AnAssessment of Natural Regeneration of Non Timber Forest Product (NTFP) Species: A Case Study of Mandla, India

摘要

Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) are the majorsourceofincomefor rural communities, who areliving intheforestfringevillages. Statusof NTFPs isdeteriorating in-situ innatural forestsin almost every part ofthe country, becauseof commercialization of wild/herbal species of economicimportance. Presentstudy highlights the impactofharvesting onthe status of utilizable plant speciesintheirnatural habitat along withitsfuture status. The project sitewas Ghughri blockof Mandladistrict, of Madhya PradeshState.Anecological studywas made in theyear 2015 in thenatural forests wherethe user's communities wereharvesting NTFPs for theirsubsistence.Attemptsweremade toassess the impactof present harvesting trend ongrowth and natural regeneration ofimportant plant species. Resultsrevealed thestatusof NTFP trees isdepleting in theproject area and total 37 tree species were recorded inthestanding tree crop of which13 species were ofNTFPtreecategory. Itis evidentfromthe datathat regeneration ofmore than 30% of NTFPswas found to bedepleting from thestanding treecrop. Further, it has beenobserved that thespecies which areintrade/ commercialized, theirregeneration wasfound tobe declining as compared tothespecieswhichare being used at the household level. In thepresentstudy, effortswere made to highlight the impactofdestructive harvesting and ignoranceofsustainableharvesting techniqueson the statusof NTFP tree speciesand their regeneration.