Forest Cover Change and Ecosystem Services: A Case Study of Community Forest in Mechinagar and Buddhashanti Landscape (MBL), Nepal

Rijal, Sushila; Techato, Kuaanan; Gyawali, Saroj; Stork, Nigel E.; Dangal, Megh Raj; Sinutok, Sutinee

doi:10.1007/s00267-021-01430-9

Cited by 14 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…Similarly, the forest increased in the mid-hills due to the implementation of effective community forestry program by the government. Our findings were similar to the findings of other parts of Nepal such as in Nepal’s Kailash Scared Landscape ( Uddin et al, 2015a ), Koshi River basin ( Rimal et al, 2019 ) and Mechinagar and Buddhasanti landscape ( Rijal et al, 2021b ) but different than studies from Bagmati River basin ( Rijal et al, 2021a ). Regeneration of the forest inside the ACA increased during recent years.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Land use/land cover changes in the central part of the Chitwan Annapurna Landscape, Nepal

Adhikari

Bhattarai

Rokaya

et al. 2022

PeerJ

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Background Land use/land cover assessment and monitoring of the land cover dynamics are essential to know the ecological, physical and anthropogenic processes in the landscape. Previous studies have indicated changes in the landscape of mid-hills of Nepal in the past few decades. But there is a lack of study in the Chitwan Annapurna Landscape; hence, this study was carried out to fill in study gap that existed in the area. Methods This study evaluates land use/land cover dynamics between 2000 to 2020 in the central part of the Chitwan Annapurna Landscape, Nepal by using Landsat images. The Landsat images were classified into eight different classes using remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS). The accuracy assessment of classified images was evaluated by calculating actual accuracy, producer’s accuracy, user’s accuracy and kappa coefficient based on the ground-truthing points for 2020 and Google Earth and topographic maps for images of 2010 and 2000. Results The results of land use/land cover analysis of Landsat image 2020 showed that the study area was composed of grassland (1.73%), barren area (1.76%), riverine forest (1.93%), water body (1.97%), developed area (4.13%), Sal dominated forest (15.4%), cropland (28.13%) and mixed forest (44.95%). The results of land cover change between 2000 to 2020 indicated an overall increase in Sal dominated forest (7.6%), developed area (31.34%), mixed forest (37.46%) and decrease in riverine forest (11.29%), barren area (20.03%), croplands (29.87%) and grasslands (49.71%). The classification of the images of 2000, 2010 and 2020 had 81%, 81.6% and 84.77% overall accuracy, respectively. This finding can be used as a baseline information for the development of a proper management plan to protect wildlife habitats and forecasting possible future changes, if needed.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Land use/land cover changes in the central part of the Chitwan Annapurna Landscape, Nepal

Adhikari

Bhattarai

Rokaya

et al. 2022

PeerJ

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“…For improved and healthy forest, afforestation and reforestation, regular silvicultural activities, such as thinning, pruning, singling, clearing, and the removal of invasive species, bushes, thrones, dry leaves, and litter were carried out. According to the financial report of the KCF, the CF annually spent, on average, USD 19,960.4 during fiscal years 2016/017-2019/020 for the management and development of forest resources [36]. The extraction of forest products is based on systematic procedures and schedules.…”

Section: Community Forest Management In Adapting With Climate Change ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the basis of operational plans (legal documents with legitimized provisions for forest management), CFUGs are involved in protection-oriented programs such as forest fire control, combating encroachment and the illegal logging of forest products, regular monitoring and raising awareness, as well as sustainable silvicultural practices to ensure the sustainable utilization of the forest resources [33,34]. Nepal is one of the pioneering countries of CF, with several success stories [35,36] of improving the forest conditions, practicing democratic decision-making processes, and promoting local development activities [37,38]. The program provides a wide range of socio-economic and environmental benefits, including ecological, institutional, financial, and social services and safety nets.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Forest cover not only offers several socioeconomic benefits and ecosystem services [36] but also plays a pivotal role particularly in mitigating the adverse impacts of climate change [40] due to its ability to sustain its own carbon stock in several pools, such as standing trees, roots, leaf, litter, and soil, and to remove additional atmospheric carbon [14]. In order to mitigate the climate change impacts globally and provide adaptation strategies locally, methods for accurately estimating the forest carbon in trees and strategies for its management must be explored [41].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Contribution of Community-Managed Sal-Based Forest in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation: A Case from Nepal

Rijal

Sinutok

Techato

et al. 2022

Forests

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Forests are viable tools in combating the impacts of climate change, as they are capable of sequestering atmospheric carbon and storing it in different pools. This study aimed to examine the carbon sequestration potential of community-managed Shorea robusta (Sal) forest and assess the practices that have the potential to reduce adverse climate change impacts, thereby improving the livelihoods of forest-based communities. For this, we obtained forest inventory-derived carbon data from 11 sample plots of Shorea robusta (Sal) forest, analyzed them using allometric equations, and estimated the carbon storage and climate change mitigation potential of these forests, while focus group discussions and desk review of secondary information were employed to investigate the adaptation potential. The results show that the estimated biomass density of the selected forest is 352.46 ± 63.79 t/ha, whereas the carbon stock density is 165.66 ± 29.98 t/ha and the CO2 equivalent is 598.07 ± 110.48 t/ha. The study further revealed that community forest management, as a successful model of participatory forest management and community forest user group (CFUG) as a resourceful local institution, has been playing an important role in the diversification of livelihoods and income opportunities, social cohesion and thus climate change adaptation through collective actions. The adaptation and mitigation of climate change impacts have been prioritized in the operational plans of the CFUGs. Through the promotion and prioritization of alternative energy, agroforestry and enhanced livelihood options, the CFUGs are committed to the sustainable management of forest resources and to enhancing the livelihoods of local communities. This study indicates the relevance of community forests as a priority institution for the implementation of Local Adaptation Plans for Action (LAPA) and support National Adaptation Program of Action (NAPA) to combat climatic impacts, providing important information for planners and policy makers in Nepal and elsewhere.

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“…Ecosystem services are direct or indirect benefits provided by nature to mankind ( IPBES, 2019 ; Zhan et al, 2019 ). Ecosystem services generally include exported tangible material products and provide intangible services, which can be further categorized into providing, supporting, regulating, and cultural and entertainment services ( Rijal et al, 2021 ; Sun, 2017 ). The rapid growth of the global population, economic development, improvement of living standards, and increasing human water demand have resulted in the elevation of water shortages as a major threat to the sustainable development of human society ( Huang et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using InVEST to evaluate water yield services in Shangri-La, Northwestern Yunnan, China

Sun²,

Wang

et al. 2022

PeerJ

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Water yield is an ecosystem service that is vital to not only human life, but also sustainable development of the social economy and ecosystem. This study used annual average precipitation, potential evapotranspiration, plant available water content, soil depth, biophysical parameters, Zhang parameter, and land use/land cover (LULC) as input data for the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Service Tradeoffs (InVEST) model to estimate the water yield of Shangri-La City from 1974 to 2015. The spatiotemporal variations and associated factors (precipitation, evapotranspiration, LULC, and topographic factors) in water yield ecosystem services were then analyzed. The result showed that: (1) The water yield of Shangri-La City decreases from north and south to the center and showed a temporal trend from 1974 to 2015 of an initial decrease followed by an increase. Areas of higher average water yield were mainly in Hutiaoxia Town, Jinjiang Town, and Shangjiang Township. (2) Areas of importance for water yield in the study area which need to be assigned priority protection were mainly concentrated in the west of Jiantang Town, in central Xiaozhongdian Town, in central Gezan Township, in northwestern Dongwang Township, and in Hutiaoxia Town. (3) Water yield was affected by precipitation, evapotranspiration, vegetation type, and topographic factors. Water yield was positively and negatively correlated with precipitation and potential evapotranspiration, respectively. The average water yield of shrubs exceeded that of meadows and forests. Terrain factors indirectly affected the ecosystem service functions of water yield by affecting precipitation and vegetation types. The model used in this study can provide references for relevant research in similar climatic conditions.

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Forest Cover Change and Ecosystem Services: A Case Study of Community Forest in Mechinagar and Buddhashanti Landscape (MBL), Nepal

Cited by 14 publications

References 68 publications

Land use/land cover changes in the central part of the Chitwan Annapurna Landscape, Nepal

Land use/land cover changes in the central part of the Chitwan Annapurna Landscape, Nepal

Contribution of Community-Managed Sal-Based Forest in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation: A Case from Nepal

Using InVEST to evaluate water yield services in Shangri-La, Northwestern Yunnan, China

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