Changing scenario of Himalayan agroecosystems: loss of agrobiodiversity, an indicator of environmental change in Central Himalaya, India

Environmental, biological, socio-cultural and economic variations in the Himalayas have led to the evolution of diverse and unique traditional agroecosystems, crop species, and livestock, which help the traditional mountain farming societies to sustain themselves. During the recent past, as a result of rapid changes in land use caused by socio-cultural and economic changes and various environmental perturbations, the agrobiodiversity of the Central Himalayan agroecosystems has changed steadily. A recent survey conducted in 150 different villages located along an elevated transect of the Alaknanda catchment of the Central Himalaya revealed that over a period of two decades (1970–74 and 1990–94) the cultivated area under many traditional crops had declined significantly. A micro-level study carried out in 30 villages revealed that a series of changes had occurred in land use practices over a period of 25–30 years.The loss of agrobiodiversity and the changing socio-cultural and economic dimensions and their impacts on the sustainability of Himalayan agroecosystems are emerging as major causes of concern at local/regional/national scale, and appropriate options to meet these challenges are discussed in this paper.     

Wild fruits as a contribution to sustainable rural development: a case study from the Garhwal Himalaya

Garhwal Himalaya is an important source of wild fruit species. These wild fruit trees grow abundantly across an altitudinal gradient of Himalaya and the majority of them bear fruits during summer. Fruit varieties are eaten raw by the local inhabitants of the region and whilst they are a rich source of protein, carbohydrate, fat and other elements, compared to cultivated fruits, they have not yet been considered as a source of alternative food products. About 13 potentially exploitable species of wild fruits and one semi-domesticated species having high potential for exploitation were selected for study; six (Aegle marmelos, Berberis asiatica, Hippophae rhamnoides, Myrica nagi, Rubus ellipticus and Prunus armeniaca) were examined in detail for their economic potential. Among the wild fruits, Hippophae rhamnoides was found to be economically efficient, followed by Aegle marmelos, Rubus ellipticus and Myrica nagi, respectively. Prunus armeniaca, a semi-domesticated and less utilized fruit of the higher Himalaya, provides better economic returns on an annual basis. The authors have recently made an attempt to utilize these wild fruits as a source of income, particularly for poor rural inhabitants and unemployed youths of the region by making a variety of edible products such as jam, jelly, juice, squash, sauce, etc. The enterprise was demonstrated to the people to encourage them to adopt it in the form of a small village-level cottage industry. The present paper discusses the distribution, botany, phenology, yield, ethnobotany, and uses of these species, and the cost-benefit analysis of food products prepared from them.     

Selection of suitable lichen bioindicator species for monitoring climatic variability in the Himalaya

Interspecific comparison in metals and PAHs profile in three lichen species, Flavoparmelia caperata, Phaeophyscia hispidula and Pyxine sorediata, were studied in different altitudinal gradients of the Western Himalayas. The species collected from 14 sites, enroute from Dehradun to Morinda (243 Km) including the trekking route 42 Km from Taluka to Morinda having an altitudinal gradient between 850–3,750 m, were analysed for their metals and PAHs. The species showed similar metal as well as PAHs profile under similar altitudinal gradients in the sequence of F. caperata > P. hispidula > P. sorediata. The difference in pollutant concentrations within each lichen species may be related to intrinsic attributes of the species, such as thallus morphology and the presence of lichen substances which are responsible for the sensitivity and accumulation potential of a particular species. Novelty of the present study lies on the fact that all the species show a similar efficiency of reflecting the environmental condition of the area, albeit the coefficient values of individual species for individual pollutant obtained by three-factor ANOVA revealed that the bioaccumulation affinity of F. caperata is significantly higher than P. hispidula and P. sorediata. For individual metals, F. caperata has a higher affinity for Al, Cr, Fe, Pb and Zn while P. hispidula has a significant positive affinity for Fe and Pb. PCA analysis of sites with respect to pollutant revealed the segregation of sites based on source and distance. Combining the bioaccumulation potential parameters along with geostatistical (GIS) techniques establishes that F. caperata species is a better accumulator of metals and PAHs in comparison to P. hispidula and P. sorediata in the temperate regions of the Himalaya.     

Statistical inferences from measured data on concentrations of naturally occurring radon,thoron, and decay products in Kumaun Himalayan belt

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Regional averages of radon, thoron, and associated decay product concentration are reported to be higher than their respective global averages in...     

Quality of water obtained by tapping shallow seepages in the Almota Hills,India

We studied the quality of water obtained using a new method of tapping underground water seepages by digging shallow water collection chambers in the Almora Hills of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India; quality of this water was compared with that of water obtained using traditional water sources in this region, namely naulas (surface seepages) and springs.Water from both the new and the traditional water sources had an excess of chromium and, in some samples, of iron and lead. Microbiological analysis showed that water from new water sources was safer than that obtained from tradional sources; however, only 40% of the shallow seepages provided water conforming to WHO standards on water quality.We conclude that tapping of underground water seepages may be a useful method of providing potable water to populations living in the hills. However, further improvement is necessary in the maintenance of the clean catchment area and in disposal of waste water from these water sources to ensure water quality.