IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/endesu/v22y2020i2d10.1007_s10668-018-0254-4.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Change in forest and vegetation cover influencing distribution and uses of plants in the Kailash Sacred Landscape, Nepal

Author

Listed:
  • Ripu M. Kunwar

    (Florida Atlantic University)

  • Aaron Evans

    (Florida Atlantic University)

  • Janardan Mainali

    (Portland State University)

  • Abdul S. Ansari

    (UNDP Climate Change Program)

  • Bhagawat Rimal

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Rainer W. Bussmann

    (Saving Knowledge)

Abstract

The study of vegetation and land-use change has been frequently used to assess the anthropogenic impacts on the distribution and uses of medicinal plant species. Using data from ecological investigations, remote sensing and participant observations, the nexus of socioeconomy, forest management and conservation of medicinal plants can be analyzed. In the current study, we employed a similar approach to study the impact of forest and vegetation cover, socioeconomic changes on plant distribution and use in remote and rural districts of Nepal. We have used remote-sensing data to analyze the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Leaf Area Index (LAI) as proxies to analyze the changes in forest cover and vegetation. Informant interviews and group discussions were held with local participants to assess their opinion about the uses and distribution of plants, forests and vegetation. While the overall vegetation cover was decreasing, a fluctuated pattern was recorded with a reduction in NDVI from 2000 to 2008, and subsequent increase after that. A positive correlation between LAI and NDVI was found, but the index varied spatially and temporally and sometimes was negatively correlated as NDVI saturated and became insensitive. Due to decreasing old-growth primary forests, land-use changes, and increasing sociocultural transformations, we found that the tradition of transhumance and collection of indigenous medicinal plants were rapidly being changed and the non-indigenous plants were increasingly being collected from the accessible forest areas and human-derived landscapes. These changes help us conclude that the salient sites and species are being assimilated in the local traditions; making traditional systems more versatile, diverse and adaptive.

Suggested Citation

  • Ripu M. Kunwar & Aaron Evans & Janardan Mainali & Abdul S. Ansari & Bhagawat Rimal & Rainer W. Bussmann, 2020. "Change in forest and vegetation cover influencing distribution and uses of plants in the Kailash Sacred Landscape, Nepal," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 1397-1412, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:endesu:v:22:y:2020:i:2:d:10.1007_s10668-018-0254-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s10668-018-0254-4
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10668-018-0254-4
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10668-018-0254-4?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anyinam, Charles, 1995. "Ecology and ethnomedicine: Exploring links between current environmental crisis and indigenous medical practices," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 321-329, February.
    2. Bhagawat Rimal & Lifu Zhang & Dongjie Fu & Ripu Kunwar & Yongguang Zhai, 2017. "Monitoring Urban Growth and the Nepal Earthquake 2015 for Sustainability of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal," Land, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-23, June.
    3. Arnold, J. E. Michael & Perez, M. Ruiz, 2001. "Can non-timber forest products match tropical forest conservation and development objectives?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 437-447, December.
    4. Gian-Reto Walther & Eric Post & Peter Convey & Annette Menzel & Camille Parmesan & Trevor J. C. Beebee & Jean-Marc Fromentin & Ove Hoegh-Guldberg & Franz Bairlein, 2002. "Ecological responses to recent climate change," Nature, Nature, vol. 416(6879), pages 389-395, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hanwen Zhang & Yanqing Lang, 2022. "Quantifying and Analyzing the Responses of Habitat Quality to Land Use Change in Guangdong Province, China over the Past 40 Years," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-23, May.
    2. Chenbo Huang & Xiaojing Cheng & Zhiming Zhang, 2024. "Future Land Use and Habitat Quality Dynamics: Spatio-Temporal Analysis and Simulation in the Taihu Lake Basin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-19, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mayeul Dalleau & Stéphane Ciccione & Jeanne A Mortimer & Julie Garnier & Simon Benhamou & Jérôme Bourjea, 2012. "Nesting Phenology of Marine Turtles: Insights from a Regional Comparative Analysis on Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas)," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(10), pages 1-13, October.
    2. Bu, Lingduo & Chen, Xinping & Li, Shiqing & Liu, Jianliang & Zhu, Lin & Luo, Shasha & Lee Hill, Robert & Zhao, Ying, 2015. "The effect of adapting cultivars on the water use efficiency of dryland maize (Zea mays L.) in northwestern China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 1-9.
    3. Ishtiyak Ahmad Peerzada & Mohammad A. Islam & James Chamberlain & Shalini Dhyani & Mohan Reddy & Somidh Saha, 2022. "Potential of NTFP Based Bioeconomy in Livelihood Security and Income Inequality Mitigation in Kashmir Himalayas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-20, February.
    4. Anne Goodenough & Adam Hart, 2013. "Correlates of vulnerability to climate-induced distribution changes in European avifauna: habitat, migration and endemism," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 118(3), pages 659-669, June.
    5. Monika Punia & Suman Nain & Amit Kumar & Bhupendra Singh & Amit Prakash & Krishan Kumar & V. Jain, 2015. "Analysis of temperature variability over north-west part of India for the period 1970–2000," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 75(1), pages 935-952, January.
    6. Wesley R. Brooks & Stephen C. Newbold, 2013. "Ecosystem damages in integrated assessment models of climate change," NCEE Working Paper Series 201302, National Center for Environmental Economics, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, revised Mar 2013.
    7. Nicoletta Cannone & M. Guglielmin & P. Convey & M. R. Worland & S. E. Favero Longo, 2016. "Vascular plant changes in extreme environments: effects of multiple drivers," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 134(4), pages 651-665, February.
    8. Groeneveld, Jürgen & Johst, Karin & Kawaguchi, So & Meyer, Bettina & Teschke, Mathias & Grimm, Volker, 2015. "How biological clocks and changing environmental conditions determine local population growth and species distribution in Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba): a conceptual model," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 303(C), pages 78-86.
    9. Norman Myers, 2003. "Conservation of Biodiversity: How Are We Doing?," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 9-15, March.
    10. Donohue, John G. & Piiroinen, Petri T., 2015. "Mathematical modelling of seasonal migration with applications to climate change," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 299(C), pages 79-94.
    11. John H Matthews & Bart AJ Wickel & Sarah Freeman, 2011. "Converging Currents in Climate-Relevant Conservation: Water, Infrastructure, and Institutions," PLOS Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(9), pages 1-4, September.
    12. Feng, Zhiying & Tang, Wenhu & Niu, Zhewen & Wu, Qinghua, 2018. "Bi-level allocation of carbon emission permits based on clustering analysis and weighted voting: A case study in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 228(C), pages 1122-1135.
    13. Feng Dong & Chih-Ming Hung & Shou-Hsien Li & Xiao-Jun Yang, 2021. "Potential Himalayan community turnover through the Late Pleistocene," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 164(1), pages 1-10, January.
    14. Ding, Helen & Nunes, Paulo A.L.D., 2014. "Modeling the links between biodiversity, ecosystem services and human wellbeing in the context of climate change: Results from an econometric analysis of the European forest ecosystems," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 60-73.
    15. Chan, Nathan & Wichman, Casey, 2017. "The Effects of Climate on Leisure Demand: Evidence from North America," RFF Working Paper Series 17-20, Resources for the Future.
    16. Simen Pedersen & Kristin E. Gangås & Madhu Chetri & Harry P. Andreassen, 2020. "Economic Gain vs. Ecological Pain—Environmental Sustainability in Economies Based on Renewable Biological Resources," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-16, April.
    17. Lopez-Feldman, Alejandro, 2005. "Panel Data Evidence on the Determinants of Non-Timber Forest Products Extraction: The Case of Xate in Mexico," 2005 Annual meeting, July 24-27, Providence, RI 19410, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    18. Zhang, Jiarui & Jørgensen, Sven E. & Lu, Jianjian & Nielsen, Søren N. & Wang, Qiang, 2014. "A model for the contribution of macrophyte-derived organic carbon in harvested tidal freshwater marshes to surrounding estuarine and oceanic ecosystems and its response to global warming," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 294(C), pages 105-116.
    19. Richter, Andries & Grasman, Johan, 2013. "The transmission of sustainable harvesting norms when agents are conditionally cooperative," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 202-209.
    20. Matias, Denise Margaret S. & Tambo, Justice A. & Stellmacher, Till & Borgemeister, Christian & von Wehrden, Henrik, 2018. "Commercializing traditional non-timber forest products: An integrated value chain analysis of honey from giant honey bees in Palawan, Philippines," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 223-231.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:endesu:v:22:y:2020:i:2:d:10.1007_s10668-018-0254-4. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.