- GIS Centre, IT & GIS Discipline
Forest Research Institute, PO: New Forest, Dehradun, India, PIN - 248006 - +91 8077413164
- Climate Change, Environmental Pollution Control, Forest Hydrology, Vegetation Modelling, EIA Studies, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and 16 moreLand Use/ Land Cover Dynamics and LULc Modeling, Climatology, Mitigation, Environmental flows, Forestry, Landscape change, Land use/ land cover change studies, Land Use Model, Physiological Ecology, Landscape modelling, Forest Management, Climate Change Adaptation, global Climate change, Downscaling, Social-Ecological Systems, and Adaptation to Climate Changeedit
Research Interests:
The PhenoPine is a Growing Degree Day (GDD) simulation model that can be used to trace the phenology of pine (Pinus roxburghii) under changing regimes of ambient temperature rise. The PhenoPine was developed using field-based observations... more
The PhenoPine is a Growing Degree Day (GDD) simulation model that can be used to trace the phenology of pine (Pinus roxburghii) under changing regimes of ambient temperature rise. The PhenoPine was developed using field-based observations for pine-a dominant tree species under the "Chir Pine forests" of Indian Western Himalayan region. Phenological stages of pine have been worked out on the basis of GDD. The GDD was computed assuming zero degree Celsius as base temperature and the accumulated averaged values over different phenological stages for developing phenology of the tree. The model has been built in Fortran Simulation Translator. Initially, the model has been developed to trace the impacts of temperature considering temperature as the major driving force for the phenology, while the lack of data for other forces also made this an obvious choice. Simulation through the PhenoPine can be done to trace the stages of initiation and termination of needle (leaf) formation, litter fall, cone formation; and the longevity of each phases under the changing regime of temperature rise.
Research Interests:
Forests are one of the major sources of livelihood that need to be conserved. In India, there have been continuous efforts to evolve a scientific basis for sustainable management of forests. In recent century, this has primarily been... more
Forests are one of the major sources of livelihood that need to be conserved. In India, there have been continuous efforts to evolve a scientific basis for sustainable management of forests. In recent century, this has primarily been addressed through "forest management plans," also known as "working plans." To make the plans uniform for each of the forest management units, guidelines have been issued by Government of India in the name of "working plan code,"which are revised periodically to match present days' requirement. A working plan largely deals with the present state of the forest, outcomes of past management, and proposal of future management on a scientific basis. With a significant lapse of time, the role of forests has been recognized beyond mere supply of timber (a major resource) to fulfilling the demands of minor resources and ecological services. This has transformed the basis of forest management and the working plans. With reference to India, we discuss the relevance of working plan for sustainable management of forests; highlights of the most recent working plan code (2014); relevance of the code with reference to climate change and biodiversity, future perspectives, and recommendations for better management of the forests.
Research Interests:
The Himalayan ecosystem is one of the sensitive and fragile ecosystems with rich biodiversity that provides major ecosystem services. The study was conducted to measure the extent of vulnerability across forested grids of Uttarakhand—one... more
The Himalayan ecosystem is one of the sensitive and fragile ecosystems with rich biodiversity that provides major ecosystem services. The study was conducted to measure the extent of vulnerability across forested grids of Uttarakhand—one of the States of Indian Western Himalayan (IWH) region. The forests of the state are exposed to various anthropo-genic and natural climatic pressures, thus making them vulnerable. In this paper, we demonstrate how to map vulnerability of forest ecosystem by analyzing variability and trends of net primary productivity (NPP). The vulnerability of the forest ecosystem was evaluated through trends of sensitivity and adaptability of NPP. The sensitivity of a system was considered as the response degree of the system to climatic variability whereas adaptability was considered as the ability to maintain, recover or improve its structure in the face of climatic stresses. In our study, NPP was considered as the receptor of shock and stresses of climatic variability and human disturbances. We discuss the method and results with reference to productivity changes under the influence of changing climate for the forested landscape of a mountainous region. The results have been summarized to rank vulnerability at the level of administrative boundary of governance, i.e. district. Average value of vulnerability for all NPP pixels of forests grids in a district was used to compute the vulnerability at district level. The study will help forest managers in decision making for efficiently allocating resources and to prioritize management options in the identified regions to improve productivity in coming times.