Assessment of Tree Community Fruit Fall in Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest, Southern Coromandel Coast, Peninsular India

Aims: To evaluate tree community fruit fall across selected tropical dry evergreen forest (TDEF) sites along the southern Coromandel Coast of Tamil Nadu. Study Design: Quantitative field-based investigation. Place and Duration of Study: Forest sites located in Nagapattinam and Tiruvarur districts of Tamil Nadu; study duration of one year. Methodology: Fruit fall was quantified in three tropical dry evergreen forest sites along the southern Coromandel Coast over a one-year period from January to December. Of the three sites, Jambavanodai (JI) and Thillaivilagam (TV) are situated in Thiruvarur district, while Pushpavanam (PM) lies in Nagapattinam district. In each site, a 100m × 100m (1 ha) permanent plot was established and subdivided into twenty-five 20m × 20m subplots. At the center of each subplot, a 50 cm × 50 cm sampling quadrat was demarcated using locally available pebbles, resulting in a total of 25 sampling units per site. Stone-block–lined, denuded quadrats were employed for the collection of fallen fruits. Fruit litter was collected fortnightly from each sampling quadrat throughout the study period. Collected material was sorted to species level and oven-dried at 80 °C for 48 hours to attain constant dry weight. Results: Total tree community fruit fall across the study sites amounted to 1126.39 kg (dry weight), with a mean annual fruit fall of 375.46 ± 144.44 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. Fleshy fruits contributed a greater share of total fruit fall than dry fruits across all sites. Fruit fall occurred year-round, with a pronounced peak during September, coinciding with the monsoon period. Mean monthly temperature showed a significant positive relationship with fruit fall at all three sites. Similarly, mean monthly rainfall was positively correlated with fruit fall. Conclusion: The observed positive relationships between fruit fall and both rainfall and temperature are consistent with earlier studies. The findings contribute valuable quantitative information on tree fruit fall dynamics to the ecological database of Indian tropical dry evergreen forests.