Changes in the Ecological Parameters of Mixed Forests of Sal (Shorea robusta Gaertn.) Are a Function of Distance from the Human Settlements

Forests in Nepal are extremely important for supporting the livelihood of millions of people who collect forest products for their subsistence use and partly for income generation. Such inherent dependence is expected to cause disturbance in the forest ecosystem. We investigated changes in the structural assemblages caused by the interaction between anthropogenic disturbances and forest management activities in the mixed forests of Sal (Shorea robusta Gaertn.) of Terai, Central Nepal. We evaluated three buffer zone community forests (BZCFs), namely, Radha Krishna, Musharni Mai, and Janajagaran of Parsa Wildlife Reserve (PWR); the forest inside PWR was taken as a control. A transect of 2 km length was laid in each forest, and six plots, each of 1 ha size, were established at a successive interval of 300 m along the edge to the interior of the forests to count and record the diameter at breast height (DBH) of the studied plants. We observed that the species diversity increased linearly (p < 0.05) towards the forest interior in the BZCFs. Species other than S. robusta had significantly higher (p < 0.05) dominance and Importance Value Indices in the interior sites. We did not observe such trends in the control forest. Multivariate analysis showed that the sites of BZCFs had higher structural dissimilarity, but the control forest sites were closer to each other in composition. The forest sites near the settlements had undergone biotic homogenization (S. robusta mixed forest changed to S. robusta forest) due to the interaction between anthropogenic disturbances and forest management activities. On the basis of vegetation density, the edges of BZCFs appeared to be protected, but on the basis of diversity failed to do so. Future management strategies should be directed towards enhancing the diversity, heterogeneity, and forest quality, especially near the forest edges.