Ecotourism

 

Ecotourism

Ecotourism is a type of tourism to conserve and improve natural, rural areas. So this is quite different from a typical tour to a place. Instead, this type of tourism includes a keen focus on learning and developing that area and the people residing there. Around 1980, the concept of ecotourism took place officially in the Oxford Dictionary. The word ecotour was included in 1973. However, there’s still confusion about the classification of the proper ecotourists. Generally, it’s based on the sustainability and economic contribution of the place while maintaining its basic identity and natural properties.

Wildlife is one of the most important resources provided by forest ecosystems all around the world. In the tropics alone, hunting is an ubiquitous activity on which 200- 300 million forest-dwelling people are directly dependent for part or all of their livelihood and food. In recent years, the abundance of wildlife has declined in many tropical forest areas as a result of increased commercialization and market integration, increased access to remote forest areas, growing human populations, increasing demand for wild meat from urban centers, more effective hunting technologies, and changes in hunting practices and settlement patterns of forest-dwelling people. The loss of wildlife jeopardizes the nutritional base on which local communities depend and can lead to the collapse of local economies. Moreover, it threatens the ecological integrity of the tropical forests. Given the importance of wildlife resources, the implementation of sustainable management approaches is thus an imperative issue.

Wildlife is also important in tourism. In tropical forests, rare, dangerous or colorful animals represent a major travel motive, even though the significance of forests for recreation, education and experiences is now growing in general. Mid-latitude forest resources in industrialized countries serve as buffer zones from daily urban life, and in countries such as Austria, Switzerland, Sweden or New Zealand, they are a central element of the landscapes that attract millions of foreign tourists each year. With increasing demand for outdoor recreation, visitors to natural areas put substantial stress on forest ecosystems. As both tourism and wildlife populations are ultimately dependent on intact forest ecosystems, the importance of maintaining their integrity is clearly rendered prominent. In the light of this, the article analyzes the development of tourism and the situation of wildlife resources from a socio-economic and ecological perspective. Suggestions for the sustainable use and conservation of forests are made. Focus is on the tropical forests, because these face rapid decline, while an increasing number of people continue to be directly dependent on the resources they provide.

Importance of Ecotourism

• Through ecotourism, it’s easier to reach out to the rural settlements and observe their conditions from close quarters. The significance of ecotourism lies in the interaction with the people, understanding their culture, and helping them develop their overall living conditions.
• Conserving the environment is another important application of ecotourism. Various sensitive natural areas require particular attention and effective management. Without the right observation and analysis, it is not possible to initiate the required operation.
• Similarly, for the well-being of the residents in the natural areas, it’s crucial to understand their community culture and lifestyle. That’s how systematic development can be done in all such areas.

·                  Also, ecotourism encourages a better understanding of the environment and the importance of its conservation.

 

Ecotourism examples in India

India has been widely supporting the concept of ecotourism. A few spots in the country include:

• Honey Hills- Thenmala Eco-tourism, Kerala
• Bandipur National Park, Karnataka
• Sunderbans National Park, West Bengal
• Tribal excursion in Chhattisgarh

Impact on society

• Ecotourism is spreading a positive impact on society with the notion to observe natural places to develop their overall condition, maintaining their natural essence. Here, travellers are getting an opportunity to know more about sensitive places while travelling. Places like Nepal, Madagascar, and Ecuador are some of the beautiful natural places in improvised countries.
• Even after so many positive sides of ecotourism, there is some negative effect on the environment. The environmentalists want to promote ecotourism to upgrade the rural community and conserve nature. On the contrary, the tourism industry uses ecotourism as a business model to attract tourists.
• As a result, the rural places are getting congested, and the natural beauty is compromised gradually. So, instead of solely developing the area and community culture, it’s becoming a general tourist spot.

Climax persistence

• Persistence is the key to climax. In a climax community, all species (including dominant species), are continually able to reproduce successfully and persists in a uniform climatic area.That is known as climax persistance.
• Climax concept. According to classical ecological theory, succession stops when the sere has arrived at an equilibrium or steady state with the physical and biotic environment. Barring major disturbances, it will persist indefinitely. This end point of succession is called climax.
• Because changes in climate, ecological processes, and evolutionary processes cause changes in the environment over very long periods of time, the climax stage is not completely permanent.
• A climax community is a term used to express a community in its final stage of succession. Species composition is stable, and the community has reached equilibrium. ... The climax community may change if there are changes in climate or long-term evolutionary changes in one or more species.
• Climax communities are said to be in a state of equilibrium because organisms have already adapted to their environment and succession is no longer taking place. Therefore, it can be assumed that it is stable.
• Higher stability doesn't necessarily entail higher diversity. In fact, it is those communities with intermediate levels of stability that have the highest diversity.
• A community is known to be stable when there is no apparent change in the number of species and population size over a long period of time. It is then important to note that a community's stability is prevented by periodic or stochastic disturbances that give way to recolonization. It is the climax community that is most stable since the species that comprise it, which are the dominant late successional species, are least affected by gradual changes in the physical environment unlike the communities with lower stability. This high stability in climax communities would lead to a low species diversity since the time between disturbances is long, allowing dominance by one or a few number of species that, in turn, competitively exclude other species. It is the communities with intermediate levels of stability that are most diverse since the interval between disturbances are long enough for a wide variety of species to colonize and become established but are disturbed before successional replacements result in dominance and competitive exclusion
• A climax community is the end result of ecological succession. The climax community is a stable balance of all organisms in an ecosystem, and will remain stable unless a disaster strikes. After the disaster, succession will start all over again

Unit 4: Population Estimation

 

Unit 4: Population Estimation

Methods of population estimation:

• 1.      Sex ratio computation;
• 2.      Fecal analysis of ungulates and carnivores:
• 3.      Hair identification,
• 4.      Pug marks and census method.

5.      Application of biostatistics in Biodiversity estimation: Analysis of Shannon and Simpson‘s Diversity Indices.

: Sex ratio computation

Sex Ratio?

Populations change in size based on their birth rates, death rates, and rates of immigration. When individuals are born, populations increase. When individuals die, populations decrease. Immigration results in individuals moving into a population, while emigration results in individuals removing themselves from a population. 

Sex Ratio Types

Sex ratios may be taken at intervals to capture multiple developmental stages within a population. The sex ratios calculated at these different stages are called:

• Primary sex ratios
• Secondary sex ratios
• Tertiary sex ratios
• Quaternary sex ratios

Sex ratios may also be utilized to represent only a specific subset of the population that is reproductively viable, which is referred to as an operational sex ratio.

Primary Sex Ratios

Primary sex ratios are the sex ratios of individuals at conception.

In many populations, the number of males and females at conception is generally equal. This is due to the fact that many sexual organisms have a 50% chance of producing either a male or female offspring.

Secondary Sex Ratios

Secondary sex ratios are the sex ratios of individuals at birth or hatching.

In many organisms, the primary and secondary sex ratios are equal. However, this is not always the case.

 Many organisms have temperature dependent sex-determination. This means that the sex of a hatchling depends on the temperature at which it was incubated. This is a common phenomenon in turtles and crocodilians. In fact, as temperatures rise due to global warming, researchers are noticing large changes in sex ratios in these temperature sensitive organisms. Unfortunately, this is resulting in population declines in many of these species.

Tertiary Sex Ratios

Tertiary sex ratios are those that are calculated for individuals in their later years of development.

For instance, a tertiary sex ratio may be calculated for the number of one-year-olds in a population of starlings.

Tertiary sex ratios are often defined as juvenile sex ratios, though some researchers may use the term "tertiary sex ratios" to define sex ratios of older adults within a population as well.

Quaternary Sex Ratios

Quaternary sex ratios are like tertiary sex ratios. These ratios are used to represent the sex ratios that occur at a later point in life, often within adults. Many times quaternary sex ratios are used to represent the sex ratios of adults that are no longer reproductively viable.

Operational Sex Ratios

Operational sex ratios are used to define the number of reproductively available males and females. These ratios can cross age boundaries and may give a better idea of a population's reproductive potential.

 

Compute Sex Ratios:

 Males: 100 females

·         From raw data: 1063 bulls, 2784 cows

1063 / 2784 = x / 100

x = (1063 / 2784) x 100 = 38.2

Therefore, 38:100 is the conventional sex ratio.

·         From female percentage: 60% females

60 /100 = 100 / (x + 100)

x = 66

Therefore, 66:100 is the conventional sex ratio.

·         From male percentage: 60% males

(100 -60) / 100 = 100 / (x + 100)

x = 150

Therefore, 150:100 is the conventional sex ratio.

 Percentages

·         Percent females from raw data: 1063 bulls, 2784 cows.

2784 / (1063 + 2784) = 0.724

Therefore, the percentage is 72% females.

·         Percent males from raw data: 1063 bulls, 2784 cows.

1063 / (1063 + 2784) = 0.276

Therefore, the percentage is 28% males.

·         Percent females from sex ratio: 60:100

100 / (60 + 100) = 0.625

Therefore, the percentage is 63% females.

 

Fecal analysis of ungulates and carnivores:

Fecal analysis of Ungulates and carnivores

Based on the mode of nutrition, animals can be classified into two categories:

• Carnivores or Carnivorous animals
• Herbivores or Herbivorous animals

Carnivorous animals derive their nutrient requirements from other animals. Conversely, herbivores are animals that depend on plants for their nutrition. Read on to discover the characteristics of herbivorous and carnivorous animals, and explore how the two differ from each other.

Herbivores

Herbivores or herbivorous animals are those animals that feed on plants, leaves, fruits and other plant-based food for nutrition. They are known as primary consumers and occupy level 2 or higher in the food chain. Cow, goat, giraffe, sheep, and zebra are common examples of herbivores. Interestingly, there are herbivores that specialize in feeding on certain parts of the plant – for example, animals that feed on fruits are known as frugivores while folivores are herbivores that feed on leaves.

Carnivores

Carnivores or carnivorous animals rely on other animals for their food. These animals have several adaptations that help to hunt prey. For instance, most big cats such as lions and tigers have robust bodies, accompanied by powerful jaws capable of crushing bones and tearing flesh.

They can also be classified on the basis of their feeding habits and the kind of animals they consume. Let us have a look at some of these characteristics and classifications of carnivorous animals.

Hair Indication     

The morphological identification of animal (non-human) hairs (MIAH) is based on fundamental aspects of microscopy, biology, and zoology. The purpose of MIAH is to categorize the animal source of an unknown hair sample to a particular taxon based on well-defined, genetically-based features that are characteristic to that group.

The breadth of knowledge required to identify mammalian hairs from all potential taxa is extensive but may be relatively simple in certain contexts,

for example identification of mammal hairs as encountered in biological fieldwork, in museum curation, or in the textile industry. In contrast, the forensic examination of hair involves  knowing not only the range of expression of mammalian hairs within taxa, but also being aware of  other structures that may resemble hairs, such as man-made wig fibers and faux fur fibers, insect  seta, and plant tendrils. The forensic context is thus wider and more complicated than a controlled +

mammalian orientation.

Evidence of animal hair, is ofen discovered at crime scenes. Pet or other animal hairs can be found on the clothes of the victim or on other items of physical evidence collected at the crime scene. Teidentification and analysis of human and animal hairs from a crimescene can indicate physical contact between the victim and a suspect, orprovide other investigative leads. transferring of pet hairs to the victim,to a suspect, or to the crime scene may happen when the perpetrator is a pet owner (or when the victim owns a pet), or when the crime wascommitted in a place where animals are kept, such as barns, stables, basements, or transport vehicles Forensic hair analysis is a scientific method of analyzing traceevidence from a crime scene. It involves examining the hair shaf,including its medulla (inner core), cortex (intermediate layer) and cuticle (outer covering) through powerful microscopes. Hair evidencemust be collected properly and analyzed according to protocols. The first step of the examination involves verifying whether the hairin question is that of a human or an animal. If the hair is from an animal, the examiner can potentially identify the species from which  it originated Hair can be moved from location to location by physical contact, the presence of a specific person’s hair can link a suspect or a victim to a crime scene. transfer of hair is very common with animal hairs, which are commonly found on pet owners and in the environment of pet owners and can be used to link suspects to crime scenes. In hairs from animals, the diameter of the medulla is larger than half the diameterof the entire shaf. Animals produce different types of hair. Tey ofen have coarse guard hair external to sofer fur hairs. Tey also producewhiskers and longer hairs in such places as the tail and mane.

 

Himalayan Bear (Black with a white chest)

Dorsal guard hair was characterized by using light microscopyby studying features including color, hair thickness, cuticularcharacteristics, medulla pattern, medullary index etc. Medullarcharacteristics, we found a high medullary index and a vacuolatedmedulla. Medulla continuous, usually less than half overall shafdiameter, Unbanded: pigment coarse, granular and fairly evendistribution. Scales imbricate .

 Manipuri deer

Deer hair is about 300-1000 micron meter wide from the root tonear the tip. It has a lattice type medulla that nearly fills the hair. thecuticle patterns is imbricating flattened to broadly acuminate and hasa scale count about 3-7/100 micron depending upon the scale pattern.Te characteristics diamond pattern is 3-4 scales/100 microns and theflattened to vermiform scales are around 7 [10]. Deer has a refractive index along its length of about 1.56 and perpendicular to its length ofabout 1.55. It has a birefringence of about 0.01 and a positive sign ofelongation. Diameter: very coarse over all diameters (approximately300m). Medulla; composed of spherical cells that occupy entire hair.Diameter constant throughout most of hair. Wine glass shape root.Regular, wave or crimp. Scale margins are round and isodiametric andresemble fish scales.

 

Royal bengal tiger hair

Diameter: fine, little variation. Medulla: Uniserial ladder (fur hairs),continuous, occasionally vacuolated in coarser hairs. Scales: Tey arenot so prominent, may be banded. Root; elongated, no distinct shape,fibrils frayed at base of root. Black or melanistic colored tigers havebeen reported but further research is required before assessing whetherthese sighting were of true melanistic tigers or darker version of theorange tiger(with few large broad dark stripes) [13]. tiger with whitebackground coloration are not considered albinos. An albino wouldbe pure white in color (no striping) and would have pink or red eyes,White tigers are leucocystic meaning that they have a recessive genethat causes them to lack dark colors.

 

Hunting dog

As in all other mammals, some hair follicles are in anagen, somein catagen, and some in telogen. Shedding, length of hair and presenceor absence of an undercoat depends upon the timing of these cyclesand the ratio of hair follicle in the various stages. Differences betweensummer coat and winter coat occurs because during the summer agreater numbers of follicles remains inactive [17]. Some breeds for e.g. poodles, tend to be low shedding because almost all of their follicles in anagen (growth cycle) almost all the time; their hairs continues to growand has to be clipped. Some breeds of dog for e.g. Chinese crested havemost of their follicles in telogen and thus may be almost completelyhairless. Both breed are ofen listed as recommends for allergysufferers. A dog’s coat may be a double made up of a sof undercoat.Diameter; fine to coarse (usually coarser than cat hair): diameter may vary to give short hairs a barrel-like appearance. Medulla: Continuous, vacuolated to amorphous, occasionally very broad. Scales: generallynot prominent. Unbanded; pigment occasionally very coarse andextending into roots .

 3. Pugmark Census

Whenever an animal moves through the jungle over a suitable ground, leaves mark or impressions it called as pugmarks (paw marks). In simple terms, pugmarks refer to the footprints of almost all the animals. 

Every individual animal species have distinct pugmarks and numerous features contained in it can be used to support the identification of an animal.  Many people have learned to read wildlife pugmarks with a remarkable skill for hunting purposes.

 

Pugmarks are produced under the following circumstance:

 The impressions of the pug may be caused in mud, dust, sand, and snow or similar surfaces. These impressions will be depressed or three-dimensional type and these are known as sunken pug mark impressions. These type of pug marks are most commonly found.

If the pug mark is produced by deposition of material like dust, dirt, blood, colored powdery substance, etc., on hard and smooth surfaces, giving rise to a two-dimensional print, which is called surface pug mark.

Pugmarks may also be produced by lifting dust or liquid material in which case a negative print will be left on the surface.

The different species of animals, especially the large carnivores that are traditionally tracked with the help of pugmarks are divided into two broad categories:

The members of the ‘Dog family’ or the ‘Canidae’ that typically move and hunt in packs often walking long distances in a file. In the members of this family, the claw marks are usually noticeable in front of the toe pads. As compared to the heel pad the toes are larger which helps them to run down the prey and the gap between the top of the heel pad and the two middle toes is evidently more than what is found in cats (hyenas is an exception). The front points of the two middle toes occur side by side (aligned).[1]

The members of the ‘Cat family’ or the ‘Felids’ that lead a solitary existence, depending on stealth for hunting down prey. They are acceptable climbers and some like the leopards take their hunt to a tree for abstaining from poaching by different carnivores. The claws or nails are hardly ever visible, the soft heel pad is comparatively larger (to encourage stealth) and the middle toes are put nearer to the pad. The middle toes of the felids are at different levels, especially for the hind paws.[1]

Mostly the large carnivores leave the soft padded four-toed pugmarks in the jungle.

Pugmarks are the marks which are left by different animal’s species while they are walking, running, or moving from one place to another place. Pugmarks refer to the footprints of most animals’ species. “PUG” also means foot in Hindi. Pugmarks of some animals are denoted by some different terms. Pugmarks denote “paw print” of most feline animals for e.g. like dog, cat, etc. Herbivore footprints are called as hoofmark. Some of the herbivore animals are like cow, goat, buffalo etc. Mostly the footprints of tigers are termed as pugmarks. Every animal species has different type of pugmark and this factor can be used for their identification purpose. Through pugmark it is not only possible to identify the animals, but also identify its sex whether it is male or female, age, and its size is also possible to identify accurately.

 

The pugmarks of different animal are different they are not same. Each of the pugmark has its own unique individual characteristic and class characteristic which help in differentiating from other groups of animals .Pugmark can also be examined in forensic science as it can provide reliable data of presence of different species in the area of study, population of the species, sex ratio, etc

Pugmark plays a major role in identifying a given specific animal in terms of sex, age or size as well as total accuracy of the given individual species. Pugmark denotes "paw print" of most feline animals. Herbivore foot prints are called as hoofmark (Deer, Antelope) or simply foot print (Elephant). Every specific individual has its own distinct pugmark and as such, this is used for identification purposes.

The best example is the tiger census programme which is completely based on pugmark technology. The method is simple and easy to count the animal in a very special manner, sometimes bias may happens. Camera trapping, Scat analysis or GIS application are the new advance formula for getting total occupancy in a given forest environment. Similarly, pug-mark is also helpful in tracking those animals that are stray away from the boundary areas, conflicting with the human environment or create problems of their own because of injury.

India has both an All India Wild Animal Census, and a formal tiger census. On top of this, most National Parks carry out their own count each year. The All India Wild Animal Census takes place every four years and this is going on this year (2005) in May. In Tiger Reserves the formal tiger census is carried out every two years in a massive way.

 

Study of Wildlife Population (Census) / Pugmark-based population monitoring:

The population of the remaining rare animals in the forests needs to be protected. An animal footprint is the unique identity of the animal world. There are several techniques available to study animal behaviour. This method is a safe and brilliant way to spot the presence of an animal in a place. The main objective of the wildlife census is to find out the density of the population of the species and to procure basic data for its management.

(6) The pugmark is also helpful in estimating time when an animal moved and direction in which the animal traveled. The major problem with pugmark impressions based on the identification of species includes is an undetectable footprint on hard surfaces and sometimes these footprint sites are often contaminated by the presence of other animals. Undetectable pugmarks and erosions by the other animals in pugmarks analysis are the major limitations in the field of wildlife forensic. If pugmarks analysed skilfully and lawfully, they can provide reliable data.

 

 

Unit- 3 Management of Habitat

                                                       Unit- 3  Management of Habitat By, Dr. Vidhin Kamble

Habitat Management

The most critical aspect of wildlife conservation is habitat management. Habitat loss presents the greatest threat to wildlife.

Five essential elements must be present to provide a viable habitat:

1.      Food,

2.      Water

3.      Cover

4.      Space,

5.      Arrangement.

1.      The need for food and water is obvious.

2.      Cover is needed not only to provide shelter from the elements and predators but also to protect animals while they are feeding, breeding, roosting, nesting, and traveling. Cover can range from thick weeds and brush to a few rocks piled together.

3.      Space is necessary to avoid over-competition for food. Some animals also need a certain amount of territorial space for mating and nesting. When crowded, some species may develop stress related diseases.

4.      Arrangement refers to the placement of food, water, cover, and space in a habitat. The ideal arrangement allows animals to meet all of their needs in a small area so that they minimize the energy they use traveling from food to cover to water. Most animals can be found where food and cover meet, particularly near a water source. This is called edge effect.

 

Setting Back Succession: .

Ecological Succession - Definition

The most widely accepted definition of ecological succession is as follows “ecological succession is a sequence of changes that occur in an ecological system over time.” In simpler terms, it can be defined as the sequence of colonization of species in an ecosystem from a barren or an unfertile region of land.

Types of Ecological Succession

As mentioned above primary and secondary succession are the two main types of ecological succession. The following stages of ecological succession are discussed below:

1.      There are 2 types of succession,

·         Primary

·         Secondary.

Primary succession begins in environments that lack organic matter and have not been altered by living organisms.

An example of primary succession would be areas of glacial retreat or newly formed volcanic islands.

Secondary succession which is what we will focus on in this course, begins in environments that have already been modified by the occupancy of living organisms.

Plant communities consisting of a diverse mixture of grasses, forbs, and scattered shrubs are required by a variety of wildlife species. Early seral stages follow some form of disturbance but can become dominated by shrubs and trees rather quickly, especially in areas with abundant rainfall and relatively long growing seasons, such as the southeastern United States. In the absence of natural disturbance regimes, the quality and maintenance of these plant communities for wildlife is largely dependent upon management.

Following practices are carried out for early succession

1.      Prescribed fire,

2.      Disking,

3.      Herbicide applications,

4.      Mowing Trimming/ cutting

 

. Prescribed fire consumes vegetative debris, provides open structure at ground level, and facilitates travel and foraging for wildlife throughout the field.

Burning during the dormant season may promote cool-season grasses if they are present in the field. Burning in late March or early April generally promotes warm-season grasses and forbs.

Late growing-season fire (September) will reduce woody encroachment and may encourage additional forb cover.

Disking promotes vegetation decomposition, provides open structure at ground level, and generally promotes annual plant species. Disking in the fall and winter stimulates more forb growth than disking in the spring, which will stimulate undesirable nonnative warm-season grasses if present in the seed bank. Selective herbicides can influence plant composition and can be used to encourage grasses where forbs dominate, to promote forbs where grasses dominate, and to reduce woody cover.

Mowing during midsummer encourages additional grasses in fields dominated by forbs but is not recommended for field maintenance because mowing produces thatch, which limits the ability of several wildlife species to travel and forage through the field, suppresses the seed bank, and destroys nests and young wildlife. Several practices can be used in combination to meet specific objectives.

 Succession should be set back every 2 to 4 yr, depending on plant response and focal wildlife species. It is important to intersperse disturbance in space and time, so that a variety of cover types are always available, even to those animals with small home ranges.

Climax community

Succession can be viewed in several stages called seral stages. Each seral stage makes up a different type of plant community. These stages if allowed to progress will eventually result in a climax stage. A climax stage is a self-perpetuating community that is relatively stable over several generations of the dominant plant species.

A climatic climax is regulated primarily by climate. An Edaphic climax is regulated largely by soil conditions. Some vegetation is vulnerable to catastrophic events and this is called a Catostrophic climax. Chaparral vegetation in California is a good example of this due to its propensity for wildfires. A disclimax community is held in a stable, early successional condition by humans or other animals. In a subclimax community, succession proceeds but is arrested permanently or for a long period of time at the stage preceding the climax stage. A good example of this is a fire climax, longleaf pine forest. If not for period fires the longleaf forest would eventually give way to a hardwood dominated forest.

7. Over time, several theories of succession have been put forth. Let’s discuss 3 of them which include Monoclimax,

·         Polyclimax,

·         Climax pattern.

The monoclimax theory  the theory was formulized by Clements in the early 1900s. Clements view the community as a superorganism where species composition and structure is determined by regional macroclimate. Clements viewed succession as deterministic, predictable and unidirectional, ending in 1 possible climax community.

The polyclimax theory was developed by Tansley in the 1920s.  it suggests that there may be more than 1 type of stable end point or climax community. The theory suggests that local factors such as soil, climate and disturbance greatly impact the composition and structure of the climax community.

The climax pattern theory was developed by Whittaker in 1953. This theory viewed the landscape as consisting of environmental gradients and the vegetation that develops will be different at each point along these gradients.  Climax vegetation will be a spatial pattern of vegetation that reflects the spatial variation of the physical environment.

 

2.       Grazing, Logging  mechanical treatment

The primary role of grazing in a wildlife management program is to reduce the quantity of old-growth grass monocultures, allowing sunlight to reach the lower growing forbs (weeds) which are important wildlife foods. In turn, this process also creates structural diversity for nesting, brood rearing, and escape cover.The primary role of grazing in a wildlife management program is to reduce the quantity of old-growth grass monocultures, allowing sunlight to reach the lower growing forbs (weeds) which are important wildlife foods. In turn, this process also creates structural diversity for nesting, brood rearing, and escape cover.

Prescribed grazing/browsing couples the use of foraging livestock that are selective in what they feed on with land management. It is a method of improving pasture forage production and livestock performance, and maintaining quality wildlife habitat by subdividing large areas of pastureland into smaller areas (paddocks) and grazing those areas in a flexible rotation when the plants are ready (mainly indicated by height). In this way, high quality forage is rationed out to meet livestock needs, while plants already grazed are protected from being eaten again until they have adequately recovered. It is the animals in these systems that are acting the same as equipment or fire to affect the vegetation in a plant community. When wildlife habitat enhancement is the planned objective, ruminants can be a very effective and rewarding management tool.

Logging:

Logging, process of harvesting trees, sawing them into appropriate lengths (bucking), and transporting them (skidding) to a sawmill. The different phases of this process vary with local conditions and technology.

In mechanized modern logging, trees are felled by crosscut saw or power-driven chain saw or, for trees of relatively young plantations, by a machine that cuts the entire tree in one bite. Trees are then cut into standard lengths and skidded to the mill by truck or tractor or conveyed to a central point by cable, either high above ground (high-lead and overhead skidding) or along the ground (groundline skidding). Helicopters and balloons are also used to transport logs.

Local conditions may dictate uncommon logging methods. In India, teakwood trees are killed by girdling (making a circular cut around the tree through the outer bark and cortex to interrupt the circulation of water and nutrients) and harvested several years later. Then, as is also common in Nigeria, they may be floated down the river by raft. In several Asian countries, timber may be transported by elephant.

 

3.      Advancing the succession

Succession is a periodic process from nudation to climax community in a particular area. It depends upon various abiotic factors to achieve the colonization stage. The colonise species is called ‘Pioneer’ species. Suppose a species invasion is occured in existing one and if that alien species reached to climax by defending the early existing pioneer species then it would be in advanced stage of succession process and it considered that existing environmental condition favoured or facilitate the invade species to reach in its advance stage of succession, because the new alien species is much advanced than pioneer by utilising existing species’s environment.

 

4.      Cover construction

Cover is the essential elements which provides space for living. All types of vegetation and any other physical entities present in habitat may considered as cover, through which the requirement of shelter for animals fulfilled.

The position, height and shape may influence the habitat quality wheather it is more suitable or not. Cover is different for different species in wildlife, so according to the species types the cover would be specific. To maintain the wildlife with balanced equilibrium cover construction is necessary.

There are various ways through which cover construction can be made easy.

i) Permanent Openings:

These are the area where ground is covered with grasses as well as herbaceous plants that are helpful for escape, nesting and brood rearing. These area provides food for birds and mammals like cottontail rabbits, turkey and songbirds. Silviculture is one of the technique which create the openings by planting annuals or perennials accordingly with the soil character and need of wildlife.

ii) Brush Piles:

After logging, placing the wooden log having 6-10 inches diameter and 6-8 feet long placed parallel to each other with 8-12 inches gap between them, then by placing more poles above it perpendicularly, loose stems can also be placed on second layer. Making dense at middle by twigs and looser near edge became piles last longer.

Below the piles, there having a plenty of space for quail, rabbit, turkey etc, the tunnel present in piles helps them to escaping from predators.

iii) Shrub:

Allowing the tress and shrubs to grow more densely which will ultimately helps in cover construction.

iv) Edge:

Edges are the areas where two vegetations coincides and provide food resources. This type of cover can be construct by planting in area having 20 feet wide, which should contain taller plants near to other small vegetation. Near to the meeting site of two vegetation trees are gets dropping down by hinge cutting where the droped trees provide escape points or shelter for animals and songbirds, deer, turkey etc.

Other methods of cover construction includes nest cavities for birds in trees, dead branch sites, dead portions of trees, artificial best sties like nest boxes which can be placed in trees or around ponds and marshes; travel corridors provide securely travel of animal which requires large habitat for inhabiting in search of food, the travel corridors may be streams, drains or rivers and over fence line.

 

 

 

5.      Preservation of general genetic diversity

 

 

6.      Restoration of degraded habitat :

The cause of habitat loss such as over exploitation, grazing, logging and through natural disaster like forest fire. Restoration is refers to gaining of suitable habitat more compatible like before of existing degraded habitat.

Before we think of habitat restoration, we must think about two root aspects of habitat i.e. vegetation and it’s linked part called soil. During the time of restoration it is necessary to avoid the reuse of habitat by any means wheather it may be logging, grazing and other intervention. Engagement of local people to the targeted area which is going to be restore should be done with proper planning. Priority should given to local people in scheme like replanting and reseeding. As we discussing about the importance of soil quality and vegetation, furthermore soil chemistry is very much vital i.e. soil moisture, it’s mineral content, presence of microorganism and it’s typology. After considering this we must choose proper vegetation which infact very much compatible for the area. In terms of this suitable vegetation, local people should provided with reseeding knowledge to increase the production of specific type of plants. Local people should aware about the protection method i.e. which plants is to given how much care and priority and what plant is for what purpose.

Though during the regaining of lost habitat, there been a sort of restrictions for local people and due to this restrictions local people will loose to getting necessary products like fuel, food, and fibre for thier use and for thier livestock too. So alternate provision must accomplish for compensation by giving benifit or access from nearby area.