Abstract:
— Sacred forests are traditionally managed forest patches relevant for biodiversity conservation. Vegetation
structure of different strata (tree, shrub and herb,) were analysed in Garhjungle sacred forest of lateritic zone in West
Bengal. Total 738 woody individuals belonging to 14 species were recorded from random quadrats covering 0.25 ha area.
The highest stem density and IVI was obtained by Shorea robusta. All the species had clumped distribution. The trees
occupied a basal area of 20.39 m2
ha-1
. Species richness and diversity of shrubs and herbs were greater than trees. Presence
of various anthropogenic disturbances warrants immediate conservation efforts.
