Plant Diversity ›› 2009, Vol. 31 ›› Issue (06): 551-558.DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1143.2009.09157

• Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Resource Utilization Pattern Analysis in Pali Gad Watershed of Tehri , Garhwal Himalaya ( India)

LI Qiao-Hong1 , 2 , P.K . Joshi3, YANG Xue-Fei1 , 2 , N . Lele4 , XU Jian-Chu1 , 5   

  1. 1 Center for Mountain Ecosystem Studies, Kunming Institute of Botany , Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650204 , China; 2 Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific ( CSSTEAP) , Dehradun 248001 , India ; 3 TERI University , New Delhi 110070 , India ; 4 Indian Institute of Remote Sensing ( NRSA) ,Dehradun 248001 , India; 5 World Agroforestry Centre, Nai robi , Kenya
  • Received:2009-08-25 Online:2009-12-25 Published:2009-12-25
  • Contact: P.K . Joshi, XU Jian-Chu

Abstract:

The western Himalaya has had a central role as a life support system for the local people and as a source of ecological services . This long term use of these resources, including livestock grazing, fuel wood collection and a variety of other uses , has shaped its montane cultural landscape . The present paper focuses on resource utilization in the Pali Gad watershed , which consists of 25 villages situated in the lesser Himalaya . Using a satellite derived map , natural resources available in this area were assessed , and the ecosystem services provided by them and level of pressure on them were computed
through a door to door socioeconomic survey . The study revealed a spatio-temporal variation in the resource demand and extraction at the permanent villages . Average fuel wood consumption was 1 . 12 kg􊄯day􊄯capita , fodder consumption was 3 . 69 kg􊄯day􊄯capita from lopping and 3 .25 kg/day􊄯capita from grass collection from forest . An attempt has been taken to evaluate the ecosystem services . The forest provides more provisional and regulatory services, whereas agriculture provides more supporting services and river bed􊄯water bodies serve more cultural purposes for the locals. This study contributes an example of a human shaped ecosystem in a mountainous region where an additional fragmentation of natural resources exists. An increase in resource demand has been noticed in the less productive lands of the region . This has resulted in increased resource extraction from the entire watershed may not be sustainable in the long run .

Key words: Ecosystem services

CLC Number: