In Nepal, there had been an attempt to shift forest management practices (from conservation-orien... more In Nepal, there had been an attempt to shift forest management practices (from conservation-oriented to productive forest) via Scientific Forest Management (SciFM) approach; applying an irregular shelterwood system. However, SciFM faced conflicting arguments regarding logging, regeneration capacity, and species diversity. Thus, this study investigated the effects of irregular shelterwood system-based scientific forest management on tree species distribution, diversity, and the regeneration of a Shorea robusta dominated forest in the Kailali district, Nepal. The quadrat method based on simple random sampling was used for vegetation sampling with a total of 20 quadrats for unmanaged blocks and ten quadrats for managed blocks. In each quadrat, the diameter at breast height (DBH) and height of the trees and saplings were measured, while the number of seedlings was counted. Importance Value Index, Diversity indices, Jaccard’s Index, and total regeneration were calculated to compare the dominance, diversity, similarities of species between the blocks, and regeneration status, respectively. Shorea robusta was the most dominant species in managed and unmanaged blocks. Higher species diversity, evenness, and richness were found in unmanaged blocks. However, species dominance, seedling density, and sapling density were higher in managed blocks. The majority of the tree species showed a contagious distribution. There were significant differences in diversity and regeneration status between managed and unmanaged blocks. Therefore, this study supports the implementation of an irregular shelterwood system for the improved regeneration status of valuable species like Shorea robusta to manage the forest sustainably for the future.
The present study was accomplished to assess and compare tree diversity, carbon stock, and to fin... more The present study was accomplished to assess and compare tree diversity, carbon stock, and to find the relationship between carbon stock and tree diversity in scientifically and conventionally managed community forests (CFs) of Kanchanpur District, Nepal. A total of 94 sample plots were overlaid with a systematic random sampling method (51 plots in scientifically managed Singhapur CF and 43 plots were established in conventionally managed Kalika CF). The height and DBH of each tree were measured to calculate biomass and carbon stock. Shannon-Wiener and Simpson’s indexes were calculated for tree diversity. The data were pooled and analyzed using MS Excel and SPSS software. The values were statistically compared using a t-test. The total carbon stock and tree diversity were higher in scientifically managed CF (207.58 tons/ha and H= 0.97) than conventionally managed CF (183.72 tons/ha and H=0.85). Shorea robusta has a major contribution on total carbon stock in both CFs (Kalika: 66.34%...
Journal of Multidisciplinary Applied Natural Science, 2022
Forest fire is one of the leading causes of forest and wildlife loss. The objective of this study... more Forest fire is one of the leading causes of forest and wildlife loss. The objective of this study was to use satellite imagery and Geographic Information System techniques to assess the forest fire risk zonation map of the Aalital rural municipality. This rural municipality is a part of the Sudurpaschim province, Nepal; is prone to forest fires. Four fire risk zones were established in the study area i.e. very high, high, medium, and low-risk zone. Thematic layers were derived from topographic maps and satellite imageries. For the delineation of fire risk zones, a multi-parametric weighted index model i.e. the FRI (Fire Risk Index) method was adopted. The fire incidence data provided by MODIS were used to validate the resulting forest fire risk zone map. About 25.17% of the total study area lies under the very high-risk zone followed by 46.51% under high risk, 25.68% under medium risk, and 2.62% under the low-risk zone. It can be inferred that the majority of the area is at high ris...
Journal of Multidisciplinary Applied Natural Science
Forest fire is one of the leading causes of forest and wildlife loss. The objective of this study... more Forest fire is one of the leading causes of forest and wildlife loss. The objective of this study was to use satellite imagery and Geographic Information System techniques to assess the forest fire risk zonation map of the Aalital rural municipality. This rural municipality is a part of the Sudurpaschim province, Nepal; is prone to forest fires. Four fire risk zones were established in the study area i.e. very high, high, medium, and low-risk zone. Thematic layers were derived from topographic maps and satellite imageries. For the delineation of fire risk zones, a multi-parametric weighted index model i.e. the FRI (Fire Risk Index) method was adopted. The fire incidence data provided by MODIS were used to validate the resulting forest fire risk zone map. About 25.17% of the total study area lies under the very high-risk zone followed by 46.51% under high risk, 25.68% under medium risk, and 2.62% under the low-risk zone. It can be inferred that the majority of the area is at high ris...
In Nepal, there had been an attempt to shift forest management practices (from conservation-orien... more In Nepal, there had been an attempt to shift forest management practices (from conservation-oriented to productive forest) via Scientific Forest Management (SciFM) approach; applying an irregular shelterwood system. However, SciFM faced conflicting arguments regarding logging, regeneration capacity, and species diversity. Thus, this study investigated the effects of irregular shelterwood system-based scientific forest management on tree species distribution, diversity, and the regeneration of a Shorea robusta dominated forest in the Kailali district, Nepal. The quadrat method based on simple random sampling was used for vegetation sampling with a total of 20 quadrats for unmanaged blocks and ten quadrats for managed blocks. In each quadrat, the diameter at breast height (DBH) and height of the trees and saplings were measured, while the number of seedlings was counted. Importance Value Index, Diversity indices, Jaccard’s Index, and total regeneration were calculated to compare the dominance, diversity, similarities of species between the blocks, and regeneration status, respectively. Shorea robusta was the most dominant species in managed and unmanaged blocks. Higher species diversity, evenness, and richness were found in unmanaged blocks. However, species dominance, seedling density, and sapling density were higher in managed blocks. The majority of the tree species showed a contagious distribution. There were significant differences in diversity and regeneration status between managed and unmanaged blocks. Therefore, this study supports the implementation of an irregular shelterwood system for the improved regeneration status of valuable species like Shorea robusta to manage the forest sustainably for the future.
The present study was accomplished to assess and compare tree diversity, carbon stock, and to fin... more The present study was accomplished to assess and compare tree diversity, carbon stock, and to find the relationship between carbon stock and tree diversity in scientifically and conventionally managed community forests (CFs) of Kanchanpur District, Nepal. A total of 94 sample plots were overlaid with a systematic random sampling method (51 plots in scientifically managed Singhapur CF and 43 plots were established in conventionally managed Kalika CF). The height and DBH of each tree were measured to calculate biomass and carbon stock. Shannon-Wiener and Simpson’s indexes were calculated for tree diversity. The data were pooled and analyzed using MS Excel and SPSS software. The values were statistically compared using a t-test. The total carbon stock and tree diversity were higher in scientifically managed CF (207.58 tons/ha and H= 0.97) than conventionally managed CF (183.72 tons/ha and H=0.85). Shorea robusta has a major contribution on total carbon stock in both CFs (Kalika: 66.34%...
Journal of Multidisciplinary Applied Natural Science, 2022
Forest fire is one of the leading causes of forest and wildlife loss. The objective of this study... more Forest fire is one of the leading causes of forest and wildlife loss. The objective of this study was to use satellite imagery and Geographic Information System techniques to assess the forest fire risk zonation map of the Aalital rural municipality. This rural municipality is a part of the Sudurpaschim province, Nepal; is prone to forest fires. Four fire risk zones were established in the study area i.e. very high, high, medium, and low-risk zone. Thematic layers were derived from topographic maps and satellite imageries. For the delineation of fire risk zones, a multi-parametric weighted index model i.e. the FRI (Fire Risk Index) method was adopted. The fire incidence data provided by MODIS were used to validate the resulting forest fire risk zone map. About 25.17% of the total study area lies under the very high-risk zone followed by 46.51% under high risk, 25.68% under medium risk, and 2.62% under the low-risk zone. It can be inferred that the majority of the area is at high ris...
Journal of Multidisciplinary Applied Natural Science
Forest fire is one of the leading causes of forest and wildlife loss. The objective of this study... more Forest fire is one of the leading causes of forest and wildlife loss. The objective of this study was to use satellite imagery and Geographic Information System techniques to assess the forest fire risk zonation map of the Aalital rural municipality. This rural municipality is a part of the Sudurpaschim province, Nepal; is prone to forest fires. Four fire risk zones were established in the study area i.e. very high, high, medium, and low-risk zone. Thematic layers were derived from topographic maps and satellite imageries. For the delineation of fire risk zones, a multi-parametric weighted index model i.e. the FRI (Fire Risk Index) method was adopted. The fire incidence data provided by MODIS were used to validate the resulting forest fire risk zone map. About 25.17% of the total study area lies under the very high-risk zone followed by 46.51% under high risk, 25.68% under medium risk, and 2.62% under the low-risk zone. It can be inferred that the majority of the area is at high ris...
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Papers by Keshav Ayer