Comprehensive inventory of geoheritage elements of Achanakmar Tiger Reserve area of Central Indian Landscape

Abstract

Geomorphology its geology and soil are the three important geoheritage elements of any protected area.Natural environment of a protected area comprises of both biodiversity and geodiversity. Presence ofbiodiversity of any protected area depends on its geodiversity. Achanakmar Tiger Reserve (ATR) is situatedat the Mikal hills is an important part of Central Indian landscape and is characterized by its uniquebiodiversity. It is an integral part of Achanakmar Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve and provides shelter tonumerous endangered floral and faunal biodiversity. The area is characterized by diverse landscape wherethe elevation varies from 305-1080 m above mean sea level. Major geological formations of the reserve areaare metamorphic rocks followed by Gneiss-Granitoid Complex and Deccan trap. The dominant soil type isclayey coarse followed by fine loamy. The luxuriant growth of Shorearobusta in the area is due to welldrained sandy loam soil. The study area represents as excellent natural laboratory to test the geodiversityinfluence on the landscape aspect and evolution. Maniyari river which flows upto 62 km through ATR isseasonal river and fulfill the major water requirement. Remote Sensing& GIS techniques have been used toanalyse the land use land cover pattern and its tree species diversity presence in the ATR area. Rich diversityof tree species have been observed with Sal (Shorearobusta) as the dominating tree species.