Impact of floral diversity on hydrology of micro forest watersheds

Vegetation survey was carried out to ascertain the diversity between the four micro watersheds, Each watershed was divided into three equal parts upper, middle and lower. Variation in species diversity between watershed and within watershed was worked out using diversity indices, Importance Value Index IVI and light intensity. All the four watersheds were gauged in order to see the impact of vegetation on runoff and soil loss. It was found that on an average 1VI of trees were highest in WS₁, shrubs in WS₂ and grasses in WS₃, Diversity indices were higher in lower and middle parts of the watershed. The average value for evenness index was higher in WS₅ (0.497), Shannon-Wiener diversity index and Species richness were higher 1,088 and 1.773, respectively in WS₂. Intensity of light below tree and shrubs were lowest in WS₂. Runoff and soil loss was also lowest (0.21% and 1.1 kg ha⁻¹) in WS₂.