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Assessment of Coverage Percentage, Biomass, and Photosynthetic Pigments of Bryophytes in Kanasar Forest Range, Uttarakhand, India

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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, India Section B: Biological Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The effects of forest gaps can be a source for the opportunistic bryophytes to manage their diversity. In view of this objective, the present study deals with an assessment of the effect of forest canopy gaps on bryophyte diversity, abundance, biomass, and photosynthetic pigments in some dominant species of bryophytes. We believe that forest gaps provide opportunity to some opportunistic species to survive in the existing environment conditions. Our results indicate that the bryophyte diversity was found higher in gap areas as compared to non-gap areas indicating the rapid invasion of opportunistic species and the role of gaps in maintaining species diversity. Bryum capillare and Brachythecium buchananii were found to be the dominant taxa in the forest canopy gaps and non-gap, respectively. In spring season, the amount of chlorophyll-a, chlorophyll-b, and total carotenoids was found to be 15.37 µg/mL, 14.87 µg/mL, and 7.87 µg/mL, respectively, in B. buchananii; however, in the rainy season, the contents of chlorophyll-a and chlorophyll-b increased (23.12 µg/mL and 17.41 µg/mL, respectively), while total carotenoids 7.74 µg/mL decreased. Similar difference was recorded in B. capillare in which lower amounts of chlorophyll-a (14.24 µg/mL), chlorophyll-b (10.03 µg/mL), and total carotenoids (9.81 µg/mL) were recorded in spring season as compared to that of rainy season (20.11 µg/mL, 16.63 µg/mL, and 9.65 µg/mL, respectively). The total bryophyte biomass was found significantly higher (25.58 g/m2) in the canopy gap areas as compared to non-gap areas (20.44 g/m2). These results indicate that the forest gaps play a positive role in shaping the bryophyte diversity and performance.

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Acknowledgements

Authors thank the Science and Engineering Research Board, New Delhi, and Institute of Eminence, University of Delhi, for providing financial support (EMR/2016/007962). We are grateful to Chief Conservator of Forests, Uttarakhand, for providing the necessary permission for conducting the study in Kanasar forest ranges.

Funding

Funds and resources are provided by DST- SERB and University of Delhi, India.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany, University of Delhi, Delhi, 110007, India

    Anshul Dhyani, Ratul Baishya, Prem Lal Uniyal & Kottapalli S. Rao

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  1. Anshul Dhyani
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  2. Ratul Baishya
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  3. Prem Lal Uniyal
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  4. Kottapalli S. Rao
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Contributions

PLU, KSR, and RB were involved in the conceptualization; PLU acquired the funding; AD contributed to the investigation; AD, RB, and PLU contributed to the methodology; PLU was involved in the supervision; AD contributed to the visualization; AD contributed to writing—original draft; PLU, RB, KSR, and AD contributed to writing—review and editing. All the authors have read and approved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Prem Lal Uniyal.

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The study of effects of forest gaps on the diversity of bryophytes will help us to understand the ecosystem functioning and gap dynamics. We have seen very few studies about the effect of gap on the diversity of bryophytes, so this study will pave the way to conduct more such studies in this field. To our knowledge, this is the first study of effects of forest gaps on bryophyte diversity in India. Forest gaps can act positively to enhance bryophyte diversity.

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Dhyani, A., Baishya, R., Uniyal, P.L. et al. Assessment of Coverage Percentage, Biomass, and Photosynthetic Pigments of Bryophytes in Kanasar Forest Range, Uttarakhand, India. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., India, Sect. B Biol. Sci. 93, 189–194 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40011-022-01407-6

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