Status Survey of the Malabar Pied Hornbill in the Dandeli Region, Northern Western Ghats, India

The Malabar Pied Hornbill, Anthracoceros coronatus, is a near threatened species, endemic to the tropical deciduous forests of central and southern India and Sri Lanka. The Dandeli region in Karnataka (India) is believed to be the last stronghold of this species in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot. Being a rapidly developing area with a growing human population, the threats to this species and their habitat are mounting, especially due to a large number of hydroelectric projects and habitat fragmentation caused by paper and plywood industries. This study evaluated the change in population status of the Malabar Pied Hornbill over a 23 year period and defined priorities for the long term conservation and monitoring of hornbills in Dandeli. Encounter rates of hornbills were also analysed in relation to the density and species richness of trees and fruiting trees, basal area, canopy cover and distance from river. Hornbill encounters were not significantly different compared to the earlier study carried out by Reddy in 1988, but were significantly different across the five sites in the current study. Higher numbers of hornbills were encountered closer to the river, but these results were only marginally significant. The mean numbers of hornbills recorded at the two roost sites identified in Dandeli were 26 +/- 4.47 (n=16 counts) and 31.78 +/- 3.53 (n=14 counts) respectively. The study also helped build local awareness about the species, train local Forest Department staff in monitoring hornbills and develop a management plan for its conservation.

Anti-malarial herbal remedies of northeast India, Assam: An ethnobotanical survey

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Malaria is a serious public health problem in the north-eastern region of India including Assam, in view of development of chloroquine resistant Plasmodium falciparum. There is need for alternative and affordable therapy. Aim of the study: This study was conducted to document indigenous knowledge, usage customs and practices of medicinal plant species traditionally used by the residents of Sonitpur district of Tezpur, Assam to treat malaria and its associated symptoms. Materials and methods:A total of 50 randomly selected sampling represented by male (38.76%) and female respondents (12.24%) were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. Results: The present ethno-botanical survey revealed 22 species of plants belonging to 17 botanical families were reported to be used exclusively in this region for the treatment of malaria. Verbenaceae (three species), Menispermaceae (two species), and Acanthaceae (two species) botanical families represented the species that are most commonly cited in this survey work and the detailed use of plants has been collected and described. Conclusions: The most serious threat to the existing knowledge and practice on traditional medicinal plants included cultural change, particularly the influence of modernization and lack of interests shown by the next younger generations were the main problems reported by the informants during the field survey. Hence, the proper documentation of traditional medicinal plants being used as anti-malarial agents and related indigenous knowledge held by the tribal community is an important approach to control the spread of vector-borne diseases like malaria reported in this survey work. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Potential and economics of forestry options for carbon sequestration in India

There is a need to understand the carbon (C) sequestration potential of the forestry option and its financial implications for each country.In India the C emissions from deforestation are estimated to be nearly offset by C sequestration in forests under succession and tree plantations. India has nearly succeeded in stabilizing the area under forests and has adequate forest conservation strategies. Biomass demands for softwood, hardwood and firewood are estimated to double or treble by the year 2020. A set of forestry options were developed to meet the projected biomass needs, and keeping in mind the features of land categories available, three scenarios were developed: potential; demand-driven; and programme-driven scenarios. Adoption of the demand-driven scenario, targeted at meeting the projected biomass needs, is estimated to sequester 78 Mt of C annually after accounting for all emissions resulting from clearfelling and end use of biomass. The demand-driven scenario is estimated to offset 50% of national C emission at 1990 level. The cost per t of C sequestered for forestry options is lower than the energy options considered. The annual investment required for implementing the demand-driven scenario is estimated to be US$ 2.1 billion for six years and is shown to be feasible. Among forestry options, the ranking based on investment cost per t of C sequestered from least cost to highest cost is; natural regeneration-agro-forestry-enhanced natural regeneration (< US$ 2.5/t C)-timber-community-softwood forestry (US$ 3.3 to 7.3 per t of C).

The foraging ecology of dhole (Cuon alpinus) in Mudumalai Sanctuary, southern India

Two dhole (Cuon alpinus) packs were monitored in Mudumalai Sanctuary, southern India, during 1989-93 to look at population dynamics, movement pattern, and foraging strategy and their inter-relationship with the maintenance of social groups. Pack size fluctuated substantially (4-18 and 4-25 in the two packs) owing to dispersal and demographic factors such as females not breeding in a given year. Both packs killed a much higher proportion of chital (Axis axis) and sambar (Cervus unicolor) fawns (< one year old) than their availability in the population. There was no correlation between pack size and body weight of prey killed, while per capita consumption of meat declined with increasing pack size. Home-range area (83.3 km(2) and 54.2 km(2) for the two packs) was not correlated with pack size. Pack movement from one resource patch (consisting of resting sites and aggregations of prey species) to another was not random or based on factors such as inter-patch distance or relative prey densities. There was no difference in mean residence time of the pack across the four resource patches; the pack moved across these in a sequential manner in one direction. We conclude that dholes live in groups not because of any advantages accruing from enhanced group sizes through increased per capita yield of food, but as a consequence of the dispersion of resources.

New records from India and redescripton of Corynascus thermophilus and its anamorph Myceliophthora fergusii

Studies of Indian thermophilic fungi have yielded several isolations of Myceliophthora fergusii, anamorph of the heterothallic ascomycete Corynascus thermophilus (Thielaviaceae). Identification was confirmed by matings. Chrysosporium fermentotritici is a synonym of M. fergusii.

Progress of instrumentation during past fifty years in India

During the past fifty years, India has progressed well in many branches of science and technology. Underlying developments in instrumentation and measurement systems have played a major role in this progress. The instrumentation industry has also established itself in the country and indigenously developed instruments are easily available now in most of the areas. The education and training programmes and career paths for young scientists and engineers in the field of instrumentation are also discussed.

Recovery of tropical rainforest avifauna in relation to vegetation succession following shifting cultivation in Mizoram, north-east India

1. Recovery of rainforest bird community structure and composition, in relation to forest succession after slash-and-burn shifting cultivation or jhum was studied in Mizoram, north-east India. Replicate fallow sites abandoned after shifting cultivation 1, 5, 10, 25 and approximate to 100 years ago, were compared with primary evergreen and semi-evergreen forest using transect and quadrat sampling. 2. Vegetation variables such as woody plant species richness, tree density and vertical stratification increased with fallow age in a rapid. nun-linear, asymptotic manner. Principal components analysis of vegetation variables summarized 92.8% of the variation into two axes: PC1 reflecting forest development and woody plant succession (variables such as tree density, woody plant species richness), and PC2 depicting bamboo density, which increased from 1 to 25 years and declined thereafter. 3. Bird species richness, abundance and diversity, increased rapidly and asymptotically during succession paralleling vegetation recovery as shown by positive correlations with fallow age and PC1 scores of sites. Bamboo density reflected by PC2 had a negative effect on bird species richness and abundance. 4. The bird community similarity (Morisita index) of sites with primary forest also increased asymptotically with fallow age indicating sequential species turnover during succession. Bird community similarity of sites with primary forest (or between sites) was positively correlated with both physiognomic and floristic similarities with primary forest (or between sites). 5. The number of bird species in guilds associated with forest development and woody plants (canopy insectivores, frugivores: bark feeders) was correlated with PCI scores of the sites. Species in other guilds (e. g. granivores, understorey insectivores) appeared to dominate during early and mid-succession. 6. The non-linear relationships imply that fallow periods less than a threshold of 25 years for birds, and about 50-75 years for woody plants, are likely to cause substantial community alteration. 7. As 5-10-year rotation periods or jhum cycles prevail in many parts of north-east India. there is a need to protect and conserve tracts of late-successional and primary forest.

An ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants in the Eastern Himalayan zone of Arunachal Pradesh, India

Aim of the study: The medicinal plants are integral source of easily available remedy used in rural healthcare system. This study was conducted among three major ethnic groups namely the Nocte, the Nyishi and the Adi in the Eastern Himalayan region of Arunachal Pradesh to evaluate their comparative knowledge on medicinal plants. Materials and methods: The three remote districts of Arunachal Pradesh namely the Tirap, the Dibang Valley and the Papum Pare were surveyed through interviewing of randomly selected 237 participants using semi-structured questionnaire and regular field visits to selected districts. Results: We recorded the traditional use of 74 medicinal plants species belonging to 41 taxonomic plant families used for treating a total of 25 different diseases/ailments. The informant consensus factor (ICF) values demonstrated that local people tend to agree more with each other in terms of the plants used to treat malaria (0.71), jaundice (0.62), urological problems (0.56), dermatological disorders (0.45), pain (0.30), and respiratory disorder (0.33), and while the general health (0.15) and gastro-intestinal disorders category (0.28) were found low ICF values. Conclusion: Of the total 74 species recorded, the highest number of medicinal plants (36 species) was reported from the Adi of Lower Dibang Valley followed by the Nocte of the Tirap (25 species) and the Nyishi ethnic groups of Papum Pare districts (13 species). In the present study, we found that the men, elder people and illiterate ones had better knowledge on medicinal plants as compared to women, younger and literate people. Findings of this documentation study can be used as an ethnopharmacological basis for selecting plants for future phytochemical and pharmaceutical studies. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Locating and sizing plants for bottling propane in south India

Shri Shakti LPG Ltd. (SSLPG) imports and markets propane (referred to as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in India) in south India. It sells LPG in packed (cylinder) form to domestic customers and commercial establishments through a network of dealers. Dealers replenish their stocks of filled cylinders from bottling plants, which in turn receive LPG in bulk from the cheaper of SSLPG's two import-and-storage facilities that are located on the Indian coast. We implemented integer programming to help SSLPG decide on the locations and long-run sizes of its bottling plants. We estimate that our recommended configuration of bottling plants is about $1 million cheaper annually than the one that SSLPG had initially planned.

Macro-economic analysis of forestry options on carbon sequestration in India

The forestry sector provides a number of climate change mitigation options. Apart from this ecological benefit, it has significant social and economic relevance. Implementation of forestry options requires large investments and sustained long-term planning. Thus there is a need for a detailed analysis of forestry options to understand their implications on stock and flow of carbon, required investments, value of forest wealth, contribution to GNP and livelihood, demand management, employment and foreign trade. There is a need to evaluate the additional spending on forestry by analysing the environmental (particularly carbon abatement), social and economic benefits. The biomass needs for India are expected to increase by two to three times by 2020. Depending upon the forest types, ownership patterns and land use patterns, feasible forestry options are identified. It is found among many supply options to be feasible to meet the 'demand based needs' with a mix of management options, species choices and organisational set up. A comparative static framework is used to analyze the macro-economic impacts. Forestry accounts for 1.84% of GNP in India. It is characterized by significant forward industrial linkages and least backward linkage. Forestry generates about 36 million person years of employment annually. India imports Rs. 15 billion worth of forest based materials annually. Implementation of the demand based forestry options can lead to a number of ecological, economic and institutional changes. The notable ones are: enhancement of C stock from 9578 to 17 094 Mt and a net annual C-sequestration from 73 to 149 Mt after accounting for all emissions; a trebling of the output of forestry sector from Rs. 49 billion to Rs. 146 billion annually; an increase in GDP contribution of forestry from Rs. 32 billion to Rs. 105 billion over a period of 35 years; an increase in annual employment level by 23 million person years, emergence of forestry as a net contributor of foreign exchange through trading of forestry products; and an increase in economic value of forest capital stock by Rs. 7260 billion with a cost benefit analysis showing forestry as a profitable option. Implementation of forestry options calls for an understanding of current forest policies and barriers which are analyzed and a number of policy options are suggested. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.

Management of the rhesus monkey Macaca mulatta and hanuman langur Presbytis entellus in Himachal Pradesh, India

The rhesus monkey Macaca mulatta and Hanuman langur Presbytis entellus are distributed all over the State of Himachal Pradesh, India. Although both species inhabit forested areas, only rhesus monkeys seem also to have become urbanized. There are about 200,000 rhesus monkeys and 120,000 Hanuman langurs. A three-year survey at Shimla showed an increasing trend in their populations. Potential threats to survival of these primates differ in the 12 districts. The two species differ in feeding and habitat preferences. People's feelings, perceptions and attitudes reward them point to an incipient man-monkey conflict and erosion of conservation ethics. A comprehensive management plan for these primates should be formulated, and involve local people. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Limited

Potential herblayer production and grazing effects in anthropogenic savanna-grasslands in the moist tropical forests of the Western Ghats of India

The moist tropical forests of the Western Ghats of India are pockmarked with savanna-grasslands created and managed by local agricultural communities. A sample of such savanna-grasslands with differing growing conditions was studied in terms of peak above-ground biomass, monthly growth, and cumulative production under different clipping treatments. The herblayer was found to be dominated by perennial C4 grasses, with Eulalia trispicata, Arundinella metzii and Themeda triandra being common to all sites. Peak biomass ranged between 3.3-5.9 t/ha at sites most favourable for grass production. Across these sites, peak biomass was found to be inversely related to the number of rainy days during the growing season, suggesting that growth may be light-limited. This hypothesis is supported by the observation that growth is most rapid immediately after the easing of the monsoon. Single clips early in the growing season had no negative or a slightly positive effect on production, but mid-season single clips or continuous frequent clipping reduced production by as much as 40%. The results suggest that, while indiscriminate grazing may certainly be deleterious, it is possible to obtain sustained high yields from forest lands managed for grass production without totally excluding grazing.