Fuelwood resources and their use pattern by Bhotia community in Niti valley, Western Himalaya

The local communities of the Himalaya have been using fuel wood as one of the major sources of energy since millennia. Their dependency on these resources as primary source of fuel wood has resulted in unsustainable pressures on the forests. The present communication aims to access the fuel wood resource and consumption pattern of Bhotia, an ethnic community in a cold arid and buffer zone of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, i.e. Niti valley in the Western Himalaya. Within the Niti valley, 87 households in six villages were surveyed using open and close-ended structured questionnaire. Use Index (I%) of each fuel wood species was calculated to evaluate the key species used by the inhabitants and their preferences. The study revealed use of 10 species for fuel wood (five species each of tree and shrub) by the Bhotias. Pinus wallichiana (I = 96.6%) followed by Cedrus deodara (93.1%) were the preferred tree species for fuel wood, while among shrubs, Juniperus indica and J. communis were extensively used. Fuel wood consumption in the Niti valley was much lower (1.6±0.2 kg household-1 day-1) than other villages in the Greater Himalaya (4.9±0.4 kg household-1 day-1). The seasonally employed which formed 23% of the surveyed households, collected almost twice as much fuel wood than the employed households (9.2±0.4 and 5.2±0.4 quintals season-1, respectively). As the area is characterized by sparse vegetation cover, low primary productivity and short growing season, and is thus highly susceptible to irreversible changes of natural habitats. The study suggests that providing alternate and non-conventional energy sources such as solar cookers and fuel efficient portable ovens to the inhabitants at subsidized rates could reduce the pressure on nearby forests. Botanica Orientalis – Journal of Plant Science (2017) 11: 1–6

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Flora of Niti Valley: a cold arid region of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, Western Himalaya, India

Check List ◽

10.15560/12.1.1824 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 1824 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Amit Kumar ◽

Monideepa Mitra ◽

Bhupendra S. Adhikari ◽

Gopal S. Rawat

Keyword(s):

Arid Region ◽

Vascular Plants ◽

Biosphere Reserve ◽

Western Himalaya ◽

Buffer Zone ◽

Present Survey ◽

Floral Diversity ◽

Current Survey ◽

Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve ◽

Systematic Collection

Located in the extended buffer zone of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve in Western Himalaya, Niti valley represents a cold arid region. The reserve has been extensively surveyed in terms of floral diversity by various workers, albeit highly confined to the core zones. The current survey recorded 495 species belonging to 267 genera and 73 families of vascular plants through systematic collection in the years 2011, 2012 and 2014. Of the recorded species, 383 were dicots, 93 monocots, 9 pteridophytes and 10 gymnosperms. Asteraceae was most diverse family (32 genera with 58 species), followed by Poaceae (22 genera with 41 species), Lamiaceae (15 genera with 19 species) Fabaceae (14 genera with 22 species), Brassicaceae (12 genera with 12 species) and Rosaceae (11 genera with 36 species). The present survey also updates the existing flora of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve (801 species) with addition of 167 species. This study reveals that the Niti valley forms a transition zone, as the floral elements have affinity with Trans as well as Greater Himalaya.

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Fuel wood consumption pattern of tribal communities in cold desert of the Lahaul valley, North-Western Himalaya, India

Biomass and Bioenergy ◽

10.1016/j.biombioe.2009.07.019 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 33 (11) ◽

pp. 1547-1557 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Yashwant S. Rawat ◽

Subhash C.R. Vishvakarma ◽

N.P. Todaria

Keyword(s):

Western Himalaya ◽

Consumption Pattern ◽

Fuel Wood ◽

Cold Desert ◽

Tribal Communities ◽

Wood Consumption ◽

North Western

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Energy consumption pattern and renewable energy alternatives in Madi Kalyanpur, Chitwan, Nepal

Nepal Journal of Environmental Science ◽

10.3126/njes.v4i0.22724 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

pp. 47-52

Author(s):

Sumitra Poudel ◽

Narayan Prassad Chaulagain ◽

Manoj Aryal

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Greenhouse Gases ◽

Alternative Energy ◽

Greenhouse Gas Emission ◽

Economic Benefits ◽

Consumption Pattern ◽

Liquefied Petroleum Gas ◽

Fuel Wood ◽

Co2 Equivalent ◽

Energy Consumption Pattern

Energy consumption pattern and greenhouse gases emission are interrelated. The unsustainable use of biomass and widespread use of commercial energy are of the major sources of greenhouse gas emission. The alternative to kerosene for lighting is solar home system (SHS), which is one of the potential renewable technologies for rural electrification. The present study has analyzed household energy consumption pattern and greenhouse gases emission from energy consumption practices as well as environmental and economic benefits of SHS in Madi Kalyanpur Village Development Committee of Chitwan district. For the purpose, the primary data were collected through household questionnaire survey, key informant interview (KII) and focus group discussion (FGD). The analysis has shown that 22% of household use all types of energy, i.e. fuel-wood, LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), biogas and SHS as the sources of energy. Thirty-five percent households use fuel-wood, LPG and SHS, 24% use fuel-wood, biogas and SHS, 1% used LPG and SHS, 5% use biogas and SHS, 4% use LPG, biogas and SHS and 9% use fuel-wood and SHS as a source of energy. Almost all people have been using SHS for the lighting purpose. The average annual greenhouse gases emission per household from fuel-wood and liquefied petroleum gas consumption was 7.89 ton and 0.17 ton of CO2 equivalent respectively. Typically, a 40 Wp SHS reduced the consumption of kerosene by 42 liter annually for lighting that displaced 0.11 ton of CO2 equivalent per household per year. The simple payback period for typically 40 Wp SHS was found to be nine years with no subsidy, seven years with subsidy from Alternative Energy Promotion Centre and two years with Indian Government Grant. Similarly, the benefit-cost ratios were found to be 3.1, 3.5 and 4.6 for the systems with no subsidy, with AEPC subsidy and with Indian Grant, respectively.

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Doryfera johannae (Bourcier, 1847) (Aves: Apodiformes: Trochilidae): new locality, range extension and notes on distribution

Check List ◽

10.15560/11.5.1749 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 11 (5) ◽

pp. 1749 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Alice Gabrielle Elizabeth Brown ◽

Andrew William Whitworth ◽

Alex Fowler ◽

Marcus Brent-Smith ◽

Oliver Burdekin

Keyword(s):

Biosphere Reserve ◽

Buffer Zone ◽

Range Extension ◽

Distribution Map ◽

Madre De Dios ◽

New Distribution ◽

Manu Biosphere Reserve

We present a new distribution map, including new locality records for the Blue-fronted Lancebill (Doryfera johannae) from southeast Peru. One of these records is the first physical capture record for the Madre de Dios region and supposes a range extension of ca. 470 km to the southeast. We provide notes related to the environment in which this individual was found, along with photos of the captured female from the Manu Learning Centre in the buffer zone of Manu Biosphere Reserve.

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Complementary and protection value of a Biosphere Reserve buffer zone for increasing local representativeness of ground-living arthropods

Biological Conservation ◽

10.1016/j.biocon.2019.108292 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 239 ◽

pp. 108292 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

J. van Schalkwyk ◽

J.S. Pryke ◽

M.J. Samways ◽

R. Gaigher

Keyword(s):

Biosphere Reserve ◽

Buffer Zone

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Environmental filtering and spillover explain multi-species edge responses across agricultural boundaries in a biosphere reserve

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-71724-1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

J. van Schalkwyk ◽

J. S. Pryke ◽

M. J. Samways ◽

R. Gaigher

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Species Composition ◽

Habitat Quality ◽

Environmental Variables ◽

Natural Habitat ◽

Environmental Filtering ◽

Biosphere Reserve ◽

Natural Habitats ◽

Habitat Specificity ◽

Induced Changes

Abstract To ensure integrity of protected areas we need to understand how species respond to anthropogenic borders. We investigate, from a metacommunity perspective, the direct and indirect mechanisms by which transformed areas affect distribution patterns of ground-living arthropod assemblages inhabiting an extensive protected area adjacent to fruit orchards in an important biosphere reserve. Arthropods and environmental variables were sampled along transects perpendicular to natural-orchard edges. Influence of distance from orchard boundary, degree of impermeability of the boundary, orchard habitat quality (local scale land-use intensity), and edge-induced changes in local environmental variables on arthropod species richness and composition in non-crop habitats were assessed. Arthropod groups were assessed in terms of habitat fidelity: species associated with natural habitat (stenotopic species), those within crop habitat (cultural species), and those showing no preference for either habitat (ubiquitous species). Spillover resulted in higher cultural species richness near edges, but not higher overall species richness. Environmental filtering was important for stenotopic species composition, which was influenced by edge-induced changes in environmental variables. Ubiquitous species composition was determined by orchard impermeability. Increased orchard habitat quality was associated with higher cultural and ubiquitous species richness. The effects of orchards on assemblages in natural habitats can be variable, but predictable when using species habitat specificity in conjunction with a metacommunity framework. High intensity orchards may act as sink habitats, especially for species that readily disperse between crop and natural habitats. Here we recommend that local buffer strips are > 85 m wide, which will reduce the influence of cultural species spillover on sensitive natural ecosystems.

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