Diversity and Population Structure of Tree Species in a Protected Area on the  Southeastern Coast of Bangladesh

Diversity and Population Structure of Tree Species in a Protected Area on the Southeastern Coast of Bangladesh | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Diversity and Population Structure of Tree Species in a Protected Area on the Southeastern Coast of Bangladesh Bipul Krishna Das, Mohammad Firoj Jaman PhD, Babla Mohajan, Mohammed Jasimuddin PhD, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7593480/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Inani National Park (INP) is a protected area and hosts a variety of threatened and endangered species. A wide array of anthropogenic issues, including the influx of Rohingya refugees into the Cox’s Bazar region, has placed enormous pressure on the forests of INP. This study aimed to assess the composition, structure and diversity of the forest to provide a scientific basis for conservation and sustainable forest management, adopting stratified random sampling where four distinct strata were defined as- Shrub with Scattered trees, Hill Forest, Forest Plantation, and ‘Others’ category. Results of the study show that INP hosts a diverse tree community, comprising 455 individual trees from 66 species and 33 families, documented across 131 sampling plots (each 1,134.57 m²). The overall tree density was 160.813 trees per hectare. Areca catechu emerged as the most dominant species, with a relative density of 28.35%. Diversity indices revealed a moderately diverse ecosystem with varying species distribution. The Shannon Diversity Index (H) was 3.137, with the ‘Shrub with Scattered trees’ stratum exhibiting the highest diversity (H = 3.572). Simpson’s Diversity Index (D = 0.108) indicated high species diversity, while canopy cover varied significantly across sites, averaging 45.19%. Despite its ecological significance, INP faces increasing threats from large-scale disturbances that have resulted in the loss of approximately 6,000 acres of forest. The presence of invasive species, particularly Acacia auriculiformis, suggests ongoing ecological imbalance and the need for active restoration efforts. These findings provide critical insights for biodiversity conservation and long-term ecosystem resilience in INP. Biodiversity Species richness Important value index National Park Tree density Conservation Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 09 Nov, 2025 Reviews received at journal 05 Nov, 2025 Reviews received at journal 22 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 21 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 17 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 06 Oct, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 05 Oct, 2025 Editor invited by journal 01 Oct, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 15 Sep, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 15 Sep, 2025 First submitted to journal 15 Sep, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7593480","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":530197356,"identity":"f9878f8e-713f-4995-8ba8-1f2c65786b8d","order_by":0,"name":"Bipul Krishna 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