Environmental and Sustainable Development Through Forestry and Other Resources

Arnab Banerjee, Manoj Kumar Jhariya, Dhiraj Kumar Yadav, Abhishek Raj, Arnab Banerjee, Manoj Kumar Jhariya, Dhiraj Kumar Yadav, Abhishek Raj

• Publisher: Apple Academic Press
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781000007244
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Environmental Conservation & Protection
• Index: Biological Sciences

This book looks at using forestry and several other innovative measures to facilitate environmental sustainability, covering an important selection of research that focuses on scientific applications and trends. Chapters discuss such diverse topics as using agroforestry for resource management, employing legumes in agroforestry, livestock management for climate change mitigation, introducing higher plants for air pollution mitigation in urban industrial areas, the uses and benefits of sludge, technological assessment of sewage treatment plants, and much more.

This book will be a helpful and informative reference for those in the disciplines of forestry, agriculture, ecology, and environmental science and will also be a pathway to addressing new concepts for a sustainable world.

CHAPTER 1

Forests for Resource Management and Environmental Protection

Abhishek Raj,¹ M. K. Jhariya,² D. K. Yadav,² and A. Banerjee³

¹Department of Forestry, College of Agriculture, I.G.K.V., Raipur-492012 (C.G.), India, E-mail: [email protected]

²Department of Farm Forestry, Sarguja University, Ambikapur–497001 (C.G.), India, E-mails: [email protected] (M. K. Jhariya); [email protected] (D. K. Yadav)

³Department of Environmental Science, Sarguja University, Ambikapur – 497001 (C.G.), India, E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

Forests are one of the largest natural resource, the habitat of precious flora and fauna and many other organisms, nurturing soil-inhabiting organism along with maintaining soil quality and health, mitigating climate change and GHGs level in the atmosphere through the activity carbon storage and sequestration into vegetation and soils, respectively. Forests provide both tangible and intangible ecosystem services which help in sustaining the lives on the earth. Tangible (direct) benefits include both timber and non-timber forest products, whereas biodiversity conservation, watershed management, climate change mitigation, soil management, and livelihood security are regarded as intangible and indirect services from the forests. The activities like deforestation, faulty agricultural practices, overexploitation of NTFPs, etc., are destroying the valuable resources and ecosystem health through the release of several greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere. In this context, sustainable forest management plays a vital role in productivity and health of forests and related forest products, which recognize an important source of income to the rural farmer and tribal people. Thus, effective policies and its implementation with good governance, scientific-based R&D, and building an effective roadmap for future strategies and scientific oriented programs are the good strategies for forest management.

1.1 Introduction

Forest has played a very remarkable role in supporting and sustaining livelihoods through providing food and nutrition to the population and make food and nutritional security (FNS). Not to only specific but these systems range from natural forest to plantation and agroforestry systems where people get bulk of tangible and intangible materials for their life and environment sustenance. As we know, forest and trees play an incredible role in well being of human, wild animal, and other organisms with overall proper functioning of ecosystems and maintaining the biodiversity. It is a well-known fact that forest provides both direct and indirect benefits to all organisms, which are the basis of life and provide smooth functioning of the ecosystem and its services to whole biomes. But due to the activity of deforestation, land degradation, diversion of forested land to the non-forested area such as agricultural intensification, development projects like industry, railways lines, power projects, construction of dams and canals, etc. which affects the biodiversity and destroy this treasure at the regional and global level.

Moreover, the forest provides various NTFPs and healthy food and fruits to people which are the basis of healthy life and the source of income that maintain ecosystem health and environmental security (Figure 1.1). Forest stores diverse type of flora and fauna which is life-supporting for humans and very essential for the smooth functioning of ecosystem and its services. Forest stores various type of wild edible plants, medicinal plants, beneficial herbs, timber trees, NTFPs species that provides certain ecosystem services along which is very essential for staple crop production. For example, forest supports some essential pollinators that have significance importance in crop production and tree-based cropping systems throughout the world. NTFPs, which are the primary source from forest, play a vital role in rural economy and strengthening the tribal livelihood by accessing money and providing opportunities of employment to people (Chou, 2018; Harbia et al., 2018; Leßmeister et al., 2018).

Forest and tree-based farming systems offer multifarious advantages over other permanent cropping systems in the term of providing diverse food production with a great adaptability to a wide range of environment and climatic conditions. Forest and other woodland systems in tropical region (particularly moist region) represent a great biodiversity and stores important species of desired importance worldwide (Mace et al., 2005; Lindenmayer, 2009; Gibson et al., 2011). However, some anthropogenic pressure and faulty human activities lead degradation and fragmentation of forest which resulted much loss of biodiversity (Lindenmayer and Franklin, 2002; FAO, 2015a; Newbold et al., 2015; Van Der Plas et al., 2016). Asia, Africa, Central, and South America, have been experiencing continue declining (Newbold et al., 2015; Keenan et al., 2015).

Although, forests offers a remarkable ecosystem services such as climate regulation (through minimizing climate change impact), biomass production (through carbon storage and sequestration), water supply and purification, pollination, and the provision of habitats for forest species (Bauhus et al., 2010; Thompson et al., 2011; Brockerhoff et al., 2013; Decocq et al., 2016; Liang et al., 2016; Mori et al., 2017). There is a great relationship and crystal clear link are exist between biodiversity and most ecosystem services (Gamfeldt et al., 2013). Larger trees with older age have a capacity to create the most benefits as economical return through the better scientific planting technology with care and maintenance (Lindenmayer and Laurance, 2017). Similarly, trees are a very good solution for the problem, which faced by people today for those residing in the both urban and rural region. Likewise, arboreta, and botanical gardens can play an important role in healthy urban forest ecosystem. As per expert suggestions in every dollar of investment on planting, care, and management of trees can result higher return even up to 500% (McPherson et al., 2005, 2016). Large trees have multifarious benefits in the term of habitat creation for other important species (Stagoll et al., 2012; Le Roux et al., 2015; Lindenmayer and Laurance, 2017) and environmental health maintenance through storage and sequestration of carbon from the atmosphere (Stephenson et al., 2014).

FIGURE 1.1 Climate change impact on forest ecosystem.

This chapter reviews and highlighted importance of forest, its multifarious and uncountable benefits such as tangible (direct) and intangible (indirect) which helps in sustaining the lives on the earth. Forest plays a major role in resources management and its proper utilization through scientific production of both timber and non-timber forest products whereas biodiversity conservation, watershed management, climate change mitigation, soil management and livelihood security are regarded as intangible and indirect services from the forests. This chapter also highlighted about forest role in mitigating climate change and strengthening socio-economic status of rural farmers and forest dwellers.

1.2 Forest: A Global Context

Globally, the forest is the 2^nd largest land use terrestrial natural resources after the agriculture which plays a major role socio-economic development of tribal people but due to degradation of 41% of forest cover in the country (India) which affects all biodiversity and environmental health system (MoEF, 2002). Similarly, Indian forest gave shelter to 14% of people’s population which directly and indirectly depends on timber and NTFPs for their life (MoEF, 2002; Kumar, 2002). India represents 12 megabiodiverse country of the world with 47,000 (12% of the world flora) and 90,000 (7.28% of the world fauna) species of both flora and animal species (MoEF, 2007).

There are a several definitions of forest reported by various forest and environmental organization. For example, according to FRA (Forest Resource Assessment) (2005) the land having canopy cover of >10% with tree higher than 5 m on >0.5 ha area are regarded as forest and free of agricultural or urban use (FAO, 2006). Recently, the statistics report through FRA I valuable resource in many scientific studies such as study report on forest and agricultural land dynamics (Ausubel et al., 2012), deforestation (Hosonuma et al., 2012), environmental health and its sustainability (Arrow et al., 2012) and the biogeochemical cycle including carbon cycle (Smith et al., 2014). As per FAO (2015b), total forest covers were 3999 million hectares globally (compared to woodland area covered by 1204 million hectares) in the year of 2015 which reflects nearly 31% of worlds land area and contributed 0.6 hectares for every person. Around 44% global forest area share by tropical region followed by 26% (temperate region), 22% (boreal) and 8% (sub-tropical region), respectively (Table 1.1).

TABLE 1.1 Comparative Area of Forest and Other Woodland in the World Forest (FAO, 2015b)

1.3 Forest for Multifarious Benefits and Ecosystem Services

Indeed, the forest provides multifarious benefits, including both tangible (direct) and intangible indirect service in the term of ecosystem services. Tangible services comprise timber, NTFPs, fuelwood, biofuel, etc. while biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, watershed management, soil fertility enhancement, and nutrient cycling, etc., are the potential indirect services from forest ecosystem (Figure 1.2).

1.3.1 Tangible Benefits

Timber and NTFPs are very important tangible (direct) products derived from the natural and plantation forest and have been used by people and societies from the ancient time around the world. From the ancient time, timber is used for the construction purpose of building, pole, house post, pillar, bridge, etc., which is prerequisite and basic need for the human society for their living and life sustenance. Softwood and hardwood based timber from the forest are used for the construction industry such as brick, steel, timber, sand, cement, and other aggregates. But the timber-based supply chain is unique. As we know, construction materials require ores, rocks, or a soil which is mechanically removed from the earth. While timber is harvested from the fo...