Forest Phenology
摘要
This chapter is largely based on leafing, leaf drop, flowering, and fruiting phenophases both at the species and community level. Of the 54 Central Himalayan tree species, 15 were deciduous (d) and 39 were evergreen (e1) with about one-year life span, with simultaneous pre-monsoon (March–May) leafing and leaf shedding (e1 type). The e1 type was prominent also among shrubs (23 out of 39 species). Among the seasons, pre-monsoon was phenologically most active, with sum of phenological score 104, the others scoring <30. Multiple leafing is more common in the humid Eastern Himalayas (82% in Meghalaya than Central Himalayas, 40%). In general, much of leaf expansion and leaf maturation occur before the arrival of monsoon, which enables species to take full advantage of favorable growth conditions. The average leaf size of all species of the Central Himalayas, 69.5 cm2/leaf, is 1.6 times larger than the global average, 42.5 cm2/leaf, based on 1389 species. Across the 30 study species, bud survival was 42–45% but it varied widely and is still poorly known. The duration of stable leaf population on twigs on average was 2 months for deciduous species and 4 months for evergreen. The average leaf mass loss that accompanied leaf senescence was 26.2% for evergreen species and 31.6% for deciduous species. Leaf mass per unit area was higher in treeline species than in those of lower areas (e.g., 128 gm−2 in the tree line deciduous species, Betula utilis, compared to 70–111 gm−2 in lower deciduous species). Treeline species showed a higher nutrient resorption percentage than lower forest species. Interestingly, Pinus wallichiana which occurs both in outer and inner ranges resembles P. roxburghii in leaf phenology, showing deciduous tendency during the pre-monsoon season. Generally, autumn and early winter are the period of seed fall in Inner Himalayan conifers, and fallen seeds remain on ground for varying periods during winters and pre-monsoon months, before germinating during May to September.