India

Simulating Forest Cover Changes of Bannerghatta National Park Based on a CA-Markov Model: A Remote Sensing Approach

Background

Establishment of protected areas has been a primary response to deforestation and land-use change in tropical forests. However, few empirical evaluations have conducted a comparison of pre- and post-intervention landscapes.

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Monitoring Mangrove Forest Dynamics of the Sundarbans in Bangladesh and India using Multi-Temporal Satellite Data from 1973 to 2000

Background

In the Sundurbans of India and Bangladesh, the authors measured the extent and condition of the mangrove forest at three intervals using GeoCover datasets (Landsat MSS, TM, ETM+) with the goal of assessing the current extent of the remaining forest, measuring change in the extent of the forest in different time periods, and identifying areas of intensive deforestation or degradation and changes in patterns of canopy density.

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Integrating National Forestry Initiatives in India with International Climate Change Policy

background

This study reviews forest policies in India (eg. 1988 Forest Policy, 1990 Joint Forest Management, and 2006 Recognition of Forest Rights) and their impacts to assess how they can complement and inform international climate change mitigation instruments. It also seeks to determine how communities can sustain their system of forest management and retain/obtain rights to land and resources under these instruments.

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Changes in litter decomposition and soil organic carbon in a reforested tropical deciduous cover (India)

Background

Soil organic carbon is built over time by vegetative decomposition. This study explores potential changes in soil organic carbon in India due to changing patterns of vegetation, such as deforestation, agricultural use, and reforestation with novel species compositions and disturbance cycles.

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Afforestation for Reclaiming Degraded Village Common Land: A Case Study

background

In India, population growth and agriculture put a strain on natural resources, often resulting in "wastelands" where the soil is no longer productive - often either affected by either salt or alkilinity. Using soil amendments to restore these lands to productivity can be cost-prohibitive for the small villages that own these lands. Afforestation is one possible method for restoring the health of these in a cost-effective and scalable way. 

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Drivers of Regrowth in South Asia's Human-Impacted Forests

background

This study is an assessment of institutional factors and human drivers that impact forest management and cover change in developing countries, focusing on Nepal and India.

research goals & methods

The study uses United Nations Food & Agriculture Association (UN FAO) forest cover change datasets that begin in 1980 to examine the validity of forest transition theories in a tropical context.

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The Rain–Runoff Response of Tropical Humid Forest Ecosystems to Use and Reforestation in the Western Ghats of India

Background

This study expands on a previous study in the Western Ghats of India (Uttar Kannada, Karnataka State), that suggested a greater occurrence of infiltration-excess and potentially higher streamflow in degraded and reforested areas. Analyzing rainfall–streamflow data, the authors attempt to determine the impacts of different land cover types on stream discharge hydrograph components (viz, total flow, quickflow and delayed flow), the dominant stormflow pathways, and the impact of reforestation efforts on these processes.

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Afforestation and Reforestation Projects in South and South-East Asia Under the Clean Development Mechanism: Trends and Development Opportunities

background

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) was created as part of the 2007 Kyoto Protocol to assist countries in achieving both development and sustainability. Afforestation and reforestation (AR) projects are a part of the CDM protocal, but can be challenging to implement and measure.

research goals & methods

This study reports on survey results regarding CDM-AR projects. Surveys were conducted in South and South-east Asia of both (i) experts and (ii) developers, investors, and consultants.

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The Role of Revegetation for Rehabilitation of Sodic soils in Semiarid Subtropical Forest, India

background

This study relies on a  case study evaluate the rehabilitation of barren land within a larger forest ecosystem. The article indicates that restoration opportunities exist even with severely degraded land where natural succession does not occur without management practices.

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Nitrogen Dynamics of Actinorhizal Casuarina Forest Stands and its Comparison with Alnus and Leucaena Forests

Background

Nitrogen plays a key role in soil fertility and plant productivity. Therefore, in regions in which deforestation has increasingly led to savannization and desertification, afforestation by fast-growing, n-fixing tree species is preferable. This study examines the characteristics of nitrogen fixing trees. 

Research Goals & Methods

The nitrogen retention rates of three dry tropical forest tree species were measured, by examining rates of N cycling through vegetation, litter and soil pools.

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