CONCLUSION

Numerous anthropogenic factors such as heavy exploitation, large scale unplanned forest plantations, encroachment of forests were the major causes for transformation of once evergreen forests into deciduous forests today. Forest fragmentation has caused isolation of forest patches leading to species impoverishment affecting especially more sensitive species that require contiguous forest patches for better survival (Niemi et.al. 1998; Laurance et al. 1998). The current study, shows that many forest sites along the coastal zone are worst affected by human impacts with several evergreen trees facing local extinctions. As the evergreeness and endemism decreases, the secondary forests succeeding have lesser carbon sequestering potential. Efforts should be specially made, especially through protection, to promote natural regeneration of characteristic evergreens along the coast. The remaining better forests, especially of the evergreen kind in the Ghats (of the kind occurring in sectors 6, 7 & 8), should be assiduously protected. These forests, through better management practices the basal areas/ha from the present <20 sq.m/ha., (those particularly lower altitude coastal forests and mid altitude higher plains), should be raised to the level of 30-40 sq.m/ha, mainly through co-management involving also the local communities.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We are grateful to NRDMS division, The Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India and The Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India and Indian Institute of Science for the financial and infrastructure support. We thank Mr. Vishnu Mukri and Mr. Sreekantha Naik for the assistance during field data collection.