Forest Research Institute

About: Forest Research Institute is a facility organization based out in Dehra Dūn, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Forest management. The organization has 5320 authors who have published 7625 publications receiving 185876 citations.

Virgin forests in Romania and Bulgaria: results of two national inventory projects and their implications for protection

Abstract: Despite extensive forest destruction in the Middle Ages and later intensive commercial forest management, remnants of virgin forests remained spared in some Central, Eastern and South-Eastern European countries. These virgin forests are the last examples of original forests in this part of Europe. That is why their protection becomes an important issue of current European forestry and nature protection policy. But the knowledge about the location and the area of virgin forests in these countries is incomplete up till now. This article has the prime goal to present a conceptual framework what virgin forests might be (“A conceptual framework for defining of virgin forests” section). Based on this framework, a working methodology has been tested in Bulgaria and Romania (“Results of the two national projects in Romania and in Bulgaria” section and further). For this reason two projects have been carried out by the Royal Dutch Society of Nature Conservation (KNNV) in close co-operation with the Forestry Institutes in Romania and in Bulgaria. The results of these projects are described in general terms and further analysis in the future is necessary to describe specific features like forest structure and spatial heterogeneity of these forests. Based on the results of the inventory, principles of sustainable protection and management of the mapped virgin forests were defined and described in the research reports. The usefulness of the inventory became evident already during the EU pre-accession period of both countries while preparing the NATURA 2000 network. The remaining virgin forests of temperate Europe are an inexhaustible source of ecological information about biodiversity, structure, natural processes and overall functioning of undisturbed forest ecosystems. Their research will reveal information which can be used for ecological restoration of man-made forests which are degraded through intensive forestry practices over the last centuries. The last virgin forests of temperate Europe represent an irreplaceable part of the natural capital of Europe and are worth to be protected by law. Their last remnants in South-Eastern and Eastern Europe are endangered by commercial activities. A full inventory of remaining virgin forests in all countries of temperate Europe is a matter of highest urgency. A representative selection of virgin forest sites should be declared by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites.

Conserving biodiversity through traditional beliefs in sacred groves in Uttarakhand Himalaya, India

Abstract: India's biodiversity encompasses a wide spectrum of habitats that include tropical rainforests, alpine vegetation, temperate forests, and coastal wetlands Traditional societies have paid a great deal of attention to the study of nature conservation Although Himalaya accounts for 18% of the total area in India, it covers more than 3105% of India's forest cover and 40% of the species endemic to the Indian Sub-continent Many mountain societies hence maintained a holistic view of the socio-ecological system An expression of this relationship is represented in the form of sacred landscape which is a concept identified by many traditional societies and often protected by cultural and religious values Many protected areas contain sites of importance to one or more faiths These include both sacred natural sites and built monuments (such as monasteries, temples, shrines, and pilgrimage trails) Enforcement in these protected areas has created a lot of conflicts between the local people and protected area managers, due to the restrictions enforced by these managers against the traditional usufruct rights of the local people These conflicts tend to act as major hurdles to achieving biodiversity conservation Conservation of biological resources through religion and belief has a long history in Garhwal Himalaya This article aims to document the different ethics enshrined within the Hindu community that have an inherent role in the conservation of biodiversity in Uttarakhand Himalaya

Groundwater Potential Mapping Combining Artificial Neural Network and Real AdaBoost Ensemble Technique: The DakNong Province Case-study, Vietnam.

Abstract: The main aim of this study is to assess groundwater potential of the DakNong province, Vietnam, using an advanced ensemble machine learning model (RABANN) that integrates Artificial Neural Networks ...