M Sc Dissertation(WII)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://192.168.202.180:4000/handle/123456789/3

Browse

Subject: search.filters.subject.NTFP

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Fruit Removal, Seed Dispersal and Demography of Emblica officinalis at Rajaji National Park, Uttaranchal
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2001) Prasad, Soumya; Chellam, Ravi; Krishnamurthy, Jagdish
    Plant-frugivore interactions determine the structure and composition of plant and frugivore communities and consequently the understanding of these interactions may help in defining the management protocol for the conservation of these systems (Howe 1993). E.officinalis fruit are an important non-timber forest produce from Indian deciduous forests. In this study I have looked at fruit removal and seed dispersal patterns of E. officinalis in the context of its use by humans. Fruit removal patterns were followed for 19 E. officinalis trees with a range of fruit crops (from 73 ± 59 X 103 fruit to less than 100 fruit) at Dhaulkand, Rajaji NP. 11 of these trees were monitored to ensure that there was no human removal of the fruit. For each tree, all fruit on the ground in the fruit fall area and all fruit on 5 -7 marked branches were counted thrice every ten days in 12-hour intervals, till less than 5% of the initial number of fruits remained on the .marked branches, to arrive at nocturnal and diurnal removal patterns for fruit. Factors affecting fruit persistence (number of days fruit persisted. on the marked branches) were extraction of fruit by people and fruit crop size. In the fruit-fall area, factors affecting nocturnal and diurnal fruit removal rates were clustering of fruiting trees and human induced factors. A range of direct and indirect methods - tree watches, track plots and camera trapping were used to determine the identity of the fruit removers and to observe the mode of fruit handling by these removers. Langur (Semnopithecus entellus), ungulates such as chital (Axis axis) and barking deer (Muntiacus muntjac) were observed feeding on E. officinalis fruit. There was also evidence that the gerbil, Tatera indica, scatter hoards the fruit. Retention In ungulate rumens reduced germination success of E. officinalis seeds. Demography of E. officinalis and regeneration status of woody plant species at Rajaji was assessed along 6 one Ian transects' across a gradient of human use intensity, 3 each in hill and plain mixed forests. The E. officinalis population at Rajaji was found to have very few trees below 30 cm GBH. E. officinalis seedlings were found only in areas almost completely free from human use. Regeneration for tree species at Rajaji was dominated by species that are not lopped for fodder.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Extraction of Non Timber Forest Produce from Selected Tree Species in Betul Forest division and its Impact on the Population Structure of these Species
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 1997) Koliyal, Anupama; Sawarkar, V.B.; Mathur, P.K.
    This study, carried out from November 1996 to May 1997 in North Betul Forest Division (NBFD), aimed to investigate the impacts of NTFP collection on the population structure of three extracted species namely, Buchanania lanzan, Emblica officinalis and Madhuca indica. Population structure, particularly the proportion of the younger recruitment classes in the extracted site, was compared to that in Satpura National Park, an ecologically similar but undisturbed area, a perfect natural 'control' site. Regeneration of all three were negligible in the harvested site when compared to that in the unharvested site. Interestingly, Timber Forest Products, viz. Tectona gran dis, Bauhinia racemosa, and Chloroxylon sweitenia, which are harvested for parts other than the fruit/seed, showed good regeneration in both sites. The second component of the study viz. the socio-economic investigation of the dependent people showed that they ranked other occupations like Forest Department jobs and agriculture above NTFP collection and realised that collection had a negative impact on the forests. It seems that it is only the want of other income generating opportunities that forces them to continue extraction. Again this offers scope for conservation measures to be implemented. Though a short study like this is limited in its scope for providing long-term solutions, it clearly demonstrates that NTFP collection, particularly of Buchanania lanzan, Emblica officinalis and Madhuca indica in dry deciduous forests of central India does have a significant impact on the forests in general and these species in particular.