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Summary

Environment Class 08

## FOREST FIRE (5:05 PM)

- Forest fire in India should be understood in the context of the deciduous forest that dominates the peninsular landmass
- The deciduous forest, particularly those that are part of tropical to sub-tropical regions of the peninsular region of India with low to moderate rainfall, are much more prone to wildfires and forest fires
- ***Causes of forest fires in India***
- 1. *==Spells of dry climate==*
- The dry climate in the deciduous forest can easily lead to huge areas of forest  coming under forest fire
- The dry climate makes the vegetable litter on  the ground dry which could facilitate forest fires to spread over huge areas
- The dry climate makes the wood dry and therefore the frictional contact between dry wood can trigger forest fires which can also spread easily
- Dry condition also makes the soil dry and hence the litter is even more drier because of the absence of soil moisture
- 2. *==Deforestation==*
- Deforestation can trigger forest fires and help in their spread
- Deforestation increases wind speed, hence frictional contact between dry wood is increased, which can trigger fires
- Deforestation dries up water bodies due to reduced recharge of the groundwater
- This can help forest fires to spread over much larger areas because of the absence of water bodies, which can break the spread of these fires
- Deforestation exposes undergrowth to direct solar energy which dries up this undergrowth along with the litter, hence fire can spread over a much larger area
- 3. *==Introduction of invasive species==*
- India's forest fires are also because of the spread of invasive species on a large scale in the sub-Himalayan forest and also peninsular forests
- Invasive species have the property of multiplying rapidly, wiping out the local vegetation
- the sub-Himalayan region of Himachal, Uttarakhand, pockets of Punjab, and Kashmir regions have large areas under the invasive Charpine
- The leaves of these trees are waxy and also have a lot of raisins
- These leaves also do not decompose easily, and therefore the vegetable litter made up of these leaves and branches becomes very thick
- Since these leaves are highly inflammable, forest fires can spread over huge areas in a short span of time
- The peninsular forest has large areas under the shrub Lantana (Camara)
- This spread as a thick undergrowth
- In the dry season, it can help in the spread of forest fires rapidly
- Similarly, Eucalyptus in peninsular forests has depleted underground water, drying up the undergrowth and bush
- This intensifies forest fire
- 4. *==Illegal activities==*
- Illegal felling of trees, particularly by organized timber mafia is a major factor for the forest fires in Himalayan forest and also in pockets of peninsular India
- The government of India has a law that does not allow felling of trees above a particular height
- The timber mafia starts fires above this height and this forces the government to relax the rule, permission is now given to fell the trees that are damaged
- This creates an opportunity for the mafia to fell a large number of trees illegally, with the indirect support of forest officials
- These groups again start forest fires after illegal felling to destroy the evidence
- 5. *==Shifting Cultivation==*
- Shifting cultivation is a major factor triggering forest fires in northeast India, central India, and parts of southern peninsular India
- The tribal communities always burn the stumps after cutting down the tree, this can trigger forest fires accidentally
- Since shifting cultivation is practiced in tropical mountainous regions, the risk of forest fire is much more
- 6. *==Unplanned Rural Settlements==*
- Unplanned rural settlements on the margins of grasslands and forests are also responsible for triggering fires accidentally
- The settlements come up in the fringes because this community depends on minor forest produce for their livelihood, and also uses pure wood as a source of energy
- These settlements can trigger forest fires accidentally
- ***Types of Forest in India*** **(6:37 PM)**
- Forest Act 1927 categories forest into reserved forest, protected forest, and village forest
- State of Forest Report classifies forest into reserved forest, protected forest, and unclassed forest
- *==Reserved Forest==*
- It is notified by the state government in India from an existing forest land or a wasteland
- The state government holds property right but the land is held by the government of India
- All activities, even this those that were carried out earlier before it was notified, are prohibited unless specifically allowed by the forest officer
- The forest officer can also allow, the collection of non-timber forest and grazing if it is critical to the livelihoods of some local communities
- Reserved forests can never be changed  into national parks and wildlife sanctuaries
- Only those portions of reserved forest which have become  part of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries get the status of protected areas
- They make up almost 53% of the total forest in India
- *==Protected Forest==*
- They for the lands which are not part of reserved forest
- States have property rights, but the land is held by the central government
- All activities are allowed unless specifically prohibited
- The state notifies the protected forest for two reasons:
- 1. The state gets some opportunities to raise revenues from timber and non-timber forest produce etc. which can be exploited
- 2. The state can prevent indiscriminate exploitation of resources because it has the power to form guidelines and rules on the exploitation of resources because it holds property rights
- This helps in the conversation of the resources
- Protected forests cannot also be changed into wildlife sanctuaries and national parks
- *==Village Forest==*
- These are also community forests, which the state government assigns to a village or a group of villages
- The state government assigns a part of the reserved forest to the village as a village/community forest
- The local community will exercise grazing rights and also can collect some non-timber forest produce, but without harming the ecosystem
- The community is managing and protecting these forests
- *==Unclassed Forest==*
- All forest which is not part of a reserved forest or protected forest but is part of a recorded forest is put under the category of unclassed forest
- *==Recorded Forest==*
- The recorded forest is also called a forest area
- This is an area entered as a forest area in the revenue records of the government  or it is declared as a forest under a state forest law
- *==Forest Cover==*
- It refers to the land of at least one hectare with a canopy cover of more than 10% regardless of ownership
- *==Tree Cover==*
- It is land less than one hectare with a canopy cover of more than 10% regardless of ownership
- ***Data as per India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2021***
- *==Reserved Forest==*
- The absolute area under the reserved forest in India is highest in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh
- Least reserved forest: Punjab
- Reserved Forest UT: J&K, A&N, D&D, Delhi, Chandigarh
- The least reserved forest among UT is in Lakshadweep
- Forest cover as a percent of the state area or forest density is Mizoram (85.4%), Arunachal Pradesh (79.6 %), Meghalaya (76.3 %),  Manipur (75.4%), Nagaland (75.3%)
- *==Tree Cover==*
- Tree cover of states Maharastra, Rajasthan, MP, and UP
- The least tree cover is Sikkim
- Union Territories in tree cover: Andaman and Nicobar, Dadra and Daman, Puducherry, Chandigarh
- The least tree cover among union territories is in Lakshadweep
- *==Recorded Forest==*
- Largest area under-recorded forest: MP, Maharashtra, Odisha, Chattisgarh, Arunachal Pradesh
- Least recorded forest area: Haryana, Punjab
- Recorded forest in UT: J&K, A&N, D&D, Delhi, Chandigarh, Puducherry
- Least recorded forest amongst UTs is in Lakshadweep
- *==Protected Forest==*
- Protected forests in the state area-wise: MP, Himachal, Odisha, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand
- Least protected forest in states: Kerala= Nagaland (0), Tripura (2 sq. km)
- Protected forests in UT: J&K, A&N Islands, Delhi, Dadra&Daman
- Least protected areas in UT: Chandigarh = Ladakh (0)
- World's top ten countries in forest area: Russia, Brazil, Canada, USA, China, Australia, DRC, Indonesia, Peru (1.82%), and India (1.8%)

## BIODIVERSITY (7:43 PM)

- Walter G. Rosen coined the term biodiversity
- Biodiversity refers to the collection of all plant, animals, and microorganic life, their habitats, and ecological process in that region
- ***Genetic Diversity***
- It is the variation in the genetic makeup across individuals of a species
- A gene pool is the collection of all the genes in a given species
- ***Species Diversity***
- It can be understood in terms of species richness, which is the number of different species in a given ecosystem
- Species richness is measured by:
- 1. *==Alpha Diversity==*
- It is the direct count of the number of species in a given ecosystem or habitat
- 2. *==Beta Diversity==*
- It is the change in species in different ecosystems within a given region
- 3. *==Gamma Diversity==*
- It is a measure of overall species diversity in different ecosystems in a given region
- Species Evenness is the other way to measure species richness
- It refers to the number of individuals of different species in the same ecosystem
- If this number is almost the same or close, there is high species evenness
- If this number of individuals is highly variable, then there is low species evenness

## Topics for the next class: Continuation of biodiversity