Effect of traditional management practices on woody species composition and structure in montane subtropical forests of Meghalaya, Northeast India

Assessing the effectiveness of community managed forests for plant diversity conservation in Meghalaya, Northeast India

“…This is supported by the fact that large tracts (2014.83 ha) of high risk overlap with village forests. The sacred forests are also suffering from rapid plant species depletion due to erosion in traditional beliefs and the resulted conversion of sacred- to reserve- and village-forests ( Mir and Upadhaya, 2017 ).…”

“…For each site, the disturbance index (DI) was computed following Mir and Upadhaya (2017) . The disturbances occurring in each forest were identified using both the quantitative data from the sampling plots and the landscapes surrounding the forests.…”

“…This traditional forest management is mostly prevalent in Khasi Hills of the state where it is tightly interwoven with religious beliefs, customs and folklore and has sustained the cultures and livelihoods of indigenous communities for centuries ( Tiwari et al., 1998 ). The community forests have been classified into different types depending on their use regime and consists of a) Group of village forest ( Law Raid ): forests belonging to two or more villages, b) village forest ( Law Shnong ): forests belonging to a particular village, c) reserve or village restricted forest ( Law Adong ): forests similar to village forests, but full access to forest resources is restricted and d) sacred forests ( Law-Lyngdoh/Law-Kyntang/Law-Niam ): forests considered as sacred with a strict prohibition of extraction ( Rodgers, 1994 ; Tiwari et al., 1998 ; Mir and Upadhaya, 2017 ). In addition, to the above categories of forests there are also forests which are either private- or clan-owned and only the owners have full access to it.…”

“…Many of the larger forest patches have been fragmented into small patches ( Pao and Upadhaya, 2017 ). Even the sacred forests, which were once considered as pristine, are now affected by human disturbances ( Upadhaya et al., 2003 ; Ormsby and Bhagwat, 2010 ; Mir and Upadhaya, 2017 ). Since the community forests are managed differently and are exposed to various levels of extraction and other human disturbances, all of them may not require equal conservation efforts.…”

Biodiversity conservation and carbon storage of Acacia catechu willd. Dominated northern tropical dry deciduous forest ecosystems in north-western Himalaya: Implications of different forest management regimes

“…Even a minor perturbation in these forest ecosystems could have a substantial impact on biodiversity, species composition and forests C-storage capacity. Studies carried out in various parts of the world have revealed that the stand diversity and C stock of forest ecosystems are influenced by several factors, of which the intensity and frequency of anthropogenic disturbances have been reported to play a significant role in regulating the regeneration dynamics, structure and floristic composition of forest ecosystems (Upadhaya et al, 2008;Mir and Upadhaya, 2017). Hence, the Khair forests in the foothills of Shiwalik of the Nurpur forest division are legally managed under different FMRs i.e., RF, DPF, UPF, CSF, and UF based on the management objectives and location of forests with respect to distance from human habitat (Working Plan, 2013).…”