Vegetation Dynamics With Respect to Secondary Factors in the Western Ghats- A Case Study

Abstract

The vegetation of a region, be it a large or small area, depends on many environmental as well as geological factors. Some of them, like rainfall, are primary factors, meaning that they exercise great influence in terms of their impact on vegetation growth and its dynamics. However, secondary factors like topographical slope, and aspect orientation are not yet studied in detail and their effects, if any, are not defined. Thus, to study their impacts, the Western Ghats are an ideal location due to its rich biodiversity and presence of many undisturbed protected areas with extensive natural habitats. The work in this thesis shows that the slope and aspect determine the locations of different types of vegetation within the catchment. The thesis also reveals the influence of slope and aspect of a landscape on the dynamical response of various types of vegetation to seasonally varying soil moisture due to monsoonal climate.