Sacred Forests: Their Ecology and Diversity

Pandey, H N

• Publisher: Regency Publications
• Year: 2021
• eBook ISBN:
  9789351300366
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Faith & Lived Religion

Indigenous and local communities all across the globe have conserved thousands of sacred sites and sacred forests for millennia for spiritual, cultural, economic and aesthetic purposes. More recently when the species are getting extinct at faster rate all over the world, sacred forests have attracted the attention of biologists for their value in the conservation of biodiversity including rare, endemic and threatened plant and animal species and species of medicinal and economic importance. Besides biodiversity conservation, sacred forests play important role in the life of local communities by providing essential environmental services and economic benefits to them. This book, besides giving an overview of sacred forests in India, provides comprehensive synthesis of the results of researches carried out at NEHU on the sacred forests. It is a significant addition to our knowledge on the sacred forests, in particular about species composition, community characters, tree regeneration, litter and fine root dynamics, microbial and nutrient dynamics in soil system, and evaluates the impact of anthropogenic disturbances on the above characteristics of the sacred forests. The book also identifies factors threatening the existence of sacred forests in the country and suggests measures for their conservation. The research findings presented in the book further reinforces scientific reasons for conserving sacred forests. The book will inspire young researchers to carry out further studies on sacred forests covering socio-cultural and biological dimensions. The book will be of immense use to the forest ecologists, conservationists, foresters, NGOs, and local communities interested in the conservation of sacred forests in the country.

Table of contents

• Foreword
• Preface
• List of Illustrations
• List of Tables
• 1. Sacred Forests
• 1.1 The Concept
• 1.2 Distribution of Sacred Forests in the World
• 1.3 Distribution of Sacred Forests in India
• 1.4 Classification of Sacred Forests
• 1.5 Ecological importance of Sacred Forests
• 1.6 Socio-cultural Importance
• 1.7 Degradation of Sacred Forests
• 2. Meghalaya: An Overview
• 2.1 Geology
• 2.2 Physiography
• 2.3 Climate
• 2.4 Soil
• 2.5 Vegetation
• 2.6 Forest Degradation
• 3. Sacred Forests of Meghalaya
• 3.1 Distribution of Sacred Groves
• 3.2 Importance of Sacred Groves in the Life of the People
• 3.3 Management of Sacred Groves
• 3.4 Status and Threats to Sacred Groves
• 3.5 Some Important Sacred Groves of Meghalaya
• 4. Floristic Diversity
• 4.1 Floristic Composition of Sacred Groves of Jaintia Hills
• 4.2 Floristic Composition of Sacred Groves of East Khasi Hills
• 4.3 Plant Species of Economic Importance
• 4.4 Rare, Endemic and Threatened Plant Species
• 5. Community Structure: Life-form, Stratification and Tree Population Structure
• 5.1 Life-form Spectrum
• 5.2 Stratification
• 5.3 Tree Population Structure
• 6. Community Structure: Species Dispersion, Diversity and Dominance
• 6.1 Species-area Curve
• 6.2 Dispersion Pattern
• 6.3 Species Diversity
• 6.4 Keystone Species
• 7. Tree Regeneration
• 7.1 Seed Production
• 7.2 Periodicity of Tree Seed Fall
• 7.3 Seed Dispersal and Fate of Seeds
• 7.4 Tree Seedling Growth
• 7.5 Effect of Seed Weight on Germination and Growth and Survival of Seedlings
• 7.6 Effect of Gaps and Understorey on Germination and Seedling Survival
• 7.7 Survival and Growth of Transplanted Seedlings in Gaps and Understorey
• 8. Nutrient Dynamics: Role of Aboveground Litter, Fine Roots and Microbial Biomass
• 8.1 Soil Nutrient Status
• 8.2 Litter and Fine Root Production
• 8.3 Nutrient Accumulation in Litter, Fine Roots and Microbial Biomass
• 8.4 Nutrient Input through Litter and Fine Roots
• 8.5 Decomposition of Leaf Litter and Fine Roots
• 8.6 N and P Mineralization
• 9. Impact of Anthropogenic Disturbance and Conservation of Sacred Groves
• 9.1 Impact of Anthropogenic Disturbance
• 9.2 Conservation of Sacred Grove
• Appendices
• Bibliography
• Index