Journal of Sustainable Forestry, 32:230–246, 2013 Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 1054-9811 print/1540-756X online DOI: 10.1080/10549811.2013.762492
Tree Regeneration Status of Sacred and Protected Landscapes in Garhwal Himalaya, India NAZIR A. PALA1 , A. K. NEGI1, YOGESH GOKHALE2, and N. P. TODARIA1 1
Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India 2 The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), New Delhi, India
Global and national recognition of Garhwal Himalaya as sacred and protected land has not spurred conservationists to investigate these sacred and protected forests and recognize their importance at large scales. Little is known about the role of sacred conserved forests in influencing the regeneration of species in Garhwal Himalaya. In the present study we investigated the regeneration status of tree species in five sacred and protected forests of Garhwal Himalaya. Seedling and sapling density was used as an indicator of regeneration status of present species. A total of 47 species of trees were recorded from five sacred and protected forests, among which only 7 species showed either good or fair regeneration in all the five sites, whereas a majority (17 species) showed either poor or no regeneration. The dominant species were Quercus spp., Rhododendron arboreum, Myrica esculenta, and Lyonia ovalifolia. Sapling density ranged from 8.84 to 15.2 saplings/100 m2 and seedling density ranged from 11.36 to 18.74 seedlings/100 m2 in different study sites. Our study showed the regeneration status of lesser (auxiliary) species in the forests was low as compared to
The first author is thankful to the University Grants Commission New Delhi for providing fellowship, Research Fellowship in Science for Meritorious Students. The authors are also thankful to the local inhabiting population, the Forest department for their help during fieldwork, and to reviewers for their valuable suggestions and comments for improving the quality of the manuscript. Address correspondence to Nazir A. Pala, Department of Forestry, Dolphin (PG) Institute of Biomedical and Natural Sciences, Manduwala-24007 Dehradun, India. E-mail:
[email protected] 230
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dominant ones. Girth class distribution of individuals showed a reverse J-shaped curve for all the species at all the sites. KEYWORDS Garhwal Himalaya, regeneration, sacred forests, sapling, dominant
INTRODUCTION Biodiversity conservation is vital for all living organisms due to its social, economic, ecological, ethical, and global importance. The protection of nature for religious purposes is an ancient practice that has recently gained attention in conservation literature. History is replete with examples from Asia, Africa, and Europe (Beyond Belief, 2005). In India biodiversity outside the protected area system is rich because of the close relationship between religious, sociocultural beliefs, and conservation. These informal protected areas are important from a conservation point of view. Over the past few decades, the view that biodiversity-rich areas partially or largely managed by local residents, sometimes referred to as community-conserved areas (CCAs), can be effective in saving species from extinction has gained considerable ground (Kothari, 2006). A good example of such traditional practices is the conservation and protection of small forest patches by dedicating them to local deities by various indigenous communities of the world. Such forest patches are called “sacred groves” (Gadgil & Vartak, 1976; Khan, Khumbongmayum, & Tripathi, 2008). In fact, in the Himalayan context, the association of religion with ecosystem management is interwoven in the symbolic network of the Himalayan communities (Joshi, 1992; Negi, Maikhuri, Roa, & Nautiyal, 2001). Regeneration is a key process for the existence of species in the community. It is also a critical part of forest management, because regeneration maintains desired species composition and stocking after biotic and abiotic disturbances. The existence of a community largely depends on its regeneration under varied environmental conditions. The successful regeneration of a tree species depends on the ability of its seedlings and saplings to survive and grow (Good & Good, 1972). A population structure characterized by the presence of sufficient number of seedlings, saplings, and young trees implies satisfactory regeneration behavior, while inadequate number of seedlings and saplings of tree species in a forest indicates poor regeneration (Saxena & Singh, 1984). Importance is given to the number of saplings under adult trees for predicting future composition of a forest community. Various studies on regeneration of threatened and medicinal plants have been carried out in informally managed sacred groves (Boraiah, Vasudeva, Shonil, & Kushalapa, 2003). Despite global and national recognition of Garhwal Himalaya as a sacred land, no efforts have been made to investigate these sacred forests
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and recognize their importance at a large scale. The present study was therefore conducted in five sacred forests of Garhwal Himalaya to understand the status of regeneration and tree composition in them.
MATERIALS AND METHODS Study Area The Garhwal Himalayan region of Uttarakhand falls between the geocoordinates 29◦ 30 to 31◦ 30 N and 77◦ 30 to 80◦ 15 E. The rainfall pattern is governed by the summer monsoon. The year has a warm dry period, a warm wet period, and a cool dry period. The climatic conditions tend to become cold and harsh with increasing elevation. The annual rainfall varies between 1,300 to 2,500 mm and average annual temperature range is confined between 23◦ C at 300 m and 13◦ C at 2,000 m elevation. Snowfall occurs above 1,800 m. The area receives adequate rainfall generally commencing from mid-June and extending till mid-September but occasional rainfall is also recorded in winter months. The present investigation was carried out in five sacred and protected forests of Garhwal Himalaya during 2009–2011. All these selected sites have temperate forests as their dominant vegetation, and all had the status of either reserve forest, communal forest, Van Panchyat, or a combination of these. The details of the sites are given in Table 1.
Methodology Regeneration pattern of the study sites was studied to predict some of the future changes. To study the regeneration pattern, fifty 10 m × 10 m quadrats were laid down on the forest floor at each site. In each 10 m × 10 m quadrat, individuals having >31.5 cm CBH (circumference at breast height; i.e., 1.37 m above the ground) were considered trees and were counted individually and species-wise. Individuals having saplings > adults; 2. fair regeneration, if seedlings > or < saplings < adults; 3. poor regeneration, if the species survives only at sapling stage, but no seedlings (saplings may be >, 120 cm in Chanderbadni had 34 individuals—42 in Jameshwar, 19 in Ulkagari, 119 in Ansuiya Devi, and 39 in Maroor (Figure 2). Khumbongmayum et al., (2005) carried out a study on density-diameter distribution of woody species in four groves which showed highest stand density in the lowest girth class (30–60 cm) and the density decreased in the succeeding girth classes. Overall population structure of the groves based on the number of tree seedlings, saplings, and adults displayed a greater proportion of seedlings followed by saplings and adults. The present study showed reverse J-shaped densitydiameter curve for all study sites. The distribution of plants in different age groups (reverse J-shaped curve) suggests that the studied sacred and protected grove may be considered a climax or stable forest. Similar results
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No. of individuals
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Ansuiya
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Chanderbadni Jameshwar
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Maroor
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Ulkagari
600 400 200 0
CBH Class
FIGURE 2 Distribution of individuals in different girth classes in different study sites (CBH = circumference at breast height) (color figure available online).
have been reported by Cao, Zhang, Feng, Deng, and Deng (1996) for a rain forest in southwest China, and Jamir and Pandey (2002) for the sacred groves of Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya, India.
CONCLUSION The failure of these sacred and protected forests in terms of regeneration capacity of species is a cause of concern for the future of these forests. In spite of being important sources of livelihood, cultural heritage, and an ecosystem of essential importance, these forests may face threats in the near future. The management of these forests should be handed over to local communities to look after. Continuous regeneration failure of all the species cannot be the effect of climatic factors only. The growth of these forests will be a cumulative effect of both ecological factors as well as institutional ones.
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