Search

Aim: Biocultural legacy practices are intricately tied to forestry resources, ethnic identity, and social cohesiveness. This study aims to determine the plant cultural values of forest resources and identify plant cultural indicators in each ethnic group, which can aid in long-term natural resource management plans in the current debate on socio-environmental and ecological transitions. Methods: Semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and field observations were employed to collect data for a comprehensive and systematic ethnobotanical survey from February 2018 to October 2022. Results: A total of 330 informants reported 154 plant species from 65 families. Asteraceae was the most prominent botanical family, with herbaceous plant groups outnumbering trees and shrubs. The Gujjar and Pahari groups exhibited the highest level of overlap, followed by significant overlaps between the Gujjar and Kashmiri communities. The close affinity observed between the Gujjar and Pahari groups suggests the horizontal pattern of local plant knowledge between these communities, influenced by their sociocultural interactions and intermarriages. Notably, the Pahari community displayed a rich understanding of medicinal plants and shared unique uses for the reported taxa. This study affirms that both ecological factors and sociocultural influences have played significant roles in shaping local plant knowledge. A total of 31 plant species have been identified as plant cultural markers among all four ethnic groups. We observed a positive correlation between plant cultural values and plant use with the Gujjar and Kashmiri ethnic groups. Artemisia absinthium reported the highest use value of (0.57) with use reports of (189). Adonis aestivalis, Cynoglossum nervosum, Geum elatum, Geranium himalayense, Juncus inflexus, Oxalis acetosella, Polygonatum biflorum, and Salvia hians from the Himalayan region are among the plant taxa whose ethnomedicinal applications are described here for the first time. Conclusion: Our data show that local and indigenous forest knowledge and practices could significantly contribute to forest conservation and ecological transition. This may happen if stakeholders generate clear frameworks and biocultural conservation strategies aimed at both dynamically preserve natural habitats and ways of traditional management of local natural resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was carried out in the forest of Kedarnath valley in Garhwal Himalaya. The aim of the study was to access the diversity status and ecological status. The study was conducted following the stratified sampling techniques by placing quadrates (1m×1m) for herbs, (5m×5m) for shrubs, and (10m×10m) size for trees in the forest area. A total number of 221 plant species were recorded during the floristic survey in the project area. Plant diversity of the project area encompasses 49 species of trees, 28 species of shrubs, and 144 species of herbs. Important value index, the Shannon diversity index, and total basal area species were recorded. The tree density in the present study was highest in the Kedarnath valley which ranged from 0.3 to 8.5 no./ha. Shrub density in the present study varied from 0.4 to 13.5 no./ha, whereas herb density ranged between 0.2 to 22.4 no.ha-1. Total basal cover (TBC) for trees showed a range of 9.542 to 0.075 m² .ha-1, and the Shannon diversity index (H) for tree species was recorded from a minimum of 0.976 to a maximum of 3.048. The horrific disaster in the Kedarnath valley in 2013 caused a lot of damage to the bugyals (High altitude grass) and forests of the valley. About 500 species of vesicular medicinal plants, fodder plants, and other important plant species were washed away (Botanical Survey of India 2015). The current study is a pioneer in the aspect and can be helpful in making district forest plans, protocols, and implementation of forest policy to protect the forest by local people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional livelihood of the Soliga, indigenous people living in Biligiri Rangana Hills, was disrupted by the Government of India through a ban on the collection and sale of non-timber forest products in 2004 and the creation of a tiger reserve in 2011. With this, State control over the Soligas' forest-based mobility increased and their traditional mobility for subsistence, livelihood, and culture was severely restricted. Arrests and violence were used to intimidate them into moving away from the forest. Using the concept of governmobility, this paper analyzes how indigenous women and men struggle against and cope with the State's efforts to control their mobility. We found that women and men used different strategies to cope with the situation and support themselves and their families. While men internalized the State's regulations and changed their mobility patterns completely, women continued to resist the State's control over their mobility within the forest because of their position as secondary citizens in a patriarchal state. Women's resistance to or compliance with the State-imposed ban was mediated by their relationship with the State, the relationship being evidenced by the services and facilities offered and opportunities available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every year, nearly 1500 graduates in B Sc (Forestry) pass out from different colleges/universities across India, who are well trained in the sustainable management and utilization of forest resources in the country. However, the challenge is the unavailability of provisions for their direct recruitment in the field of forestry, specially in the State and Central Forest Services, when they are getting education which is equivalent to the curricula of training courses of the Indian Forest Service officers. When the nation is deeply devoted to improving its forest cover in order to fulfil the commitment given to UNFCCC of reducing the CO2 emission and enhancing carbon sequestration for climate change mitigation along with extracting more from available renewable resources, proper management and sustainable utilization of forest resources is inevitable. So, the potential of these forestry graduates can be well utilized by enabling some structural reforms in the existing recruitment policy of the State and Central Forest Services by providing them job reservation and/or preference in forest and allied sectors, which will also justify the professional education and training provided to them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Since the origin of the protected area network, authorities have resettled people in the interest of wildlife conservation. However, the impacts of resettlement on wildlife corridors connecting increasingly insular protected areas and the interaction of resettlement with existing human-wildlife conflict (HWC) outside of protected areas remain unclear. Using Kanha National Park (KNP) in central India as a case study, we quantified impacts of 450 households (that were resettled from 2009 to 2013, surveyed in 2016) on non-protected forests at their new settlement locations. We measured forest use for cattle grazing, tendu leaf extraction (a commercial non-timber forest product) and consumption of forest foods. We also quantified HWC risks that resettled households face at their new settlement locations. We use published spatial analyses on designation of the corridor and risks of human wildlife conflict in conjunction with our data to assess post-resettlement impacts at the new settlement locations. Overall, most resettled households (330) have moved to existing villages that lie outside of wildlife corridors around KNP. They comprise <10% of existing populations at most of their new settlement villages. Many resettled households and their non-resettled neighbors face high HWC risks due to the spatial patterns of HWC around KNP. Controlling for assets and proximity to forest, resettled households own more cattle, are less involved in tendu trade, and consume fewer forests foods than non-resettled neighbors. Model results suggest that increasing off-farm economic opportunities would reduce pressures on forest resources for both resettled and non-resettled households. Our findings, while limited to the KNP landscape, provide approaches applicable in other human-dominated places to design resettlement strategies towards landscape-level conservation goals. Highlights • Human resettlement can affect habitat connectivity and human wildlife conflict. • Most resettled households from Kanha National Park are outside of wildlife corridors. • Households in close proximity to protected area face high HWC risks. • Resettled households are less involved in tendu trade and consume fewer forest foods. • Increasing off-farm economic opportunities would reduce pressures on forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Located in the foothills of the Indian Himalaya, Rajaji National Park was established to protect and enhance the habitat of the Asian elephant ( Elephas maximus ) and tiger ( Panthera tigris ). In 2002 the Van Gujjars, indigenous forest pastoralists, were voluntarily resettled from the Chilla Range (an administrative unit of Rajaji National Park) to Gaindikhata, a nearby area where they were granted land for agriculture. In this study we used a variety of remote sensing approaches to identify changes in land cover associated with the resettlement. The methods comprise two main approaches. First, we used object-based image analysis (OBIA) to identify the pre-resettlement land cover classes of use areas (representing agricultural expansion and adjacent areas of grazing, and collection of fuelwood and fodder) and recovery areas (representing areas where settlements were removed, and the adjacent areas of resource use). Secondly, we used trend analysis to assess the gradual and abrupt changes in vegetation that took place in use and recovery areas. To conduct the trend analysis we used BFAST (Breaks For Additive Season and Trend), which separates seasonal variation from long-term trends, and identifies breaks that can be linked back to disturbances or land cover changes. We found that the OBIA classification yielded high average class accuracies, and we were able to make class distinctions that would have been difficult to make using a traditional pixel-based approach. Pre-resettlement, the recovery areas were classified as mixed forest and riparian vegetation. In contrast, the use areas were classified primarily as grass dominated, brush dominated, and plantation forest, and were located relatively far away from riparian areas. Following the resettlement, the trend analysis showed a sudden change in the seasonal variation of NDVI in areas converted to agriculture. Areas neighboring the new agricultural land experienced sudden decreases in NDVI, suggestive of disturbances, at a higher rate than the same land cover types elsewhere. At the same time, these neighboring areas experienced a gradual overall increase in NDVI which could be caused by an expansion of leafy invasive shrubs such as Lantana camara in areas heavily used for biomass collection. The recovery areas also experienced a gradual increase in NDVI as well as sudden breaks to this trend, but we lacked evidence to connect these changes to the resettlement. Our findings support the claim that the resettlement has shifted pressure from more ecologically valuable to less ecologically valuable land cover types, and suggest that to some degree resource use pressure has increased outside the park. The study employs a novel synthesis of OBIA and trend analysis that could be applied to land change studies more broadly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bamboo, the fastest growing plant, is estimated to cover 8.96 million ha of the total 63.3 million ha forest area of India. The plant is intricately associated with humans from times immemorial. Though popularly known for industrial usage, a lesser known fact of bamboos is the utilization of its juvenile shoots as food that can be consumed fresh, fermented, canned or pickled. Bamboo shoots have high nutritive value containing low fats and cholesterol and high amount of carbohydrate, proteins, minerals and dietary fibres. It holds great promise for utilization as health food because of presence of bioactive compounds which is found to have medicinal properties. Being one of the fastest growing plants, its shoots can be utilized for feeding the ever increasing human population and also because of its nutritional and therapeutic values, the shoots can be used to make up for the dietary deficiencies of nutrients in the diet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Tropical Ecology is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Management of forest resources is a major problem area in developing countries. Basing discussion of the problem on the situation in India this article recognizes the importance of a rational pricing policy but also argues that forest administration has to be strengthened. Regeneration of forest resources has to be stimulated by price improvements and encouraging investment but regeneration and rural development involving social and agro forestry are also required. Forest administration has to be developed to cope with these different requirements. The article questions the argument concerning institution building for development forestry advanced by Guess (1982). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]