Abstract: The population of dynamics of the ground vegetation and its energetic such as biomass accumulation and net primary productivity, and the nutrient cycle pattern in the humid tropical forest of the Western Ghats in India are largely determined by gap age and by whether gaps are formed naturally or though selection felling. In natural gaps the soil nutrient levels increased gradually with gap age. This could be attributed to the slow release of nutrients from the fallen trunks and nutrient storage in the rapidly recovering vegetation. The fractional annular turnover rates of elements of the ground vegetation and the soil were higher in 1-year old gaps and declined with gap age. The significance of these of forest management is discussed.