Decomposition Mediated Alteration in Scale Structure Assessed Through SEM in Teleosts of River Godavari, Maharashtra, India

Sacred natural forests are the best examples of conserving biodiversity in Indian Himalayan region with their beliefs related to customs reflect relationship in between nature and human beings. In India, presence of about 13,270 sacred sites has been recorded, out of which 476 sacred sites are reported from the present study area. In the present investigation a total of 22 oak (Quercus spp.) dominated forests along the altitudinal range (1100 - 2800 m asl) were studied to know the status of their regeneration dynamics, species richness, similarity and conservation strategies, and phyto-sociological analysis. For vegetation assessment, a sample stand of 50m×50m size was randomly plotted in each targeted site. In each stand, 10 quadrats of 10m×10m size for trees, 20 quadrats of 5m×5m for shrubs (2 sub-quadrats in each 10m×10m) and, 100 quadrats of 1m×1m for herbs and seedlings (10 sub-quadrats in each 10m×10m) were laid respectively. All the phytosociological parameters density, IVI, basal area, different diversity indices etc. were quantitatively analyzed following standard methodologies. For summarizing the compositional variations among studied sacred forests, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was performed by using PAST software. The study revealed that Q. leucotrichophora was recorded in maximum 18 sites, followed by Q. glauca (7), Q. lanuginosa (6), Q. floribunda and Q. semecarpifolia (5 each). The oaks contributed about 39% and 41.59% for density and IVI respectively of the total tree layer of the studied sites. Good regeneration was recorded in seven sites and fair in only one site i.e. Alaimal reserve forest at 1100m altitude while 14 sites showed poor regeneration. Only few patches of oaks are sustained and which are devoted to local deities as sacred forests. To protect the oaks from high consumption pressure specific conservation implications are needed and to achieve that such studies need to be conducted so that the actual position of oaks in the region can be determined and further proper steps can be taken for their conservation.

@article{sumayya2026,
  author  = {Sumayya Ansari, Shivaji Chavan* and Shaikh Yasmeen},
  title   = {{Decomposition Mediated Alteration in Scale Structure Assessed Through SEM in Teleosts of River Godavari, Maharashtra, India}},
  journal = {Journal of Bioresearch},
  year    = {2026},
  volume  = {1},
  number  = {2},
  doi     = {https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/EY3BH},
}