucumis callosus, Pergularia daemia and Rhynchosia minima were most abundant and recorded in all the major ecosystems of Kachchh. The species include, Coccinia grandis, Rhynchosia minima, Pergularia daemia and Cocculus hirsutus which were frequently distributed. Densely distributed species include, Coccinia grandis, Rhynchosia minima, Pergularia daemia, Distimake aegyptius, Cucumis callosus, Cocculus hirsutus and Dalechampia sp. While, Passiflora edulis was the highly abundant climber of the study area. The study highlighted that Important Value Index (IVI) of some species, namely Coccinia grandis, Rhynchosia minima, Pergularia daemia, Distimake aegyptius and Cucumis callosus was the highest among the recorded climber species. Further, about 30% of the climber species have restricted distribution and are found in either tropical thorn forests or in agro-ecosystem due to the presence of host species in both ecosystems.
KEYWORDS
Climber, Phytosociology, Distribution, Ecosystem, Dryland, Kachchh
Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Dipmala Gajjar , Arun Kumar Roy Mahato , Kalpesh Sorathia , "Community Structure and Distribution of Climbers across Ecosystem Gradients in the Dryland of Kachchh, Gujarat, India," Advances in Zoology and Botany, Vol. 11, No. 5, pp. 336 - 349, 2023. DOI: 10.13189/azb.2023.110502.
(b). APA Format:
Dipmala Gajjar , Arun Kumar Roy Mahato , Kalpesh Sorathia (2023). Community Structure and Distribution of Climbers across Ecosystem Gradients in the Dryland of Kachchh, Gujarat, India. Advances in Zoology and Botany, 11(5), 336 - 349. DOI: 10.13189/azb.2023.110502.