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Journal ArticleDOI

Firewood properties of some Indian mountain tree and shrub species

01 Oct 2002-Biomass & Bioenergy (Pergamon)-Vol. 23, Iss: 4, pp 257-260
TL;DR: In this paper, a fuelwood value index (FVI) was defined as calorific value x density/ash content Betula nitida, Machilus bombycina, Itea macrophylla, Cryptomeria japonica, Gmelina arborea, Simingtonia populnea, Macaranga denticulata and Schima wallichii were shown to have promising firewood production.
Abstract: Quantitative analysis of 26 indigenous mountain fuelwood species of North-Eastern Himalayan region was carried out to identify trees with potential for fuelwood production A fuelwood value index (FVI) was defined as calorific value x density/ash content Betula nitida, Machilus bombycina, Itea macrophylla, Cryptomeria japonica, Gmelina arborea, Simingtonia populnea, Macaranga denticulata and Schima wallichii were shown to have promising firewood production
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a study was carried out in Bulamogi, Uganda, with the main objective of determining preferred firewood species, their harvesting and consumption patterns, and finding that 48 plant species in 36 genera and 20 families are used as firewood.
Abstract: This study was carried out in Bulamogi, Uganda, with the main objective of determining preferred firewood species, their harvesting and consumption patterns. Data collected through household and key-informants interviews, using open- and close-ended questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, showed that 48 plant species in 36 genera and 20 families are used as firewood. These plants have other uses as herbal medicines and in traditional cultural rites. There is almost total dependence on firewood for domestic cooking and small-scale industries. Firewood is used to fire bricks (55%), distil spirits (26%), cure fish (10%), cook food in restaurants (6%) and to produce charcoal (3%). Firewood for domestic use is collected mainly by women, and largely comprises of dead wood. The distances travelled to firewood collection areas are short and little time is spent. The harvesting of firewood for domestic use may have a lower direct impact on the native flora, than the harvesting of fuelwood for commercial use by small-scale industries and to make charcoal, which requires large amounts of wood that is often green. According to the community response, firewood is abundant but declining. This decline may be related to increasing demands generated by the growing human population of Bulamogi, and growing national need for charcoal. Cultural taboos that have hitherto played an important role in plant conservation appear to be weakening. There is limited trading of firewood in the community.

169 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors studied the firewood consumption pattern of three tribal communities of Meghalaya, India- Garo, Khasi and Jaintia under varying ecological, socio-economic and socio-cultural conditions.

129 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, residents of 102 domiciles in a rural community in NE Brazil were interviewed and a list was compiled of all the plants used and preferred for domestic use, and these woods were subsequently analyzed to determine their density, water content, and fuel value index.
Abstract: Studies have been undertaken in many parts of the world to evaluate the qualities of fuelwood, but rarely is this information associated with an examination of the preferences of the local populations. As such, the present study sought to address the question of whether local preferences for fuelwoods can be explained by the physical characteristics of the wood itself. To that end, the residents of 102 domiciles in a rural community in NE Brazil were interviewed and a list was compiled of all the plants used and preferred for domestic use. These woods were subsequently analyzed to determine their density, water content, and Fuel Value Index (FVI). Although a total of 67 species were identified by the residents, only 14 were described as being preferred—due to their great number of desirable attributes for cooking. The density, humidity, and FVI of 38 species used and/or preferred were determined. A significant relationship (p<0.05) was noted between plants with the highest FVIs and the most preferred fuelwood plants in the region, indicating that local preference could be explained by the physical properties that were examined.

113 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed community forests from a mitigation and adaptation perspective and found that community forest user groups (CFUGs) have increased forest carbon stocks and that the pilot REDD+ projects are also delivering livelihood benefits which ultimately will help adaptation to adverse climatic conditions.

64 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The woody species known, used, and preferred as fuelwood were examined in three rural communities within the county of Soledade, Paraiba State, NE Brazil as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The woody species known, used, and preferred as fuelwood were examined in three rural communities within the county of Soledade, Paraiba State, NE Brazil. Ethnobotanical information was collected using semi-structured interviews with more than 90% of the local households (55 adult residents; 31 women, and 24 males). The interviewees cited 36 plant species as fuelwoods, distributed among 30 genera and 15 families, in addition to two unidentified plants. The plant families represented by the largest numbers of species were Euphorbiaceae, Anacardiaceae, Mimosaceae, Caesalpiniaceae, Sapotaceae, and Fabaceae. The species Caesalpinia pyramidalis Tul. (“catingueira”) was cited with the greatest frequency in all three communities. Within the communities we found significant differences on the number of plants cited and actually used (p < 0.05), indicating that the residents knew more fuelwood species than they effectively harvest. The different distances from the communities to the urban centers were not related to differences on the use or the size of the stocks of fuelwood. Additionally, the study revealed that the communities examined still maintain a significant knowledge of the use of energy-providing plants in spite of the widespread use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

57 citations


Cites background from "Firewood properties of some Indian ..."

  • ...2001; Brouwer and Falcão 2004) while others have examined firewood use as related to the physical properties of its combustion (Brito and Barrichelo 1977; Abbot and Lowore 1999; Bhatt and Tomar 2002; Bhatt et al. 2004)....

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References
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Journal ArticleDOI
01 Apr 1994-Energy
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyse firewood consumption along altitudinal gradient by households according to their socio-economic conditions in Garhwal Himalaya and find that consumption of fuelwood was 789, 664, 518, and 544 kg/cap-yr and energy consumption for fuelwood collection was 41, 53, 52, 80 × 103 kg/Cap-yr, respectively, above 2000, for 1500-2000, 1000-1500, 1000 -1500, and 500-1000m.

67 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The most promising species were Punica granatum, Sapindus mukorossi, Rhododendron arboreum, Quer cus spp.
Abstract: SUMMARY A Fuelwood Value Index (FVI) was defined as (Calorific Value × Density)/(Ash Content × Water Content) to identify trees with potential for fuelwood production. The woods of forty four Indian mountain tree species were tested and their FVI calculated. The most promising species were Punica granatum, Sapindus mukorossi, Rhododendron arboreum, Quer cus spp., Adina cor difolia, Ougeinia dalbergioides and Pyrus pashia.

62 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jan 1990-Biomass
TL;DR: Qualitative analysis of 33 mountain tree and shrub species which grow in the Garhwal Himalaya indicated that temperate species are better suited as fuelwood species as they contain high density wood, low ash content and low N-percentage.

55 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Sep 1981-Biomass
TL;DR: In this article, simple expressions have been derived for the carrying capacity of the ecosystem with respect to cereal crops, the pasture land-crop land ratio, the number of draught animal pairs, the human to draught-animal pair ratio and the human-to-cattle ratio.

54 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jan 1984-Biomass
TL;DR: In this article, the authors measured and other related data collected from a sample of 518 households in Sri Lanka and estimated the total consumption of biomass fuel by the household sector was estimated at 7·5 million tonnes year −1 and the per caput consumption at 1·36 kg day −1.

38 citations