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Forest ecosystem services and biodiversity in contrasting Himalayan forest management systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 August 2013

INGER E. MÅREN ,
KHEM R. BHATTARAI  and
RAM P. CHAUDHARY
INGER E. MÅREN*
Affiliation:
Uni Bjerknes Centre and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, University of Bergen, Allégaten 55, 5007 Bergen, Norway
KHEM R. BHATTARAI
Affiliation:
The National Herbarium and Plant Laboratories, Department of Plant Resources, Nepal
RAM P. CHAUDHARY
Affiliation:
Central Department of Botany, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal
*
*Correspondence: Dr Inger Måren Tel: +47 555 83597 Fax: +47 555 89667 e-mail: inger.maaren@geog.uib.no
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Summary

In developing countries, the landscape surrounding agricultural land is important for maintaining biodiversity and providing ecosystem services. Forests provide a full suite of goods and services to subsistence farmers in the Himalayan agro-ecological system. The effects of biomass outtake on woody species richness and composition were analysed in forests under communal and government management. Interviews on forest use and perception of forest condition and ecosystem service delivery were conducted in farmer households bordering the forests. Significantly more woody species were found in the community managed forests. Species richness was negatively correlated with walking distance from the nearest village and increasing levels of anthropogenic disturbance. Community forests were generally less degraded than government managed forests, giving support to common pool resource management. Woody vegetation represented a crucial source of fuelwood, timber, fodder, and edible, aromatic and medicinal plants. Using a multidisciplinary framework to analyse ecosystem integrity and ecosystem service delivery enabled a finer understanding of these complex agro-ecological systems, giving support to evidence-based management and conservation planning for the future.

Keywords

agro-ecological systemsbiodiversitybiomass outtakecommunity forestrygovernment managed forestslegal regimesustainability
Type
Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 41 , Issue 1 , March 2014 , pp. 73 - 83
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2013 

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