Browsing by Author "Uniyal, V.P."

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Assessing the potential role of Coleoptera (Insecta) as bioindicators in Simbalbara Wildlife Sanctuary, Himachal Pradesh
(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2009) Bhargav, Vinay; Uniyal, V.P.
In this study the suitability of select beetle families as bioindicators to monitor human influence on forest ecosystems was undertaken. Beetles have been used in forest ecosystems where their species number and/or abundances change along a habitat disturbance gradient; a common trend being that large, poorly dispersing specialist species decrease with increased disturbance while small generalist species with good dispersal ability increase. The purpose of this research work is to find out the status of beetles in a biogeographically significant area of Simbalbara Wildlife Sanctuary, Himachal Pradesh in Shivalik Himalaya in north western India; and to assess their potential role to assess the human influence on forest ecosystem on a more local scale. Further, patterns of species biodiversity, taxonomy, and their suitability as bioindicator were explored using a set of standard methods and ecological indexes. The set of methods and indexes used in this work is similar in many ways to the measures used or proposed elsewhere; but the objective is to determine the suitability and application of bioindicators for monitoring and inventorying study at a local scale
Assessment fof Bees in Agroforestry in Kangsabati South Forest Division, Purulia, West Bengal
(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2024) Das, Pallabi; Uniyal, V.P.; Chandra, Kailash
Plant pollinator interactions have evolved through diffuse co-evolution, representations of relation between plants and animal species, where bees play a crucial role in preserving native plants' diversity and their reproduction success. This research intended to investigate the bee community composition in the agroforestry ecosystem, focusing on the impact of anthropogenic activities on pollinator diversity and ecosystem services of wild bees. This study made an effort to compile a list of bee species in both agriculture and forest ecosystems and their interaction with plant functional groups in the study site. The study was conducted in Kangsabati South Forest Division (KSFD) in Purulia, West Bengal. Extensive field research was conducted from February 2020 to April 2023. In the study, 25 species were successfully documented from three habitats: mixed forest, Sal forest, and agricultural landscape. The study found that the majority of residents in the study area were below the poverty level and an Indigenous community, relying on forest for firewood and non-timber forest product (NTFP). Agriculture practices were prevalent, with migrant labor being a significant trend. The agricultural practice was not considered eco-friendly, and excessive pesticides were used. The study also found that less than 50% of the respondents were familiar with bees. Subsistent and unskilled agriculture was practiced by less literate farmers, leading to land degradation and wasteland. The study highlights the need for eco-friendly agriculture practices and the degradation of natural habitats due to human activities. The relationship between bee species diversity and the stability of ecosystem service (E.S.) was investigated in this study. The study categorized bee communities into social and wild bees, and interpolated (IDW) diversity maps were generated for each survey site. The decline in population and diversity of bees' is observed gradually due to the influence of several anthropogenic activities, as demonstrated by several past studies. A low to slightly intermediate anthropogenic impact, mainly for agricultural landscapes, was noticed through the Human Footprint Index (HFI) map of KSFD.
Assessment of Pollinators in indigenous farming systems in Garhwal Himalaya, Uttarakhand
(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2022) Mehrwar, Vandana; Uniyal, V.P.
The research work explores the major trends in mountain agriculture, livelihood options, adoption and non-adoption of organic farming, crop diversification, and key pollinators. The study also investigates the influence of different cropping systems on the diversity of insect pollinators, species richness, and their activities in the Mandakini and Doon valleys of Uttarakhand, India. The purpose of the study is to describe the insect pollinators and agrobiodiversity in the croplands of the Mandakini and Doon valleys in light of their role as ecosystem service providers. Thus, the study envisages the following objectives: 1) To assess the species richness of pollinators in organic and non-organic agro-ecosystems. 2) A comparative study of different cropping systems practised in the Mandakini and Doon valleys with respect to their socio-economic impact on the richness of pollinators. 3) A comparative study of different farming systems adopted in different study sites and their impact on the richness of pollinators. In summary, my doctoral thesis generates inventorial knowledge on insect pollinators in different farming systems and a variety of habitats in the Garhwal Himalayas. This study emphasize the need for organic agriculture adoption and promotion to conserve insect pollinator diversity in mountain agriculture, where inorganic agriculture is prevalent.
Assessment of Socio-Environmental Adaptation strategies for sustainable Livelihood Development in the villages around Govind Pashu Vihar, Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand
(wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2021) Chandra. Rommila; Uniyal, V.P.
The study is an attempt to assess the socio-economic and ecological conditions of mountain farmers for their sustainable livelihood development, with the following three objectives; I. Documentation of traditional knowledge and traditional cropping practices in the study area. II. Assessment of ecosystem services in the agroecological landscape in the study area. III. Estimating the adaptive capacity of smallholder farmers for sustainable livelihood opportunities in the study area The study was conducted in Govind Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park, located in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand (India). The entire area lies in the middle and greater Himalayas with a varying altitude of 1300m to 6323m. The terrain is almost hilly and is an important catchment for the Tons River, which is a major tributary of the Yamuna River. The documentation of culture, traditional agriculture and traditional knowledge clearly highlighted the uniqueness of the area for a potential socio-economic development. As per the assessment, the local people were trying to change their negative cultural image of being associated with the mythological Duryodhana. It also sheds light on the relation between medicinal plant use with the age of people, availability of medical facility and distance of households from the forest area. The knowledge richness index values call for the attention, as one could say that the younger population had knowledge about their traditional system, but it was decreasing through generations. The local farmers were trying to diversify their cropping system through cash-crop farming, which was clearly evident in the connected as well as isolated villages. The traditional crops were just being cultivated for subsistence, leading to a critical decline in the area under their cultivation. These changes indicate preference of local community for an economically productive livelihood system.
Community Structure of Dung Beetles in Kailash Sacred Landscape, Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand, India
(wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2020) Chauhan, Mona; Uniyal, V.P.; Chandra, Kailash
Due to the recent wave of urbanization, mountain areas are being transferred into urban and agriculture land at alarming rates. The Kailash Sacred Landscape, Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand, India is highly vulnerable due to fragmentation and urbanization, including increased anthropogenic disturbance, reduced area, loss of habitats, invasion of new species and ecological transformations. Therefore, it is important to document the status of biodiversity prevailing in these areas to identify the level of biodiversity still left in forest fragments. No records exist about the community structure of dung beetles in the landscape and hence we lack crucial historical documentation of the natural communities in landscape which would remain as an important source of information for measuring species extinctions in the area. This study provides basic inventory and diversity pattern of dung beetles from the undiscovered area of the Kailash Sacred Landscape, Pithoragarh, India. This study also suggested bioindicator based ecological monitoring and excellent insight for future conservation and management planning which will help the managers to set priority areas for habitat improvement or restrict areas to deteriorate any further. The study area is Kailash Sacred Landscape (KSL), Pithoragarh, India part exhibits great variability and heterogeneity in altitude and topography, due to this ecosystems of this region vary widely from subtropical to temperate, alpine, and cold high altitude desert types. Similarly, the landscape harbors a high diversity of flora and fauna of both regional and global significance.
Diversity and distribution of Moth Assemblages Along Altitudinal Gradient in Gangotri Landscape, India
(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2015) Sanyal, Abesh Kumar; Uniyal, V.P.
This study intends to document the extent of moth assemblages that exist amongst various habitats in a typical Western Himalayan altitudinal gradient in Gangotri Landscape Area (GLA). In this study, using the elevation gradient as natural experiment, the faunal structure and diversity of the moth assemblage featuring all the major macro and micromoth families as well as relationships between moths and their biotic and abiotic environments were explored. Specific objectives of the study were: (1) Documenting and prepare taxonomic inventory of rich moth fauna of Gangotri Landscape Area; (2) To assess diversity and distribution of moth assemblages among different elevations and vegetation types of Gangotri Landscape; (3) To analyze the influence of altitude, seasons, vegetation types and anthropogenic disturbance factors on moth assemblages; (4) To investigate morphometric changes (body size and proportional body parts) in moths along altitudinal gradient. The study was conducted in Gangotri Landscape Area (GLA), a vast conservation network in the North-Western part of Uttarakhand, in district Uttarkashi. A total of 670 morphospecies belonging to 22 families and 356 genera were collected during entire sampling period from 2008-2012. This study is an important step towards better understanding of a long-neglected but diverse and charismatic herbivorous insect assemblage in Himalayan temperate altitudinal gradient.
Diversity and Distribution Pattern of Moths (Lepidoptera : Heterocera) with special emphasis on family noctuidae in Askot Wildlife Sanctuary, Uttarakhand
(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2021) Bandyopadhyay, Uttaran; Uniyal, V.P.
This study has been planned to prepare a consolidated inventory of moth fauna of one of the most diverse protected areas of Uttarakhand, the Askot Wildlife Sanctuary, to assess the seasonal variation of a specialist group, the Noctuidae. The study also aimed to determine the effects of the environmental factors that govern the distribution as well as assemblage pattern of this particular family and targeted to identify the species with potential to indicate overall quality of the different habitats altitudinally which in term will contribute in future species conservation strategies.
Diversity and structure of butterfly assemblages along altitudinal gradient in Tons valley, Western Himalaya
(wildlife Institute of India, 2013) Bhardwaj, Manish; Uniyal, V.P.; Singh, Arun Pratap
Present study reveals the distribution pattern of butterflies along elevation gradient along the Tons river valley in the western Himalaya. Two protected areas lies with current study area viz. Govind National Park and Govind Wildlife sanctuary and the rest of the area lies within any formal category of protection. The area represents high elevational variation (900 – 6316 m) and a gradient of disturbance regimes and from natural Himalayan forests to highly disturbed villages and agricultural lands. Current study document patterns and processes involved in shaping diversity and distribution of butterflies along an elevation gradient in Tons valley. This study provides a baseline faunistic inventory of the diversity of butterflies including description of general identification features, their relation to classification and subfamilies and genera of butterflies sampled from the Tons valley during more than four years of observations from April 2008 to October 2012. A total of 189 species representing 98 genera in 5 families were recorded in Tons valley during entire sampling period.
Diversity and structure of spider assemblages in Terai Conservation Area (TCA)
(2009) Hore, Upamanyu; Uniyal, V.P.
The present study was carried out in Terai Conservation Area (TCA) which represents one of the last remnants of Indian Terai ecosystem. The TCA is an important regional, national and international centre for biodiversity. The resulting complex of woodland-grassland-wetland ecosystems of TCA harbours a wide variety of floral and faunal life, including several charismatic and obligate species. This area has witnessed dramatic changes in land use policies, forest management practices, and persistent factors like forest fire, flooding and livestock grazing. Keeping in view these perspectives, this study intends to document the extent of spider assemblages that exists amongst various habitats, identify factors underlying the patterns of association, and assess the effect of grassland fire on spider diversity in the TCA. This study provides a baseline inventory of the diversity of spiders including description of anatomical features of spider in general, their relation to classification, and genera of spiders sampled from the TCA during three years of fieldwork. The present study analyses the effect of local habitat factors on regional spider richness and diversity. The objective is to untangle the relative importance of habitat structure and other environmental variables.
Diversity assessment and molecular characterization of the geometridae moths (Lepidoptera: Heterocera) in Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, Uttarakhand.
(wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2018) Dey, Pritha; Chandra, Kailash; Uniyal, V.P.
The study aims to combine traditional morphological and modern molecular tools to answer the questions on diversity, the patterns and the factors governing the patterns. The study was conducted in Nanda Devi National Park area which is a part of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve (NDBR), Uttarakhand, India. The study area (Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve) was stratified on the basis of elevation & vegetation and sampled at every 200m along the elevation between 2000-3800m. Two mountain gradients 1) Joshimath and 2) Data were chosen for a comparative study. DNA extraction and sequencing were performed at the CCDB, University of Guelph. Sequences of further specimens from the Zoologische Staatssammlung München from western Himalaya (Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir) and eastern Himalaya (Sikkim) were included into the analysis. Our results revealed one new species (Prometopidia sp. nov.), one new distribution record for India (Alcis paghmana) and considerable distribution extensions of 15 other species within India. Four species from Sikkim show deep genetic divergences (K2P distance) from conspecifics, indicating potential crypsis
Diversity of spider assemblages in sacred groves of Ratnagiri, Maharashtra: Implications for conservation management in the landscape.
(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2016) Patil, Vinayak K.; Uniyal, V.P.; Trivedi, Mukul
The present study was conducted in Dapoli Taluka of Ratnagiri district in maharashtra with the objectives was to comprehensively document the sacred groves in the study area because it is a high concentration sacred groves region but very little documentation has been done so far. The other objective was to explore the spider diversity in sacred groves and compare it with some other habitats in the study area. These habitats included, reserved forests, mango orchards and cashew orchards. Lastly it was sought to find out if the habitats, seasonality, disturbance etc. had any influence on the diversity and composition of spider assemblages in the study sites.
Ecological assessment of geometridae Moths (lepidoptera: Heterocera) along alitutudinal gradient in Dhauladhar Mountain range in Kangra (North Western) and Lahaul and Spiti (Trans-Himalaya) regions of Himachal Pradesh
(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2024) Kumari, Shabnam; Uniyal, V.P.; Chandra, Kailash
This study investigates the ecology (diversity and distribution patterns) of Geometridae moths across the altitudinal gradients of the Himalayan and Tran Himalayan regions in Himachal Pradesh. Geometridae moths are the famous insect herbivore surrogate taxa. They have been studied globally across different mountain systems. Through the documentation of species diversity, and the analysis of ecological patterns associated with these moths, this study aimed to contribute towards a better understanding of biodiversity dynamics in the Himalayan region. The research findings hold significant implications as a comprehensive baseline information on the species diversity and community dynamics of Geometridae moths in the region along with insights from the zoogeographic analysis. It also highlights future research needs and conservation concerns in light of the impacts of climate change and human-driven changes in land-use patterns in the region. objectives proposed for this study were i) to study the diversity and species richness patterns of Geometridae moths along the altitudinal gradient of the Dhauladhar Mountain Range (DMR) (within the administrative boundary of the district Kangra), ii) to identify the potential indicator species of Geometridae moths for different habitat types (altitude) and environmental variables affecting their distribution and iii) assessment of the high-altitude Geometrid moth assemblage of Trans Himalaya (Lahaul and Spiti) region of Himachal Pradesh. The study was undertaken across the altitudes of the DMR and Lahaul and Spiti Valleys (LSVs) representing the Himalayan and Trans Himalayan biogeographic zones of India in Himachal Pradesh respectively. Species with strong preferences for specific altitudinal zones and forest types have the potential to serve as indicator species for long-term monitoring of climate change, habitat quality, and land-use changes in these regions. These findings provide valuable insights into our understanding of the biodiversity patterns and community characteristics of Geometridae moths across altitudinal gradients and different forest types in the regions
Effect of Habitat Structure on Odonate Species Richness in Streams of Kalakkand Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu India
(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2013) Anilitty, A.S.; Uniyal, V.P.; Johnson, J.A.
This study aimed at the responses of species richness of Odonates toward the habitat structure in Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve(KMTR) in Tamil Nadu, India. KMTR lies between latitudes 8° 25' to 8° 53' N and longitudes 77°10' to 77° 35' E with altitude ranging from 50 meters to 1868 meters. Intensive study areas were confined to three beats in Mundanthurai and Kalakkad ranges of KMTR namely Kodamadi, Kannikatti and Sengaltheri. We sampled vegetation and stream structural parameters along with altitude and time of sampling from three drainages, River Thamiraparni, River Servalar and River Kil Manimuthar. Only the second, third and fourth order streams were sampled. Thirty six belt transects were laid and each transect was walked trice. A total of thirty six species were found during the study period. Species richness was calculated using Software· Estimate S version 0.8 and used to do GLM(Generalized Linear Model) in Software R version 3.0.1. Altitude was found to be the most influencing factor on species richness. A second GLM was carried out for the altitude wise stratified data incorporating temporal replicates for each transect. Tree height and stream width were found to be the most influencing factors in this model with p values 0.00007 and 0.001 respectively.
Foraging ecology of Great-Slaty Woodpecker in and around Pawalgarh Conservation reserve in Western Himalaya
(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2024) Kaur, Sarabjeet; Gopi, G.V.; Uniyal, V.P.
The Great Slaty Woodpecker (Mulleripicus pulverulentus, Temminck 1826) is an old-world woodpecker that prefers mature and old-growth dipterocarp forests (including Shorea robusta, Sal) across its known distribution range. The study reveals population demography, the social system and foraging behavior from logged forest and infer the distribution and home range of the Great Slaty Woodpecker, a cooperative breeding bird species, in and around the Pawalgarh Conservation Reserve in the western Himalaya of Uttarakhand state. This study presents the first census conducted for the Great Slaty Woodpecker, providing an ecological baseline for the species population estimation from its known distribution range. I inferred the home range size of each group based on 161 independent sightings of 11 family groups. These sightings represent behaviors such as foraging, nesting, roosting, vocalizations, and territory defense
Landscape-level assessment of select group of pollinators and factors influencing their diversity and distribution in Kullu Valley, Himachal Pradesh.
(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2024) Khan, Sushmita; Uniyal, V.P.; Ramesh, K.
Change detection analysis using satellite data in a remote sensing platform is a crucial tool for understanding shifts in land use and land cover (LULC) over time, allowing for the identification of environmental and human-induced changes across various spatial and temporal scales. This method aids in assessing the impact of factors like urban expansion, agricultural practices, deforestation, and climate change on biodiversity and ecosystems. Climate change, particularly in vulnerable regions like the Himalayas, poses significant threats to ecosystem services and biodiversity. This study explores the impact of LULC and climate change on pollinator diversity and distributional patterns in the Kullu and Tirthan valleys of Himachal Pradesh. By compiling a comprehensive list of entomofauna pollinators across various orchards in different landscape configurations, the research aims to emphasize the need of conserving pollinator species in this ecologically sensitive region. Additionally, the study predicts potential shifts in pollinator distribution under future climate scenarios, providing valuable insights for conservation strategies. Through systematic analysis, the research contributes to a deeper understanding of pollinator communities and their interactions within the mountain horticultural belt of the Indian Himalayan Region. Ultimately, the findings aim to inform targeted conservation efforts to preserve the rich biodiversity of pollinators in this area. The research focuses on two major valleys within the Kullu district, each presenting contrasting landscapes and ecological contexts. The Kullu valley, a 76 kms long stretch situated along the Beas river, is characterized by diverse land use patterns and heightened anthropogenic activity, particularly in horticulture and tourism. In contrast, the Tirthan valley, nestled along the Tirthan river for a 45 kms long stretch, is designated as a conservation area with minimal disturbance and dense forest cover. The study meticulously investigated pollinator diversity dynamics in the Kullu and Tirthan valleys. The study conducted in the Kullu Valley aimed to analyze land use changes over time using Landsat satellite imagery from 2000 and 2022. High-quality images with minimal cloud cover were obtained for both years, ensuring accurate analysis With the aforesaid aim in focus, I have tried to address the following three objectives in my thesis: Objective 1: To assess the change in landscape composition of the study area over time.• Objective 2: To assess the effect of change in landscape configuration and horticultural practices on pollinator communities (diversity and abundance) and their services. • Objective 3: To model the distribution of major pollinators of economic importance belonging to different groups (Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera) in the study area.
Patterns of Bird Community Structure in Relation to Land-Use Driven Habitat Changes in the Arid Grasslands of Thar Desert
(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2019) Kher, Varun; Dutta, Sutirtha; Uniyal, V.P.; Page, Navendu V.
The Indian Thar desert has seen a massive loss of grassland habitat in the last few decades. The main driver of this habitat loss has been the large-scale change in landuse from pastoralism to agriculture, leading to expansion of cultivated land over grasslands. This expansion, further compounded by a simultaneous rise in livestock population has drastically increased grazing pressure on the remaining rangelands. To complicate things further, irrigation schemes (notably the Indira Gandhi Canal) have led to intensification of agriculture in many areas. Protected area network in this landscape is minimal and ineffective, making the multiple-use agro-pastoral landscapes very important for conservation of wildlife. The largest protected area in the landscape – the “DNP WLS” – is also a multiple-use landscape and home to more than 50k people whose livelihood is tied to the federal mandate of conservation in the sanctuary. 1. Understanding the impact of land use change on native biodiversity is thus very important for conservation of biodiversity in this critical habitat. In this context, my study tries to find effects of land-use change on community structure of birds in the arid grassland of Jaisalmer district in the Thar Desert. 2. Understanding ecology or distribution and abundance of species is incomplete without holistically understanding the patterns and processes occurring at the community level. To this end, I explored the patterns of bird community structure in the Thar Desert and tried to understand how these properties change with land-use driven habitat change, by comparing fundamental properties of biological communities like species richness, abundance and composition. Additionally, I tried to find out potential habitat correlates of these properties, so as to shed some light on the processes that might be driving community assembly in response to land-use change. 3. Bird community structure: My results indicate that local-scale species richness,abundance and composition did not differ significantly between protected grasslands, rangelands and extensive rain-fed croplands, during either of the seasons. However, intensive irrigated croplands had a notably different community structure with higher species richness and abundance, during both winter and summer. The change is community structure of intensive croplands was influenced by the change in native species along with ingression of newly colonised species. Most of the newly colonised species were restricted to areas with intensive agriculture where their survival was potentially facilitated by the new microhabitats created by irrigation and associated changes (Rahmani & Soni, 1997). 4. Regional species pool: Intensive agriculture increased the overall species of birds in the region by sustaining newly colonised bird species; while the number of native species in this pool was only marginally lower than protected grasslands and comparable to all the other land-uses in both the seasons. Considering both the seasons together, protected grasslands had the highest naïve and estimated number of native species while the naïve and estimated number of native species in other three land-uses – Rangelands, extensive croplands and intensive croplands – was only marginally lower. This signifies that most species found in the region can use the entire gradient of land-use types at their current levels of intensification. Although this result by itself does not indicate that, all land-use types can sustain all the native species. 5. Seasonality of patterns: In winter, protected grasslands, rangelands and extensive croplands had similar bird communities, which together were significantly different from the communities in intensive croplands. The same pattern repeated in summer, but the magnitude of difference between bird communities in intensive agriculture and other land-uses was much lower. This pattern was correlated to the pattern shown by vegetation structure of intensive agriculture, which also became more similar to other land-uses after harvesting of crops in the summer. This potentially suggests that bird communities are influenced by vegetation structure and areas with similar vegetation structure would have similar bird communities. 6. Habitat correlates of species richness and bird community composition: In both the seasons, species richness was positively associated with the foliar volume of woody vegetation and negatively associated with forb volume (which in turn was negatively correlated with grass volume). During winter, species richness was positively related to crop volume and during summer, with compositional diversity of vegetation. Community composition like richness was influenced significantly by woody plant foliar biomass in both the seasons. Crop volume also had a significant influence on bird communities during both winter and summer, whereas grass volume was significantly influential only in winters. Conservation implications: This study corroborates many others in indicating that low-impact land-uses are important secondary habitats for conservation of grassland species (Dutta & Jhala, 2014; Wright, Lake, & Dolman, 2012). The inferences further support the commonly advocated approach of conserving grasslands at a landscape scale by strategically placing them as mosaics of low-impact agro pastoral land-use with small protected areas embedded within them (Dutta & Jhala, 2014; Dutta, Rahmani, & Jhala, 2011; Singh et al., 2006).
Plant-insect pollinator interaction across land use in Doon Valley, Uttarakhand.
(Plant-insect pollinator interaction across land use in Doon Valley, Uttarakhand., 2017) Virkar, Preeti Shirish; Uniyal, V.P.; Qureshi, Qamar; Rana, J.M.S.
Honey bees are a chief source of Pollination in agroecosystems. Their decline due to parasitic mite diseases, pesticides, climate change and multiple anthropogenic stresses caused agriculturists to turn to wild bees for pollination services. Present study investigate the diversity patterns and composition of bees as well as their interaction with floral functional groups (3 basic colours: yellow, blue and white) across selected habitats of forests and agroecosystem in the fragile river basin the Doon valley
Prediction of quality of water emphasizing on nutrient dynamics in Kosi Watershed, Uttarakhand
(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2021) Sinha, Pooja Rani; Uniyal, V.P.
The study of this research is an attempt to understand the water quality of the region. The region is blessed to have underground water as springs in the region. These springs are the only source of water in the region. Groundwater is fresh water (from rain or melting ice and snow) that soaks into the soil and is stored in the tiny spaces (pores) between rocks and particles of soil. This groundwater which accounts for nearly 95 percent of the nation’s fresh water resources. It can stay underground for hundreds of thousands of years, or it can come to the surface and help fill rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, and wetlands. Groundwater can also come to the surface as a spring or be pumped from a well. Both of these are common ways we get groundwater to drink. About 50 percent of our municipal, domestic, and agricultural water supply is groundwater. The study emphasizes on the analysis of such springs and spring fed river in the watershed as second and third objective of the research. The motive of the study is to analyze the entire water quality of the region. The water is present in the region is only in the form of springs. The other source of water is river Kosi which too is a spring fed river. Hence the water quality analysis incorporates the study of the springs as well as the river Kosi which merges out to be the summation of various perennial and non perennial springs of the region. The research further extends to study the simulation pattern of the water quality of river Kosi with the various input parameters demanded by the model
Soil Nematode community structure along elevational Gradient in Bhagirathi Basin, Uttarakhand - A Morphological and Molecular approach.
(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2021) Kashyap, Priyanka; Uniyal, V.P.
Gangotri National Park (GNP) is a protected area and has fewer human disturbances, allowing soil nematodes to diversify. However, it has harsh climatic conditions at high altitudes, which may hinder the nematode community structure. Systematic study of the soil inhabiting nematodes associated with forest vegetation of Gangotri National Park is discussed in this thesis. A compiled inventory of the soil nematode genera recorded from GNP during this study has also been provided in this thesis. A total of 62 nematode genera and fifteen species were identified from high altitude region of GNP. vegetation type is a significant factor for soil nematode diversity as every vegetation type has a different local environment and physicochemical properties that affect the soil biota, specifically soil nematodes being present at various trophic levels in the soil food web. Among the various vegetation types in Gangotri National Park's high-altitude areas, there are substantial differences in the taxonomic composition, the energy flow channels, and nematode community structures, which provide actual examples for understanding the role of soil nematodes in key soil ecological processes in the region. This study is a pioneer study in the region evaluating the effect of vegetation type on soil nematode diversity therefore, more similar studies are required to comprehend the relationship between nematode diversity and soil ecosystems of high altitude vegetations.
Studies on Assemblage of Spiders (Arachnida : Araneae) in different Riparian Zones of River Gang
(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2021) De, Kritish; Uniyal, V.P.
This study was conducted (i) to understand overall spider diversity in riparian areas of the Ganga river, (ii) to compare spider diversity and richness in the different habitat of riparian zone of upper, middle and lower segments of the Ganga river and (iii) to identify habitat specific / indicator spider taxa for riparian zone of the Ganga river. The study was conducted in the year 2018 and 2019, from Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh to Batanagar, West Bengal, 1955 km of the river Ganga which passes through four Indian states namely Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. This is the first work where functional, taxonomic, and beta diversity of spider community, as well as their potential to be used as bioindicator species in the riverine riparian ecosystem in India, were studied.