Tehri Garhwal Research Articles

Evaluation and comparison of LogitBoost Ensemble, Fisher’s Linear Discriminant Analysis, logistic regression and support vector machines methods for landslide susceptibility mapping

The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare the capabilities of four machine learning methods namely LogitBoost Ensemble (LBE), Fisher’s Linear Discriminate Analysis (FLDA), Logistic Regression (LR) and Support Vector Machines (SVM) to select the best method for landslide susceptibility mapping. A part of landslide prone area of Tehri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand state, India, was selected as a case study. Validation of models was carried out using statistical analysis, the chi square test and the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve. Result analysis shows that the LBE has the highest prediction ability (AUC = 0.972) for landslide susceptibility mapping, followed by the SVM (0.945), the LR (0.873) and the FLDA (0.870), respectively. Therefore, the LBE is the best and a promising method in comparison to other three models for landslide susceptibility mapping.

Ecological restoration of village common degraded land through participatory approach for biodiversity conservation and socio-economic development in Indian Himalayan Region

In the advent of global climate change, ecological rehabilitation through keystone tree species suited to a given socio-ecological conditions has increasingly received wider attention to off-set the global environmental impact through synergizing and enhancing multiple ecosystem services beneficial to human wellbeing. Correspondingly, shortage of forest products and unsustainability of current landuse practices and associated increasing rate of conversion and degradation of remaining natural resources has jeopardized the socio-economic and decision capacity of the farmers residing in Indian sub-continent. Indigenous tree species are largely untried for these applications and represent an underexploited resource that may offer a good combination of adapting local environmental conditions together with potential to restore degraded environments and biodiversity conservation. In view of above, multipurpose tree plantation on village common degraded land in three village cluster viz., Jaminikhal, Manjgaon and Hadiya, district Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India located across the latitude was established with people participation. The present study reports survival, growth, chemical properties of soil, fodder production and carbon sequestration of four year plantation at three different locations. Average highest survival rate 96.6% was recorded at Jaminikhal village cluster (JVC) compared to Manjgaon village cluster (MVC) 90.3% and Hadiya village cluster (HVC) 71.1%. Average maximum height (147.7cm) of planted tree species was recorded at JVC followed by MVC (136.2cm) and HVC (112.2cm). Annual incremental rate in circumference of the planted tree species across the sites was reported maximum 2.6cmyear−1 at JVC while minimum at HVC 2.0cmyear−1. Across sites the highest organic carbon %, total nitrogen and total phosphorus 1.06, 0.18 and 0.09 respectively was recorded at JVC and total cation exchange was also reported in the soil of JVC. Fodder biomass from natural grass was harvested maximum (9568kg/ha−1/year−1) at JVC followed by MJV (7546kg/ha−1/year−1) while minimum (6895kg/ha−1/year−1) was recorded at HVC after four year of plantation. Similar pattern was observed for the fodder biomass harvested from introduced grasses and quantified maximum (2856kg/ha−1/year−1) at JVC and minimum (1543kg/ha−1/year−1) at HVC. Appropriate strategies and frame work was developed for successful plantation such as inventorization of bioengineering measures viz., trenches, gully plugging, plantation of fodder grass, people preference for planting species and capacity building of communities for strengthening their understanding and skill to manage plantation sites.

A study on prevalence and factors associated with ectoparasitism in goats of two agro-climatic regions in India.

The present study was aimed to evaluate the factors associated with prevalence of various ectoparasites among goats during winter season in two different agro-climatic regions of India. A total of 320 goats (Uttarakhand-208; Uttar Pradesh-112) were screened and evaluated for ectoparasitism and associated factors. The occurrence of ectoparasitism in goats was studied in relation with age, sex, breed, housing, agro-climatic region and system of rearing. Prevalence of ectoparasitism among goats of lower Shivalik region (Dehradun and Tehri Garhwal districts) of Uttarakhand and Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh was 90.38 and 39.29%, respectively. The common ectoparasites observed were chewing lice (Bovicola caprae), sucking lice (Linognathus africanus), fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) and ticks (Haemaphysalis spp.). Among all the ectoparasitic infestation, pediculosis was the most common affection during the study period in both agro-climatic region; chewing lice in Uttarakhand and sucking lice in Uttar Pradesh. Agro-climatic region, breed, immune status, system of rearing and hygiene were highly affecting the prevalence and distribution of ectoparasites among goats. High prevalence of ectoparasitism in the study area warrants the need for formulating appropriate intervention strategies to improve control of ectoparasites and awareness among goat farmers.

Impact of Development-Induced Displacement on Elderly Due to Tehri Dam Construction

Displacement due to natural or man-made circumstances has always been traumatic. Dam construction is one of the major man made cause for resettlement of people. Dam displaced people face serious economical, cultural and psychological devastation. A large number of people were displaced under the Tehri Dam Rehabilitation Plan, Tehri Garhwal, India. The present research attempts to investigate the life satisfaction and quality of life of displaced elderly population. Personal and group interview sessions along with two psychological tests (Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS; Diener, Emmons, Larsen, and Griffin, 1985) and CASP-19 quality of life questionnaire) were employed as tools for data collection. The study revealed a poor life satisfaction and low quality of life in the displaced elderly as compared to non-displaced elderly, indicating the damaging consequences of resettlement in old age.

Forest Invasive Species Assessment Study in Different Village Forests of Garhwal Himalaya

Forest invasive species (FIS) are exotic/alien species that occur outside their natural adapted ranges and dispersal potential. Some of the alien species become invasive, when they are introduced deliberately or unintentionally outside their natural habitats into new areas, where they express the capability to establish, invade and outcompete native species. The present study is focuses over the encroachment of invasive species in the two different forest communities of the Tehri Garhwal region of Western Himalaya. Data was collected through extensive field survey and quadrat method. High invasion was recorded in the shrub and herb layer of the forest. In tree strata native species are dominant but their recruitment in the form of sapling and seedlings are displaced by the dense thickets of invasives in both the communities. A highest value of ecological indices was evaluated in Pinus roxburghii dominated site as compared to the Quercus leucotrichophora dominated site. Lantana camara, Eupatorium glandulosum, Clematis gouriana, Rosa brunonii, Rubus neivus, Euphorbia royleana etc. are the most destructive Forest Invasive Species (FIS*) of both the forest communities. The present study gives an accurate assessment and understanding of the dynamics of invasives, which is further important for their scientific management and utilization.

Driving force for forest fragmentation explored by land use change in Song watershed, India

This study attempts to assess forest fragmentation and degradation in response to land use/land cover changes in Song watershed, India during 1998–2014. Landsat TM and Landsat 8 OLI satellite data across two dates (1998 and 2014) were used to analyze land use/land cover change and its impact on forest cover. The extent of forest degradation was analyzed using fragmentation model. Four categories of disturbance viz. core, perforated, edge and patch were obtained using 200 meters edge width. The result shows overall decrease of 7% in area under forest over 16 years. Area under open forest, mixed land use/land cover I (agriculture, forest and built up) and mixed land use/land cover III (agriculture and built up) has significantly increased while area under dense forest has decreased during the study period. Fragmentation model revealed lots of disturbance in forest located in mixed land use/land cover areas. Perforated and patch classes of forest have experienced a significant increase in their respective areas while core area has decreased at the expense of other fragmentation classes. Degradation of forest occurred at large scale at Hrishikesh and Thano forest ranges of Dehradun district and Gadol range in Tehri Garhwal district lying in the watershed. Rishikesh city in Dehradun district located in southern part of watershed recorded increase in patches due to developmental activities. Remote sensing and fragmentation model showed their effectiveness in analyzing forest degradation and monitoring the health of the forest in the watershed.

First National Conference on Radiation Awareness and Detection in Natural Environment Tehri Garhwal, India, 15–17 June 2015

Journal Article First National Conference on Radiation Awareness and Detection in Natural Environment Tehri Garhwal, India, 15–17 June 2015: List of participants Get access Radiation Protection Dosimetry, Volume 171, Issue 2, October 2016, Pages 287–289, https://doi.org/10.1093/rpd/ncw170 Published: 28 October 2016

Physio-chemical status of soil of a temperate Himalayan forest at Agrakh-Kunjapuri area of district Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India

The study area Agrakhal-Kunjapuri lies in district Tehri Garhwal. The present area of investigation lies at 30° 5' N latitude and 78° 23' E longitudes ranging in elevation of temperate zone and is covered with dense oak forest. Soil samples were collected from representative sites of the study area in each season viz. winter, summer and rainy. From each site, the composite samples (mixture of three soil samples) were collected from different depths (0-10, 15-25, and 30-40 cm). Soil samples of each site was analyze for physio-chemical characteristics. The soil of the study area was of clay-loam type. The biotic disturbance was found to be a determining factor of community formation, along with topography, soil and moisture.

Floristic composition of Agrakhal-Kunjapuri area of District Tehri Garhwal, Uttarkhand, India

The present area of investigation lies at the elevation from 1300 to 1800 m in the montane zone of Garhwal Himalaya and is covered with dense oak forest. It is situated at a distance of 10 km northwards from Narendra Nagar town of district Tehri Garhwal. For recording the flora of the study area, extensive field studies were conducted for three years (December 1993 to November 1996). The floristic exploration yielded 456 species of vascular plants belonging to 306 genera and 95 families. Among the plant forms the biggest group was of herbs (320 species) followed by shrubs with 84 species and trees with 37 species. The plant diversity of the study area consisted of 439 species of angiosperms (343 dicots and 96 monocots) belonging to 293 genera (218 of dicots and 75 monocots) and 84 families (71 of dicots and 13 of monocots). Pinus roxburghii and Cedrus deodara represented the gymnospermous group. Among Pteridophytes 14 species belong to ferns and one to fern-allies. The plant diversity of the area is quite rich with all habit forms of a Varity of vascular plants. The minimum diversity on south and south-west slopes may be attributed to drier condition. South-east slope had the highest diversity because it consisted of scattered woody vegetation which caused the development of more herbaceous species. The road side vegetation had maximum number of exotic species including the invaders.

Diversity of medicinal plants in Arakot-Khadikal forest area of District Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India

Status of medicinal plants of an oak forest in Arakot-Khadikhal area of Chamba block of Tehri district were analysed on the bases of the quantitative data collected (during August 2000 to July 2002) from different slope sites. The study area is belonging to mid-montane forest of Garhwal Himalaya rich with a number of medicinal plants. 155 species of medicinal importance were observed as common, 110 rare, 30 frequent, 17 escape from cultivation and 6 endangered. Most of the rare and endangered plant species of the present investigation have been recorded as rare or endangered in the flora of District Garhwal. Over-exploited species of medicinal importance was 18. Endangered or rare medicinal plants must be conserved with the help of in-situ and ex-situ conservation methods.

A partial checklist of moths (Lepidoptera) of Dehradun, Mussoorie and Devalsari in Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India

Two-hundred-and-forty-eight species of moths were recorded during surveys conducted over 40 nights in Dehradun and Mussoorie in Dehradun District and Devalsari in Tehri Garhwal District in Uttarakhand.

A Socio-Cultural and Historical Review of Khas Patti of Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India.

A Socio-Cultural and Historical Review of Khas Patti of Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India.

Growth pattern of Celastrus paniculatus Willd. in two different habitats of district Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand (India)

Tehri Garhwal is one of the most important hilly district of Uttarakhand state, which is located at the foot hills of Himalayan mountain ranges has a rich and diverse form of vegetation along with medicinal and aromatic plants. Traditionally the folk people and the local inhabitants utilize the vegetation from their contiguous in the form of medicine, timber, food, fiber etc. Among these useful plants population of the some useful plants are becoming rare and threatened due to unsustainable utilization, overexploitation, construction of roads, over grazing, pilgrims, construction of large dams, forest encroachment, landslides and natural calamities, modernize agriculture etc. Out of these medicinal plants, a very important and threatened medicinal plant is C. paniculatus (Malkangni). The present study deals with conservation and cultivation practices of C. paniculatus in two altitudinal sites i.e. site 1st - village Budogi lying on the altitude of 2000m asl. and site 2nd - S.R.T. Campus Botanical Garden, Badshahithaul (Tehri Garwal), upto 1600m asl. Measurements of the plant height, number of leaves, size of veins etc. was compared at two altitudinal zones. The samples parameters from site 2nd showed maximum growth rate of C. paniculatus i.e. 8.4± 0.86 cm, 9.01± 2.0 and 2.63± 0.23 cm for plant height, number of leaves and size of veins respectively as compared to site 1st i.e. 5.19±0.52 cm, 4.85±0.85 and 2.27±0.1 cm. Thus, C. paniculatus showed best growth rate at an elevation up to 1600m. The cultivation practice will provide reliable information for cultivation of this species in a particular altitudinal range.

Economic Evaluation of Badrigad Watershed, Uttarakhand

The economic evaluation of Badrigad watershed in Tehri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand has been evaluated in a ‘pre ’and ‘post ’framework. This study used primary data of randomly selected 150 households and secondary data from different sources. Overall, the watershed development increased productivity and intensity of cropping in all seasons. Livestock population has increased considerably. The watershed development programme increased the number of technology users and household income in all categories of farmers (18.8 per cent). Majority of them had expressed lack of subsidized rate input supply, as one of the major constraint followed by others. Frequent visits of the extension worker and expansion of agriculture infrastructure should be encouraged to help increase benefit from watershed development.

Climatic variability and trend at Ranichauri (Uttarakhand)

The present analysis was carried out using the long term (1985-2013) meteorological data recorded at Ranichauri, Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand. The results revealed that daily maximum temperature varied between 9.4 to 27.20C over 29 years, with annual increasing trend of 0.0130C per year, while the minimum temperature was found to decrease at rate of -0.0330C per year and fluctuated between 0.7 to 17.80C. The long term mean annual rainfall of Ranichauri is 1273.1±315.5 mm with CV of 24.8 % only, indicating that it is highly stable and dependable. The rising trend in the monsoon rain (June-September) at rate of 11.09mm per year was also observed during the study period.

Carbon stock estimation in the catchment of Kotli Bhel 1A hydroelectric reservoir, Uttarakhand, India

Constructions of dams/reservoirs all over the world are reported to emit significant amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and are considered as environmental polluters. Organic carbon is contributed by the forest in the catchment, part of soil organic carbon is transported through the runoffs to the reservoir and undergoes aerobic and anaerobic degradation with time to release GHGs to the atmosphere. Literature reveals that no work is available on the estimation of ‘C’ stock of trees of forest catchment for assessing/predicting the GHGs emissions from the reservoirs to atmosphere. To assess the GHGs emission potential of the reservoir, an attempt is made in the study to estimate the ‘C’ stock in the forest catchment of Kotli Bhel 1A hydroelectric reservoir located in Tehri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand, India. For this purpose, the selected area was categorized into the site-I, II and III along the Bhagirathi River based on type of forest available in the catchment. The total carbon density (TCD) of tree species of different forest types was calculated using diameter at breast height (dbh) and trees height. The results found that the TCD of forest catchment was found 76.96MgCha−1 as the highest at the site-II and 29.93MgCha−1 as lowest at site-I with mean of 51.50MgCha−1. The estimated forest ‘C’ stock shall be used to know the amount of carbon present before and after construction of the dam and to predict net GHGs emissions. The results may be helpful to study the potential of a given reservoir to release GHG and its subsequent impacts on global warming/climate challenges.

Estimation of carbon stocks of Balganga Reserved Forest, Uttarakhand, India

Forest carbon (C) stock estimation was carried out for tree species of Balganga Reserved Forest (BRF) in district Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India. The highest total biomass density (TBD) and total carbon density (TCD) were estimated at site III in the altitudinal range of 1800–2600 m as 108.26 and 53.45 Mg⋅ha−1 followed by site II in the range of 1600–1800 m as 83.92 and 41.96 Mg⋅ha−1, and the least at site I in the altitudinal range of 1000–1400 m as 57.22 and 28.61 Mg⋅ha−1 with an average of 83.13 and 41.56 Mg⋅ha−1, respectively. The study found average TBD and TCD of the BRF are 23% more when compared to forests located in the same ecoregion due to difference in diameter at breast height and height of tree species. It also found that the C stock increases with increasing altitude due to fine root area, fine root length growth, and decreasing temperature. The BRF was found to have 16.65 million tons of forest organic C stocks in the year 2014. Accordingly, the C transported to the reservoir from the catchment undergoes aerobic/anaerobic degradation to release greenhouse gases to atmosphere. The study also reveals that oak, devdar, and fir have greater C sequestration capacity compared to other species found in BRF.

Measurements of radon and thoron progeny concentrations in dwellings of Tehri Garhwal, India, using LR-115 deposition-based DTPS/DRPS technique.

This paper presents the values of radon and thoron progeny concentrations for different seasons in the dwellings of Tehri Garhwal, India. The measurements have been carried out using LR-115 solid-state nuclear track detector-based passive time-integrated direct thoron progeny sensor/direct radon progeny sensor technique. In summer, the radon and thoron progeny have been found to vary from 5.7±0.8 to 153.2±4.3 Bq m(-3) with an average of 37.6 Bq m(-3) and 0.3±0.06 to 3.2±0.19 Bq m(-3) with an average of 1.3 Bq m(-3), respectively. In the rainy season, the radon and thoron progeny have been found to vary from 3.2±0.6 to 120±3.7 Bq m(-3) with an average of 58.2 Bq m(-3) and 0.2±0.05 to 11.3±0.37 Bq m(-3) with an average of 3.4 Bq m(-3), respectively. In autumn, the radon and thoron progeny have been found to vary from 4.1±0.7 to 374.4±6.7 Bq m(-3) with an average of 95.6 Bq m(-3) and from 0.3±0.06 to 30.5±0.60 Bq m(-3) with an average of 6.6 Bq m(-3), respectively. In winter, the radon and thoron progeny have been found to vary from 9.8±1.1 to 188.9±4.8 Bq m(-3) with an average of 70.7 Bq m(-3) and 0.1±0.03 to 7.5±0.30 Bq m(-3) with an average of 2.3 Bq m(-3), respectively. It has been observed that the average value of radon and thoron progeny concentrations is maximum for autumn and minimum for summer seasons. The seasonal variations in radon and thoron progeny concentrations in different houses are discussed in detail.

Fuelwood assessment at the micro-watershed level: a case study in Garhwal Himalaya, India

Biomass, as fuelwood, is one of the major sources of energy in rural areas, especially in the mountainous regions of the world. As the increasing human population exerts more pressure on the forest thereby inducing an adverse effect on the sustainability of the ecosystem, which consequently causes fuelwood crisis at a local level, this crisis is spatio-temporal in nature. Thus, the major objective of this study is to assess the sustainability of fuelwood at different probable scenarios at a micro watershed level. The present study was conducted in the Phakot watershed, the Tehri Garhwal district of central Himalaya in India, during 2006–2008. Based on the vegetation composition in the study area, the net primary productivity (NPP) value of the Oak forest, and mixed oak and sal forests, was used for the quantification of fuelwood availability in evergreen and deciduous forests, respectively. The fuelwood demand was calculated on the basis of seasonal fuelwood consumption values. Nine probable permutations ...

Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in the population of Uttarkashi, Tehri, and Pauri Garhwal India in reference to Uttarakhand flood - June 2013

Introduction: Natural disasters have the potential to affect psychological health. In June 2013, a multi-day cloudburst caused devastating floods and landslides in the North Indian state of Uttarakhand. Objective: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in the population of Uttarkashi, Tehri, and Pauri Garhwal 1-year after the cloudburst and flash flood - June 2013. Materials and Methods: PTSD checklist, civilian version (PCL-C) and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition Text Revision (DSM-IV TR) were used as a screening tool. This cross-sectional study after 1-year of the disaster conducted in three districts of Uttarakhand between July and October 2014. Frequencies, percentage, and Chi-square methods were used to calculate the results. Results: Each case adopted for the study was similar on its basic profile. Participants included in the study fell in the symptoms severity range of 5–2 scores of PCL-C. On a match with both criteria - DSM-IV TR criterion and cut-off point of PCL-C Scoring prevalence of PTSD symptoms was found 70.93% in Tehri, Uttarkashi, and Pauri ( n = 1651 with average age of 41 years). A higher prevalence has been noted in female population (Tehri 55.85%, Uttarkashi 55.66%, and Pauri 63.68%) in comparison to male population (Tehri 44.15%, Uttarkashi 44.34%, and Pauri 36.32%). Conclusion: (1) PTSD in disaster victims is as prevalent and persistent in Tehri, Uttarkashi, and Pauri districts of Uttrakhand state in India as elsewhere, (2) the risk of developing PTSD in subjects with lower initial exposure to disaster trauma should not be ignored, (3) remarkably fewer diagnoses of PTSD were made by using both DSM-IV -TR criteria and PCL-C, and (4) Female stress response for natural disaster trauma is comparatively higher than males.