Species Diversity and Tree Regeneration Patterns in Tropical Forests of the Western Ghats, India
Figure 3
Species accumulation and rarefaction curves of different vegetation types. Curves were created random series of 30 plots of 0.09 ha (i.e., 2.7 ha for each vegetation type). (a) Species-area curves (sample-based rarefaction) and (b) species-individuals curve (individuals-based rarefaction). Looking at the individual-based rarefaction curve, all four vegetation types seem to be quite similar in species richness, except MONT, which is drastically lower although containing the highest number of individuals, WOOD, which contain too few individuals to produce a comparable result. The sample-based rarefaction, on the other hand, identifies SEMI and EVER as the two most species rich communities, differing from the rest. Rarefaction curves for six vegetation types predict the rate of accumulation of species with increasing number of individuals (abundance). See Table 1 for an explanation of vegetation type abbreviations.
