ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF TREE SPECIES DIVERSITY, RICHNESS AND COMPOSITION IN THE DECIDUOUS FOREST ECOSYSTEM OF DIVJAKË-KARAVASTA NATIONAL PARK

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the tree species' variety, richness, and composition at the Divjak-Karavasta National Park's, Argjinatur-Shkumbin Economic Unit.Fifteen circular plots with a radius of 11.28 meters (0.1 hectares) were created from the study area.The heterogeneity in the composition of the communities under study was investigated by computing a number of tree species composition indices, such as the Shannon index (), Evenness index (), species richness (), the Simpson index (D), the Berger-Parker index (), and the Clark-Evans (R).The identification of 45 plant taxa included 11 orders, 19 genera, 15 families, 22 species, and 674 individuals.The overall research region's Shannon index value (=2.49)indicates that a small number of species have dominated the forest structure across all 15 locations, and many species are made up of fewer individuals.There is a good level of diversity among the forest trees across the entire test surface, as indicated by the Simpson index (D) value of 0.9.There is a significant degree of biological diversity in the areas being studied, as indicated by the research region's overall representative Berger-Parker Index value of 0.2.Information on forest structure and tree composition aids in the preservation of threatened and commercially valued species.In order to preserve the tree species, it will be essential to raise awareness of the possible ecological advantages that tree stands on farmlands may provide to the local population both inside and beyond the study area.