Usage of Man-Made Underpass by Wildlife: A Case Study of Narayanghat-Muglin Road Section

Natural areas are increasingly fragmented and degraded globally due to increasing anthropogenic pressure. Linear infrastructures such as roads, railways, canals, and transmission lines are major causes for such fragmentation resulting in population isolation, habitat connectivity loss, and gene pool shrinkage. Various mitigation measures are adopted to minimize such effects. The first such mitigation measure (an underpass) has been constructed along the Narayanghat – Ramnagar, and Ramnagar – Jugedi section of the Narayanghat-Muglinroad (section connecting two national highways; Prithvi and Mahendra highway). The effectiveness of these underpasses was assessed using a camera trap picture of wildlife movement during March and April 2019. Key informant interviews (n=14) were also carried out to understand the abundance of recorded species in the local forest. With 37 trap nights of sampling effort, seven mammalian species were recorded and among them, wild boar was found with the highest independent images (35). A total of 31 independent images (70.4 %) captured during the night hours showed that manmade underpasses were used more during the night. Confirmation of usages of these underpasses supports the study to indicate the necessities of underpasses while constructing roads that pass and traverse the wildlife habitat.

Assessment of Productivity and Profitability through Scientific Forest Management in Sal (Shorea robusta) Forest of Nepal: A Case Study from Patela Community Forest, Kailali District, Nepal

Scientific forest management (SciFM) ensures improved productivity and healthy forests that are crucial for the economic development and prosperity of forest-dependent country like Nepal. This study analyzes the effects of the silvicultural intervention on the regeneration of Sal (Shorea robusta), plant species diversity, and income through the flow of forest products in the Patela Community Forest in Kailali District of Nepal, where Sal (S. robusta) forest has been managed under an Irregular Shelterwood System with 80 years of the rotation period since fiscal year 2017/18. The vegetation sampling was done by the quadrat method based on the principle of stratified random sampling from the managed and unmanaged parts of the forest. The climate based site productivity was analyzed. The profitability of scientific forest management was analyzed by income and cost incurred in managing the forest. The study revealed the promising regeneration of S. robusta in the managed areas compared to the unmanaged area. The silvicultural intervention had a significant negative effect on plant diversity showing an increase in the concentration of dominance of S. robusta. An implementation of SciFM plan generated a total net benefit of 187,000 US$ in the last 2017/18, and 2018/19 fiscal years. This study recommends existing natural forests to be managed based on sound silvicultural principles to improve the degrading nature of the productive forest that can generate revenue for the country and opportunity for community development.

Breeding seasonality of Chital (Axis axis) in the Hetauda Valley of Nepal

Breeding seasonality of Axis axis differs from place to place mainly due to the difference in vegetation and climate. In Nepal, although Chital is found all over the lower Terai region, studies on breeding seasonality are limited. In this study, we observed the annual cycle of antler renewal and casting, monthly changes in frequency of bellowing call and ratio of new born fawn to adult and sub-adult females from October 2016 to March 2019. Seasonal peak of proportion of hard-antlered males was found in June and seasonal peak of bellowing call frequency was found in May. Seasonal peak of fawning occurred in December, January and February, at the beginning of dry season before monsoon, probably to coincide with the energy demanding late lactation season with excessive food available in rainy season. From antler cycle, bellowing call frequency and fawning frequency data, peak breeding season was identified as May-June. This information can be crucial in nutritional management, herd composition, and translocation period determination for in-situ and ex-situ species management programs.

Wildfire Risk Zonation of Sudurpaschim Province, Nepal

Wildfire is one of the major destructive hazards which have significant effect on environment, society, and economy. However, limited studies have been carried out on spatial and temporal distribution of wildfire, especially in developing countries like Nepal. The objective of this study was to assess wildfire risk zonation of Sudurpaschim province of Nepal by applying Remote Sensing and GIS. Sudurpaschim province has been divided into four fire risk zones i.e., high, moderate, low and no risk zone. In Sudurpaschim province, about 30.84% area falls under high fire risk zone followed by moderate risk (58.30%), low risk (10.13%) and no risk (0.72%). Among five physiographic regions, Siwalik region is more susceptible to fire due to various factors, such as deciduous forest, topography, terrain, etc. From 2012 to 2019, about 44,342 fire incidences were reported in this province. Approximately 88% wildfire was recorded in spring, the season being dry. Overall, geographically Siwalik region and temporarily spring season should be in high priority for developing and implementing wildfire management activities in Sudurpaschim province.

Status, Importance and Major Issues in Water Source in Watershed of Chitwan, Nepal

Khageri Khola sub-watershed of the Chitwan district is stressed by climate change and is facing changes in its water source. The main objective of this study was to assess the status of water sources, their importance, water source issues, and distribution of water sources as well as to suggest appropriate conservation and management measures. Various participatory tools such as household interviews, focus group discussions and stakeholder’s consultations were used. In total, 56 water sources were identified in eight micro-watersheds in Khageri Khola sub-watershed. The overall water sources were found decreasing with moderate (43%) to insufficient (32%) amount of water available for drinking. People meet their current water demand through tap water (43%) and tube wells/wells (38%). Conservation and management measures such as tree plantation, solar planning (solar power for water pumping system) for wildlife, construction of water tanks and bamboo plantation have been adopted. Hence, upstream soil erosion should be reduced to save downstream sources from flash floods by emphasizing land use planning. Regular observation, capital funding for water sources and catchment conservation and awareness programs are further required to minimize the possible risks on water sources.

An Assessment of Forest Structure, Regeneration Status and the Impact of Human Disturbance in Panchase Protected Forest, Nepal

Vegetation study is crucial for the biophysical environment and ecosystem balance. Both qualitative and quantitative assessments of the vegetation can give complete picture of the forest ecosystem. In this study, quantitative characteristics of Panchase Protected Forest in Kaski district were analyzed. The study was focused on the structural characteristics of forest stand, its regeneration pattern along altitudinal gradients, and human impacts on vegetation structure. Density, basal area, frequency, and Importance Value Index (IVI) were used to assess the structural characteristics of forest; Density-Diameter (DD) curve and seedling/sapling/tree density relation were used to assess the regeneration status. Counting the number of lopping and cut stumps and quantifying fuelwood consumption pattern of the village were used to assess human disturbance. The vegetation survey showed 21, 17 and 14 species of trees, saplings, and seedlings, respectively. Daphniphyllum himalense was the most dominant species followed by Quercus lamellosa. DD curve showed reverse J-shaped structure indicating sustainable regeneration. Daphniphyllum himalense and Alnus nepalensis were major species of trees consumed as fuelwood and average annual fuelwood consumption was 2083.79 tons. Density of lopped trees and cut stump was in decreasing trend along with elevation. Species richness was higher in moderately disturbed sites. This study has significant implications for protected forest management and biodiversity conservation in Nepal.

Growing Season Vegetation Dynamics Based on NDVI and the Driving Forces in Nepal during 1982-2015

Monitoring and attributing growing season vegetation dynamics have become crucial for maintaining the structure and function of the ecosystem. The objective of this research was to examine the spatial and temporal vegetation changes and explore their driving forces during growing season in Nepal. It also explored the variation of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) in different altitudes at each 100m interval. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) NDVI, monthly temperature, precipitation and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) 90m Digital Elevation Model (DEM) were used. The linear regression model, Sen’s slope, Mann Kendall test and Pearson correlation between NDVI and climate, i.e., temperature and precipitation were computed. The driving forces were identified based on threshold segmentation method. Our results showed positive intensity of vegetation change. The NDVI has significantly increased at the rate of 0.001yr-1, 0.0005yr-1 and 0.002yr-1 in growing season, spring and autumn but it has insignificantly increased at the rate of 0.0003yr-1 in summer. In the meantime, growing season temperature has significantly increased with an average warming trend of 0.03&deg;Cyr-1 but precipitation decreased at the rate of 2.76 mm yr-1 during 1982-2015. The NDVI increased in 84.20% (53.08% significant) of the area. The correlation between NDVI and temperature was found positive whereas correlation with precipitation was negative. Spatially, 84.05% of the study area found positive correlation between NDVI and temperature with 25.72% significance (p<0.05) which was very less with precipitation. Our results demonstrate that NDVI was strongly correlated with temperature compared with precipitation. Beyond the climate, NDVI changes were also attributed to multi-control environments and ecological restoration in Nepal.

Soil Erosion Estimation Using RUSLE Modeling and Geospatial Tool: Case Study of Kathmandu District, Nepal

Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model is applied in this study to evaluate the risk of erosion in Kathmandu district. The calculation of erosion requires certain data from various sources available in different formats and scales. Geographic Information System (GIS) was used which allowed considerable time savings in the processing of spatial data, screening the effects of each factor affecting soil erosion. Among various erosion factors, topography, rainfall, soil properties, and soil conservation practices were used for the study. Average soil loss was calculated by multiplying these factors. Final results of soil erosion rates were separated into six classes based on erosion severity, in which 2.18% of land (> 80Mg ha-1yr-1), followed by 2.85% of land (40-80 Mg ha-1yr-1), 5.56% of land (20-40 Mg ha-1yr-1), 8.73% of land (10-20 Mg ha-1yr-1), 10.53% of land (5-10 Mg ha-1yr-1) and 70.14% of land (0-5 Mg ha-1yr-1), falls under very severe, severe, very high, moderate and low severity zone respectively. Area having high slope length (LS) factor has high erosion rate. In Dakshinkali, Nagarjun and Budanilkantha area, there is high erosion rate. From the result, spatial distribution of soil erosion across Kathmandu district, can be applied for management and controlling the erosion.

Avifaunal Diversity of Institute of Forestry Complex, Hetauda Metropolis, Nepal

Avifaunal diversity is the measure of species diversity via species richness and evenness. To this aim, avifaunal survey was conducted in the Institute of Forestry Complex, Hetauda from November 2017 to June 2018. Using line transect and point count methods, 132 species of birds were recorded, representing 15 orders and 44 families. Three species of these birds are in IUCN Red List while 90, 27 and 15 species are residential, visitor and migrant respectively. Higher Shannon diversity index (4.47) and Margalef index (18.78) indicate marked diversity and richness of bird species. A high value calculated for the Simpson index (0.98) represents higher evenness within the species individuals. Although, Pielou’s evenness index (0.92) shows uniformity in the species distribution, Shannon index seems to be influenced by diversity index, species richness and evenness values. The avifaunal diversity in the study area shows the importance of the Institute of Forestry Complex as a suitable bird habitat.

An Assessment of Forest Product Harvesting in Community Forests: A Case from Community Forest of Mid-hills, Nepal

Proper harvesting of forest products is crucial for sustainable management but due to low level of skill in and awareness of harvesting, forest is deteriorating and harvesting forest products is wasteful. As harvesting is one of the important factors in minimizing waste and damage and achieving forest sustainability, this study was essential. This case from community forest (CF) of mid-hills region demonstrated the status of existing harvesting practices, tools and techniques used and recommended appropriate mechanism for improving such practices. Semi-structured questionnaire survey was performed with 40% of the total households, five key informant interviews and field observations during the harvesting process at the study site for gathering data. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and presented in charts and tables. The study revealed the use of traditional harvesting methods and conventional tools like sickle, bill-hook, and axe but limited use of modern tools. Deviation from the operation plan during block selection and harvesting of trees were observed. Appropriate tools and training to users along with regular monitoring by forest officials are needed. This study will help policy makers, planners and forest officials to make necessary provisions for improving harvesting practice in community forests of Nepal.