An assessment of butterfly species composition across a disturbance gradient in Garo Hills, North-east India

Abstract

Shifting cultivation is a predominant form of land use in the hilly tracts of the tropics. Despite being under the scanner for one of the major causes of habitat degradation and forest cover loss, it is very much still prevalent in North-east India where it is one of the important sources of livelihood. Though a multitude of studies look at the nutrient and water losses and vegetation recovery in shifting agriculture lands, studies on the responses of fauna, following habitat alterations like slash and burn and further abandonment of the lands following cultivation are limited.