Indian sacred groves: Floristic diversity, Ecology and conservation

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-45
Author(s):  
Saikat Manna ◽  
Anirban Roy
Keyword(s):  
Water Conservation ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Community Organization ◽  
Sacred Groves ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Forest Patches ◽  
Fragmented Forest ◽  
North East ◽  
History Of

Practice of conservation of biological diversity in India had been carried out since dates back and sacred groves, the socially protected forest patches, are such classic evidence. Since pre-Vedic period, India has its legacy of harbouring numerous sacred groves almost in every part ofthe country especially in the Western Ghats , and North-East Himalayan region. These small fragmented forest patches are well known especially for sustaining rich biological heritage, entailing ecological history of the region and being a local biodiversity hotspot through in-situ conservation of both floral and faunal components especially the rare and endemic ones. Sacred groves also represent ideal community organization for functioning of many ecological processes providing valuable ecosystem services like soil and water conservation, nutrient cycling and many more. Tn India, various systems of traditional conservation practices have been reported as the country is known for its socio-cultural diversity. In the past few decades, the existence of sacred groves is being challenged through serious lhrcals like cncroachment, loss of belief in taboos and many modern developmental practices. It is the need of hour to protect these ecological heritage by adopting integrated sustainable management practices through communlity involvement and convergence of various schemes of different sectors.

scholarly journals "Grass" By Any Other Name - Xeriscaping And Sustainability

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-22
Author(s):  
C. Kenneth Meyer ◽  
Richard B. Strong ◽  
Jeffrey A. Geerts ◽  
Doug Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Final Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Professional Literature ◽  
Southern Nevada ◽  
History Of

With water conservation and use policy considered to be among the greatest challenges facing contemporary society, this case takes on the enduring issues associated with water and how it impacts urban planning, land use, water conservation, economic development, and sustainability. Conflicted on the uses of natural and artificial turf, Jerard Leon, director of Blue Havens Planning Commission recommends that Joseph Teaberry, landscape architect, contact a premier program on xeriscape in the United States the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA). Teaberry prepares for an in-depth, structured interview with Doug Bennett, conservation manager of SNWA. He reviews the relevant academic and professional literature on the hydrologic cycle, and the economics and geological concerns that affect water use policy, including the meaning of Water quality, Watershed, and the sundry metrics used to assess water quality under the Clean Water Act, 1972. As the structured interview reveals, Teaberry learns about the history of water policy in the Colorado Basin, the multiple uses and costs associated with water consumption in the SNWA, and the conservation practices and water policy pricing policies and how they impact water utilization. In the final analysis, Teaberry discusses the various strategic management practices employed by SNWA and their attendant efficacies, successes/failures pertaining to water policy education, pricing, inducement, enforcement, and the future water policy concerns. The case has several take-away points associated with xeriscape policy, followed by six poignant questions that stimulate broad discussion on the general areas of water resource policy.

scholarly journals Predator coevolution and prey trait variability determine species coexistence

2019 ◽  
Vol 286 (1902) ◽  
pp. 20190245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Scheuerl ◽  
Johannes Cairns ◽  
Lutz Becks ◽  
Teppo Hiltunen
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Species Coexistence ◽  
Ecological Interactions ◽  
Trait Variation ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
History Of ◽  
Evolutionary Trajectories ◽  
Ecological Mechanisms

Predation is one of the key ecological mechanisms allowing species coexistence and influencing biological diversity. However, ecological processes are subject to contemporary evolutionary change, and the degree to which predation affects diversity ultimately depends on the interplay between evolution and ecology. Furthermore, ecological interactions that influence species coexistence can be altered by reciprocal coevolution especially in the case of antagonistic interactions such as predation or parasitism. Here we used an experimental evolution approach to test for the role of initial trait variation in the prey population and coevolutionary history of the predator in the ecological dynamics of a two-species bacterial community predated by a ciliate. We found that initial trait variation both at the bacterial and ciliate level enhanced species coexistence, and that subsequent trait evolutionary trajectories depended on the initial genetic diversity present in the population. Our findings provide further support to the notion that the ecology-centric view of diversity maintenance must be reinvestigated in light of recent findings in the field of eco-evolutionary dynamics.

scholarly journals Influence of Landscape Structure on Kangaroo Abundance in a Disturbed Semi-Arid Woodland of Queensland.

1999 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 104 ◽  
Author(s):  
CA Mcalpine ◽  
GC Grigg ◽  
JJ Mott ◽  
P Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Landscape Structure ◽  
Grazing Pressure ◽  
Limiting Factor ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Forest Patches ◽  
Fragmented Forest ◽  
Habitat Mosaic ◽  
Foraging Preferences ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
Semi Arid

This paper develops a hierarchical landscape approach for investigating how landscape structure influences the abundance of eastern grey kangaroos, red kangaroos and common wallaroos on properties in a partially cleared semi-arid woodland of Queensland. This approach is applied to examine the extent to which a mosaic of spatial factors at a hierarchy of scales influences kangaroo abundance at the property level. the level of management interest. The analysis concludes that the structure of the property habitat mosaic, coupled with pasture productivity, is the most important influence for each species. Access to water was not a limiting factor. although it may be important locally. Grey kangaroos prefer an even mosaic of all habitat types on properties with productive grass-dominated pastures. Red kangaroos are positively associated with run-on areas and large-shrub regrowth patches. reflecting their foraging preferences for forbs and short grasses and their ability to use more open habitats. Wallaroos have a clumped density distribution associated with a heterogeneous mosaic of open habitats interspersed with fragmented forest patches and small to medium-grained shrub-regrowth patches. The research. \+bile not replicated. identifies linkages between tree clearing practices at the property level and increased large kangaroo abundance in the region, These linkages have been previously overlooked in thc kangaroo Inanagement debare. Therefore. any tree clearing guidelines dt.\eloped at the propert) level need to be sensitive to key ecological processes influencing kangaroo populations at both the landscape and property levels. If not, the sustainable management of total grazing pressure (livestock plus kangaroos) and biodiversity conservation will never become a reality. Key words: kangaroos, landscape structure, landscape change, pattern, process, scale

Ras al Khaimah: further archaeological discoveries

Antiquity ◽  
1976 ◽  
Vol 50 (200) ◽  
pp. 216-222
Author(s):  
Beatrice De Cardi
Keyword(s):  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
The State ◽  
Focused Attention ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
History Of ◽  
The City

Ras a1 Khaimah is the most northerly of the seven states comprising the United Arab Emirates and its Ruler, H. H. Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammad al-Qasimi, is keenly interested in the history of the state and its people. Survey carried out there jointly with Dr D. B. Doe in 1968 had focused attention on the site of JuIfar which lies just north of the present town of Ras a1 Khaimah (de Cardi, 1971, 230-2). Julfar was in existence in Abbasid times and its importance as an entrep6t during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries-the Portuguese Period-is reflected by the quantity and variety of imported wares to be found among the ruins of the city. Most of the sites discovered during the survey dated from that period but a group of cairns near Ghalilah and some long gabled graves in the Shimal area to the north-east of the date-groves behind Ras a1 Khaimah (map, FIG. I) clearly represented a more distant past.

Adoption Decision and Sustainable Utilization of Soil Conservation Technologies: Empirical Evidence from North West Ethiopia

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 1853-1863
Author(s):  
Kassaye Gurebiyaw Legese ◽  
Taye Melese ◽  
Tadie Mire ◽  
Abebe Birara ◽  
Kefale Eniyew
Keyword(s):  
Water Conservation ◽  
Soil Conservation ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Severe Problem ◽  
North West ◽  
Household Heads ◽  
North Gondar Zone

Soil is a crucial and precious natural resource that govern numerous ecological processes. However, in Ethiopia particularly in north Gondar zone, soil erosion is a severe problem and a major cause of the decline of agricultural productivity. The adoption and diffusion of soil and water conservation practices (SWC), as a way to tackle this challenge, has become an important issue in the development policy agenda in the zone. Therefore, this study was to identify factors affecting Soil conservation investments in the North Gondar zone. Data was collected through interviewed schedule, filed observation and focus group discussion. The multistage sampling technique was employed to select 206 sample households.  Both descriptive and econometrics model was used to analyze the collected data. A multivariate profit (MPV) model was used to analyze the effect of demographic, socioeconomic, market, institutional and biophysical related factors on the interdependent investment decisions of SWC practices using household survey. The MPV model analysis indicates that farmers invest a combination of practices at parcel level by considering substitution and complementarity effects of the practices. The results also revealed that age of household heads, literacy status of household heads, off-farm activity, distance of farmlands from homesteads, tropical livestock unit, and access to training were influence farmers’ investments in SWC practices. The overall results indicate that the identified physical, socioeconomic, and institutional factors influence promote or hinder investments in SWC practice so, policymakers should take into consideration these various factors in designing and implementing SWC policies and Programmers.

The Subaltern Speak- A Study On The Culture Of The Arunachalis With Special Reference To Mamang Dai’s The Legends Of Pensam

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 14-20
Author(s):  
Ms. Cheryl Antonette Dumenil ◽  
Dr. Cheryl Davis
Keyword(s):  
Special Reference ◽  
Small World ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Arunachal Pradesh ◽  
North East India ◽  
North East ◽  
Shared History ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Insight Into

North- East India is an under veiled region with an awe-inspiring landscape, different groups of ethnic people, their culture and heritage. Contemporary writers from this region aspire towards a vision outside the tapered ethnic channel, and they represent a shared history. In their writings, the cultural memory is showcased, and the intensity of feeling overflows the labour of technique and craft. Mamang Dai presents a rare glimpse into the ecology, culture, life of the tribal people and history of the land of the dawn-lit mountains, Arunachal Pradesh, through her novel The Legends of Pensam. The word ‘Pensam’ in the title means ‘in-between’,  but it may also be interpreted as ‘the hidden spaces of the heart’. This is a small world where anything can happen. Being adherents of the animistic faith, the tribes here believe in co-existence with the natural world along with the presence of spirits in their forests and rivers. This paper attempts to draw an insight into the culture and gender of the Arunachalis with special reference to The Legends of Pensam by Mamang Dai.

La valorisation des prestations non-bois: particularités genevoises (essai) | Commercialization of non-wood forest services: the case of Geneva (essay)

2009 ◽  
Vol 160 (8) ◽  
pp. 232-234
Author(s):  
Patrik Fouvy
Keyword(s):  
Forest Regeneration ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
The State ◽  
Forest Land ◽  
Private Forests ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Body ◽  
Provision Of Services ◽  
History Of ◽  
Near Future

The history of the forests in canton Geneva, having led to these being disconnected from productive functions, provides a symptomatic demonstration that the services provided by the forest eco-system are common goods. Having no hope of financial returns in the near future and faced with increasing social demands, the state has invested in the purchase of forest land, financed projects for forest regeneration and improvement of biological diversity and developed infrastructures for visitors. In doing this the state as a public body takes on the provision of services in the public interest. But the further funding for this and for expenses for the private forests, which must be taken into account, are not secured for the future.

scholarly journals Current understanding on the Cambrian Explosion: questions and answers

PalZ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xingliang Zhang ◽  
Degan Shu
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Progressive Increase ◽  
Cambrian Explosion ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Early Cambrian ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Questions And Answers ◽  
Evolutionary Event ◽  
History Of

AbstractThe Cambrian Explosion by nature is a three-phased explosion of animal body plans alongside episodic biomineralization, pulsed change of generic diversity, body size variation, and progressive increase of ecosystem complexity. The Cambrian was a time of crown groups nested by numbers of stem groups with a high-rank taxonomy of Linnaean system (classes and above). Some stem groups temporarily succeeded while others were ephemeral and underrepresented by few taxa. The high number of stem groups in the early history of animals is a major reason for morphological gaps across phyla that we see today. Most phylum-level clades achieved their maximal disparity (or morphological breadth) during the time interval close to their first appearance in the fossil record during the early Cambrian, whereas others, principally arthropods and chordates, exhibit a progressive exploration of morphospace in subsequent Phanerozoic. The overall envelope of metazoan morphospace occupation was already broad in the early Cambrian though it did not reach maximal disparity nor has diminished significantly as a consequence of extinction since the Cambrian. Intrinsic and extrinsic causes were extensively discussed but they are merely prerequisites for the Cambrian Explosion. Without the molecular evolution, there could be no Cambrian Explosion. However, the developmental system is alone insufficient to explain Cambrian Explosion. Time-equivalent environmental changes were often considered as extrinsic causes, but the time coincidence is also insufficient to establish causality. Like any other evolutionary event, it is the ecology that make the Cambrian Explosion possible though ecological processes failed to cause a burst of new body plans in the subsequent evolutionary radiations. The Cambrian Explosion is a polythetic event in natural history and manifested in many aspects. No simple, single cause can explain the entire phenomenon.

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