Estimating disturbance in a tropical forested habitat using a modified ecological disturbance index with rank-order weights of criteria

Figures & data

Figure 1. Frequency of trees in different diameter and height classes at two sites.

Table 1. Disturbance-causing activities and their calculated weights

Activity	Description of activity	Hypothesized rank (rj)	Estimated weight. $w_j=\frac{1/r_j}{{\sum }_{{ }_{k=1}}^{{ }_{{ }_{{ }_{{ }^{{ }^{{ }^n}}}}}}\left(1/r_k\right)}$
Leaf collection	Fresh green leaves (primarily Sal leaves) plucked from young trees, lower branches of mature trees, and shrubs for biodegradable plate making and as livestock fodder	1	0.408
Litter sweeping	Sweeping below mature trees and collecting fallen dried leaves for plate making (Sal) and fallen branches from the forest floor as fuel wood	2	0.204
Twig collection	Dried twigs plucked from trees and shrubs as fuel wood and stitching pins for making Sal leaf plates	3	0.136
Cattle grazing	Cow and goat herding by local villagers	4	0.102
Recreation	Picnic, study tours of local school/college students, nature trips	5	0.081
Fire	Occasional burning of dried leaf piles	6	0.068

Figure 2. Monthly disturbance index values and bee species abundance at study sites 1 and 2. Disturbance index values are indicated by bars; species abundance is depicted by line graphs.

Data availability statement

Data available on request from the authors.