Ecology of village ecosystems of Odisha, India

Abstract

Abstract. Upadhyay VP, Nayak BK, Mishra MK. 2022. Ecology of village ecosystems of Odisha, India. Asian J Ethnobiol 5: 138-155. The present study was conducted in eight villages in the Niyamgiri Hills of Odisha, India. The human population varies from 83 to 312 in uphill villages and 76 to 150 in foothill villages. The cultivated area constitutes 3.37% to 18.85% of the village’s total area. Per capita cultivated area varies from 0.117 to 0.329 ha. The families generally devote more time to agriculture, followed by Minor Forest Products (MFP) collection. The women and children collect leafy vegetables, tubers, fruits, seeds, leaves, and flowers. Collecting and marketing firewood in head loads is commonly practiced in the rainy season. The area of forest cover is not affected much, but the quality of the forest has changed. This suggests appropriate steps to restore the forest and enhance its productivity. All villages depend on rain-fed agriculture. The natural stream water is available to the paddy fields by gravity flow in valleys. The agriculture practices include shifting (podu) cultivation in high hill areas, mid-hill orchards below the podu area, home gardens adjoining habitation, and valley cultivation near Nala beds (streams). Podu is a mixed cultivation practice where cereals, pulses, and oil seeds are grown together. The village productivity is much lower than in other areas of settled agriculture. Improvements in seed quality, Soil and Moisture Conservation (SMC) measures, and the health condition of the tribal community will help support the sustainability of the traditional cultivation and livelihood system. To help protect the indigenous biodiversity, we suggest in this paper other alternatives of livelihood to the local population and options for shifting cultivation areas.