The early stages of vegetation succession in a recovering Eucalyptus plantation: A case study from Sri Lanka

Changes in non-herbaceous species were recorded between 2006 and 2013 to understand the secondary succession in a harvested Eucalyptus camaldulensis plantation near Maragamuwa, Naula in Sri Lanka. Composition, mean abundance and absolute abundance were recorded in 40 cleared, 20 × 20 m² quadrats placed in eight 1 ha blocks in two types of locations: harvested eucalypt plantation away from the natural forest (MP) and harvested blocks next to a natural forest (MT). A total of 77 species were recorded in 2006 in MP declining to 55 in 2013, while the 61 species recorded from MT dropped to 48. Over time the number of super-abundant species with >100 individuals decreased from 14 in MP in 2006 to 5 in 2013. In the same period, numbers declined from 13 to 3 species in MT. Changes in numbers of individuals differed significantly in both MP and MT between 2006, 2009 and 2013 years (p<0.05). Mean abundances did not differ significantly between plot types MP and MT (p>0.05). MP had lower proportions of forest species than that in MT. The proportion of forest species increased in MT, whilst remained similar in MP. As expected, both the abundance and richness decreased in MP and MT over time.