Forest observational studies in India: Past developments and considerations for the future (original) (raw)
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Diversity of Ecosystem Types in India: A Review
Proceedings of the Indian National Science Academy
India is home to an unusually large number of endemic species and ranks sixth among the 12 megabiodiversity centers of the world. Four terrestrial biodiversity hot spots (Himalaya, Indo-Burma, Western Ghats and Sri Lanka, and Sundaland) partly lie in India. The 27 distinct biogeographic provinces, and the variety of life zones and floral groups result in equally diverse vegetation and ecosystem types. The forest ecosystems are markedly diverse and have been classified into six 'major groups' ranging from tropical to alpine, 16 'groups' and more than 200 'group categories'. The grassland ecosystems are categorized into five major grass cover types. There are 1193 wetlands covering a total area of 3.9 million hectares in 274 districts. Total area of coral reefs comprises 2,375 sq km. India is one of the eight Vavilov's centers of origin of cultivated plants in the world and has twenty distinct agro-ecosystems, characterized by variations in edaphic, climatic and geographic features, and consequently a diverse cropping pattern. In this article we give an overview of the vast array of broad ecosystem types that occur in India. We also briefly discuss the human impacts on the health of country's ecosystems and the ecosystem conservation scenario.
Ecological Questions, 2015
One of the major challenges in the current scenario for ecological conservation is to quantify the forest landscape in its spatio-temporal domain and understand further implications of those. While the detailed study of the forest ecosystems may provide insights into biodiversity, carrying capacity and productive nature, most of the studies are restricted to single time/event inventory and focused on assessment of tree diversity patterns. Through the adoption of geospatial technologies like remote sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS), though forest monitoring has been possible, the linkages to the biodiversity distribution and its patterns are still at an empirical level, thus supporting broad measures of protection and preservation without accounting for the local/regional variability. Towards this the paper discusses the lacuna in the current landscape research approaches in Indian scenario. Presents a framework to analyze the landscape structure at the, micro, meso and macro levels. Emphasize the need for the collection of spatio-temporal field data to analyze the change in biodiversity and their linked entities. The paper suggests the need for development of long term ecological area networks to understand the ecological processes, making the data open and improve collaborations among the organizations working in the similar domain to enhance the impact of the research works.
Biodiversity loss is one of the world's most pressing crises. Biologically rich and unique habitats are being destroyed, fragmented, and degraded due to increasing human population, resource exploitation and environmental pollution. Conservation of forest biodiversity is fundamental for sustaining forests, and supporting the livelihoods of people and their economic well-being. The ecosystem services that benefit the society are improving air quality, climate regulation, carbon sequestration, water purification, pollination, and prevention of erosion, besides provision for useful biomass. Innovative and effective responses are necessary to meet the challenges of forest biodiversity conservation for the well-being of the people. Therefore, it is important to maintain the forests as ecosystem service provider systems for food, timber, energy, and biodiversity. This paper gives an overview of plant biodiversity, biodiversity conservation mechanisms, and carbon storage as an indicator of ecosystem services in forests of the Siwaliks in northern Haryana. The relationships between biodiversity conservation, poverty alleviation, ecosystem services, and forest biomass production are emphasized. The role of integrated watershed management for human well-being for bioresource conservation in the Siwalik foothills are discussed.
Journal of Forestry Research, 2015
We studied forest vegetation at Lata-Tolma-Phagti, a protected area and part of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve in the western Himalaya. We analyzed community composition, population structure, regeneration patterns, and projected development of future compositional patterns. We sampled ten 10 9 10 m quadrat for tree species in each of 30 forest stands. We sampled shrubs in ten 5 9 5 m quadrat, and herbs in twenty 1 9 1 m quadrat within each forest stand. We recorded 248 plant species from 8 forest communities. Broadly the demographic profiles at study sites exhibited progressive structures suggesting long term persistence of the communities/species. Density-diameter distribution revealed greater proportions of seedlings and a significant decline (P \ 0.05) in the proportion of trees in older age/size classes. Of the 23 recorded tree species, 13.0 % showed good, 52.2 % fair, 26.1 % poor and 8.7 % no regeneration. Differences in regeneration by species are indicative of future forest structure and dynamics. Assessment of changes in structure of forest types provides baseline data for development of priorities for conservation of other representative landscapes in the reserve as well as in the Himalaya.
Revisiting forest types of India
International Forestry Review, 2016
Champion and Seth undertook the pioneering work on classification of forests in India. Earlier Sir H.G. Champion had compiled his monumental work 'Preliminary Survey of Forest Types of India and Burma' in 1936. The original work of 1936 was revised by Sir H.G. Champion with S.K. Seth which was published as 'A Revised Survey of the Forest Types of India'. Their work helped the forest managers and researchers all over the Indian sub-continent to prepare management plans for the scientific management of forests. India's forest types are very diverse in their compositions with a long evolutionary and geological history, occurring under many climatic and edaphic conditions. They have been undergoing subtle but significant changes in the composition of forests since the forest types were revised by Champion and Seth. These changes have taken place on account of climatic changes and anthropogenic causes (biotic pressure as well as management interventions). The present study was conducted by revisiting various forest types. It was aimed at assessing the changes that have occurred over a period of time since they were revised by Champion and Seth. The field survey covered more than 200 forest types and subtypes representing very diverse climatic and edaphic conditions across the country. The sample plots were generated randomly across different forest types. Data collected from the field surveys were analyzed for preparing the change matrix of forest types, basal area, importance value index, stem density and diversity indexes including similarity indexes. Impact of climate change on the vegetation was critically examined to see the species level responses to the changes in the rainfall and temperature regimes over the past years. The study has indicated many changes occurring at species and forest subtypes levels. The species level changes were observed largely in Shorea robusta (Sal), Tectona grandis (Teak) and Bamboo forests with regard to their distribution and species density. The study has indicated the absence of teak from very moist and moist teak sub-type and occurrence of many moist deciduous and semi-evergreen species. In central India, the low rainfall regime has shown the decline of Sal and occurrence of dry deciduous species. The study revealed that both positive and negative changes have been witnessed in various forest types. These findings could be used by the policy makers, scientists and foresters for evolving suitable strategies for futuristic management intervention so that the objectives of sustainable forest management are realised. The new classification of forest types has been proposed reflecting the present ecological, climatic, bio-geographic and edaphic influences on the vegetation composition and stand formation. In the proposed new classification, 10 major groups and 48 subgroups were identified.
Ecosystem impacts of disturbance in a dry tropical forest in southern India
Ecohydrology, 2008
Indian forests provide a multitude of services to vast populations. Common human activities including livestock grazing, fuelwood extraction and burning have the potential to impact forest ecosystem structure and function. The effects of these activities on vegetation, ecology and soil properties were investigated in Bandipur National Park (BNP) in southern India. Data were collected from 200 sites in four watersheds within the park. Sample sites spanned a degradation gradient measured by a field disturbance index (FDI). This paper focusses on the impacts on vegetation structure, diversity and composition, and integrates impacts on soil. Shrub and tree species were inventoried and evaluated in plots 10-m in diameter. The tree layer was dominated by Anogeissus–Emblica–Tectona species. The understory was dominated by invasives Chromolaena odorata and Lantana camara, and native Gymnosporia emarginata. Vegetation plot heights, canopy cover and tree diameters were negatively correlated with field disturbance resulting in stunted forest stature in degraded sites. Vegetation composition in degraded watersheds was dominated by small woody tree species and a greater diversity of shrub species. Ordination analysis was used to integrate soil data with vegetation and disturbance, revealing that deciduous forest in the park is degrading to scrub forest along with negative impacts on soil characteristics. Consequences of services currently enjoyed by local populations are discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Biodiversity and ecosystem services play key roles in future economic strategies seeking to promote development and prosperity. This study assesses the status of biodiversity and flow of ecosystem services from selected forest types in the Western Ghats. At the sampling sites, the number of tree species ranged from 16 to 79 per hectare depending on the forest type. The estimates for Shannon-Wiener index for trees in the evergreen, moist deciduous and dry deciduous forest plots were 3.02, 2.9 and 1.54, respectively. The total biomass carbon stocks in evergreen, moist deciduous and dry deciduous forests in the study area was 229, 221 and 189 t C/ha, respectively. Analysis of dependency patterns of local communities on forest resources indicated a high dependency on provisional services such as fuelwood, manure and fodder. The study records the highest dependency rates for fuelwood, ranging between 72 and 100% for the three forest types and indicates that forest ecosystems underpin the well-being of the population dependent directly and indirectly on them.