Pteridophyte species richness along elevation gradients in Kolli Hills of the Eastern Ghats, India

• Published in: Journal of Asia-Pacific biodiversity 2020, 13(1), , pp.92-106
• Main Authors: Sureshkumar, Jeyalatchagan, Ayyanar, Muniappan, Silambarasan, Rajendran
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Climate variables; Eastern Ghats; Elevation; Pteridophytes; Species richness; 생물학
• ISSN: 2287-884X; 2287-9544
• DOI: 10.1016/j.japb.2019.11.008

Species richness is an important measure of community and regional diversity, and studying species diversity along elevation gradients is vital to understand population ecology and environment. Pteridophytes are unique groups of vascular plants and are not given much attention toward their diversity along elevation gradients. Hence, we made an effort to study the species richness of pteridophytes along elevation gradients in Kolli Hills, one of the underexplored forests of the Eastern Ghats in India. Elevation gradients were divided into 13 elevation zones, and relationship between species richness and elevation were summarized to linear regression as indicated by correlation coefficients and significance. A total of 98 species of pteridophytes belonging to 58 genera and 32 families were recorded in our study with a maximum number of 29 species in the 1301-m to 1400-m elevation. Correlation between the family, the genus, and species richness with elevation was positively significant. The majority of the recorded species showed terrestrial habitats, and patterns of species richness with life forms exhibited a humped distribution. Species richness on scrub and semievergreen forests with elevation showed humped distribution, whereas deciduous and evergreen forests showed monotonic distribution. Correlation between species richness and elevation was positively significant in scrub forests and nonsignificant in other vegetation types. The correlation of species richness with temperature was monotonic, with rainfall and relative humidity showing a humped pattern of distribution. The high diversity of pteridophyte species in Kolli Hills is due to its richness in various habitats resulting from an extended altitudinal range and a healthy evergreen forest with a constant increase in rainfall in higher elevations. Apart from climate, vegetation, and life form analysis attempted in our study for species richness along the elevation gradients, much attention should be given toward the role of other environmental gradients, which can help us address various ecological questions. •Climate variables seem to be most important for explaining species richness patterns with elevation gradients.•Elevation gradients can serve as natural experiments for studies on community and ecosystem responses.•The results of species richness of pteridophytes in the study showed a hump-shaped distribution with elevation.•High diversity of pteridophytes in Kolli Hills of the Eastern Ghats is