Zonation of Conservation Priority Sites for Effective Management of Tropical Forests in India: A Value-Based Conservation Approach

Abstract

Abstract. Zonation of conservation sites has been modelled by overlaying different layers such as vegetation type, species richness, endangered, endemic, economic status maps and socio-cultural value map using remote sensing and GIS in the Pacchaimalai hills part of Eastern Ghats in India that is spread to an area of 527.61 sq. km. These hills are situated at the mid regions of Tamil Nadu with latitudes 11°09'00" to 11°27'00" N and longitudes 78°28'00" to 78°49'00" E. They harbour eight vegetation types of which tropical dry deciduous forests are widespread with rich diversity. As in other hills, the forest cover is under severe anthropogenic pressure in spite of being protected as a reserved forest. This study proposes about 0.93% (4.95 sq. km) of the total area of the Pacchaimalai hills for immediate conservation. The effectiveness of the proposal would be based on the attitude and awareness of local people towards vegetation who inhabit the areas adjacent to proposed sites and the effective monitoring by foresters and participatory approach of both the people and forest authorities to accomplish the goal of the conservation of biodiversity and sustainable use of natural resources.

Management zonation and its implementation at a UNESCO World Heritage Site: a case study for the Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

“…In addition, panoramic vehicles and electric boats were used to transport visi- tected area is the main consideration. The process can include various ways of collecting and interpreting data, for instance satellite image data combined with field data (Newman et al 2007), use of zoning models (Sabatini et al 2007), Component-Process-Services (CPS) conceptual framework comparing two zoning models (Zeng et al 2012), or weighting and ranking the priority areas (Soosairaj et al 2007).…”

Leaf classes, foliar phenology and life forms of selected woody species from the tropical forests of central and southern Eastern Ghats, India

“…The study sites were selected based on the floristic composition and priority of conservation (Kadavul and Parthasarathy. 1999a, b;Jayakumar et al 2002;Natarajan et al 2004;Soosairaj et al 2004Soosairaj et al , 2007Reddy et al 2008;Pragasan and Parthasarathy 2009). Out of 38 sites, 30 sites are from the disjunct hillocks of the southern Eastern Ghats and 8 sites from the more or less contiguous Nallamalai hills of central Eastern Ghats representative of the major vegetation types of the region (Reddy et al 2008).…”

A report of the threatened plant Decalepis hamiltonii Wight & Arn. (Asclepiadaceae) from the mid elevation forests of Pachamalai Hills of the Eastern Ghats, Tamil Nadu, India

“…Evergreen forests are relatively common in the Western Ghats of peninsular India; however, dry evergreen forests are meagre in distribution and are confined to higher elevations of the Eastern Ghats that are discontinuous and in small patches. The presence of such vegetation is an indication that the lower elevation hills like the Eastern Ghats can harbour good vegetation and are the vestiges of a luxuriant vegetation cover of the past era and hence need to be protected (Soosairaj et al 2007). The hills are most significant socio-culturally, as the most diversified forest patches are found here.…”