Pranjali Tripathi1, Amina Jafri, Monowar Alam Khalid and P. Kunwar
Abstract
This paper provides detailed discussion of the forest type and the density in Sohelwa Division of Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh. The study area is a subdivision of the Sohelwa Wildlife Sanctuary comprising different types of forests as well as different densities. A hybrid classification method is adopted to classify the forest types by integrating supervised and unsupervised classification methods. The research area covers an area of 17,949.97 hectares with a general estimated amount of growing stock volume totaling to 3,029,018.74 m3. Sal dominated forests (2,591.13 ha, 14.4%) occupy the highest percentage of the area of the forest and supply it with an approximate volume of 654,354.37 m3 (21.6%) of a total growing stock, which is the highest percentage of part of the forest biomass. Approximately 2,253.32 ha (12.6%) of miscellaneous forest land is under dense categories and 562,562.59 m3 (18.6%) as mixed species stand in overall biomass storage. Other types of forests like Dhau (1,632.99 ha combined), Asana (1,701.46 ha), Teak (415.65 ha), Shisham (435.00 ha), Jamun (240.67 ha) and Khair (100.12 ha) have smaller spatial extent and volume contribution. The density-based analysis shows that over-dense forests (>70%) share an over-bearingly weighty volume per unit area especially in Sal and Miscellaneous categories. The middle-density forests (40-70%) cover the largest percentage of the area as well as the greatest percentage of total volume of forests shows comparably steady and fruitful forest conditions. Conversely, open forests (10-40%) and degraded forests (<10%) represent a significant amount of land but are much less biomass and may be degraded, as shown by their contribution to total biomass. Besides the forested areas, non-forests land takes up roughly 11.6% (2,079.63 ha) of the area, and grass/blank lands (6.7%) and water bodies (5.1%) also put into perspective the heterogeneous nature of the landscape. The findings provide a linkage between the canopy density and the biomass whereby the high classes of the canopy density support the high growing stock and justification of the necessity of the density-based approaches to managing forests to increase productivity and ecological stability in Sohelwa Wildlife Sanctuary. The findings also directly contribute to SDG15 (Life on Land) as it supports the biodiversity conservation, quantification of biomass and forest contribute to carbon sequestration aligning with SDG 13 (Climate Action) and by enhancing ecological resilience in manmade landscapes it contributes to SDG 11(Sustainable Cities and Communities) as it helps to reduce the Urban Heat Island Effect.