Biodiversity of woody species in large-leaved lime sits in Noshahr forests (Iran)

Abstract

Species diversity is one of the most important indices used for evaluating the sustainability of forest. This study aims to characterize the large-leaved lime stand and to identify and compare the tree species diversity in the study area. In order to study biodiversity of woody species of large-leaved lime (Tilia platyphyllos Scop.) in the forests of Noshahr of Mazandaran province in the north Iran, three experimental sites in three elevations have been selected. Moreover, each selected site covers three plots with an area of one hectare (100×100 meter). In totally, 9 plots have been chosen to study. We described the population structure of the tree species using stem density, basal area, diameter at breast height (DBH) distribution, and diversity indices. Richness is defined as the number of species in the study area and abundance as the number of all individuals. To quantify the diversity of the plant species, the Shannon index and the Simpson index were considered. Duncan test was used to investigate the differences in the species richness, diversity and evenness indices among the different sampling plot areas. There were significant differences in the diversity index between sampling plot areas.

Keywords

• tree diversity
• Richness
• Abundance
• Shannon index
• Simpson index