Vol. 7 No. 2 (2017)

Forest Carbon Stock Assessment of the Musk Deer National Park, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK)

2017-01-01T00:00:00Z

Forest Carbon Stock Assessment of the Musk Deer National Park, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Qasim, M. To tackle with the increasing challenges of climate change, forests are considered as a viable option. Schemes such as Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation Plus (REDD+) are regarded as financial ventures for not only tackling climate change but also conserving forestry resources and for alleviating poverty. Such schemes however require the exercise of forest carbon stock assessments. It is therefore essential to understand the dynamics of carbon stocks in various forest ecosystems. The study therefore was conducted to assess the carbon stocks of the forests of Musk Deer National Park, AJK. Standard methods were used to calculate the carbon stocks of the Musk Deer National Park. The results revealed that the sampled area of the park contained mean carbon stocks per hectare (ha) of 44.64 ± 12.44 Mg ha-1. The Picea smithiana with 25.40 ± 14.53 Mg ha-1 had the highest of the mean carbon stocks per ha followed by Abies pindrow which had the mean carbon stocks per ha of 17.77 ± 11.80 Mg ha-1. The study was the first attempt, to the extent of my knowledge, for forest carbon stock assessment of the Musk Deer National Park. The results can be helpful in developing REDD+ projects in future, which can assist in forest resource conservation and poverty alleviation.

The Modeling of above Ground Biomass in Ranges of Corbett Tiger Reserve using Dual-Polarization ALOS PALSAR Data

2017-01-01T00:00:00Z

The Modeling of above Ground Biomass in Ranges of Corbett Tiger Reserve using Dual-Polarization ALOS PALSAR Data Kumar, Y.; Singh, S.; Chatterjee, R.S. The study has been carried out in the Pauri Garhwal district of Uttarakh and keeping the focus on Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR). The total area of CTR covered in the scene is 889 sq. km. The main aim of the paper is to develop a model by establishing a relationship between backscatter coefficients generated from dual polarization L-band ALOS PALSAR data acquired in July 2008 and the field inventory data collected by Forest Survey of India team in 2010. A total of 120 sample plots data were collected in the area out of which 60 plots were used for the training of the model and the remaining 60 plots were left for the validation of the most significant model. The Simple regression analysis was computed between HH & HV backscatter as independent variable and per plot biomass as dependent variable. The Linear, Logarithmic and Polynomial best fit regression models were analyzed. It was found that the coefficient of determination is more with HV backscatter (R2=0.75) using logarithmic model as compared among HV in linear and polynomial on one hand and HH in linear, logarithmic and polynomial on the other hand. To improve the accuracy and to know the combined effects of both the polarizations, multiple linear regression analysis (MLR) was applied. There was a significant improvement in correlation coefficients (R2=0.86). The in-situ field inventory data shows that the biomass in the CTR ranges from 9.6 t/ha to 322.6 t/ha. The simple regression modelled biomass ranges from 26.2 t/ha to 401.43 t/ha, whereas the MLR modelled biomass ranges from 10.96 t/ha to 312.64 t/ha. The majority of the area was found to be in the range of 100 t/ha to 150 t/ha biomass. The coefficient of determination (R2) between observed and predicted biomass was found to be 0.734 with simple regression, whereas it was found to be 0.83 with MLR.

Pathological characterization of Corynespora cassiicola isolates from traditional and non-traditional rubber growing areas

2017-01-01T00:00:00Z

Pathological characterization of Corynespora cassiicola isolates from traditional and non-traditional rubber growing areas Wijesingha, Y.L.; Fernando, T.H.P.S.; Fernando, K.M.E.P. Rubber (Heveabrasiliensis) is one of the major economically important estate crops andgeneratesthe third largest export income of Sri Lanka. Rubber plantations established mostly in Wet Zone and certain regions in Intermediate Zone and the cultivated areas are known as traditional areas.However, presently rubber cultivation has been expanded to the dry zone of country and the cultivated areas are known as non-traditional areas. Corynesporacassiicola is the most destructive foliar pathogen of the rubber plantcausing Corynesporaleaf fall disease (CLFD) and the disease has caused a major devastation in rubber industry resultingin a remarkable economic loss. This study aimedto determine the variability ofC. cassiicola isolates from traditional and non-traditional rubber growing areas using pathological factors. Ten isolates of C. cassiicolawhich had been isolated from diseased leaves of different clones grown in traditional (five isolates) and non-traditional (five isolates) areas were used for characterization.Variability inpathogenicity, temperature sensitivity,growth rate,conidia production,fungicide sensitivity to two fungicides; mancozeb and carbendazim and toxin production were examined. Data were statisticallyanalyzedand the final analytical output revealed a statistically significant difference (p <0.05) between the isolates, but not between two geographical regions for all parameterstested except for toxin production and sensitivity to carbendazim. Though isolates of C.cassiicolashowsignificant difference in pathological factors among isolates irrespective of geographical location, they do not behave differently in different climatic regions.

Equation for Estimating Stem Volume for Agar tree (Aquilaria malaccensis Lamk) Grown in the Plantations in Bangladesh

2017-01-01T00:00:00Z

Equation for Estimating Stem Volume for Agar tree (Aquilaria malaccensis Lamk) Grown in the Plantations in Bangladesh Islam, S.M.Z.; Chowdhury, M.A.M. Agar tree (Aquilaria malaccensis Lamk, Family- Thymeleaceae) has drawn unique position due to the production of world’s most expensive essential oil used in fragrances and also medicine. It is one of the most valuable and economically important commercial tree speciesplanted in some potential forest areas of Bangladesh. The main aim of this study is to develop mathematical models for total volume estimation of Agar tree. In order to meet the requirements we have selected 21 models of volume equation which are tested by regression technique. Among them for one way volume equation 2 V  a  bD  cD and for two way volume equationV a bD cH dD H 2     appeared to the best model for estimating the Agar tree volume.From these models conversion factors equationFr = D/(a+bD+cD2)(r =11, 13, 15) has been determined to estimate under bark volume and under bark volume of different top end diameters of 11, 13, and 15 centimeters.