Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-18T16:11:34.281Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The forests of Bhutan: a vital resource for the Himalayas?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

Caroline Sargent ,
Orlando Sargent  and
Roger Parsell
Caroline Sargent
Affiliation:
The Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Monks Wood, Abbots Ripton, Cambridgeshire PE17 2LS, England
Orlando Sargent
Affiliation:
The Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Monks Wood, Abbots Ripton, Cambridgeshire PE17 2LS, England
Roger Parsell
Affiliation:
The Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Monks Wood, Abbots Ripton, Cambridgeshire PE17 2LS, England
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Large areas of the Himalayas have become severely deforested although little has been published about the extent of this problem in the closed Kingdom of Bhutan. A preliminary survey was undertaken during 1983. Without detailed information or accurate maps, LANDSAT 2 imagery was used to prepare a sampling stratification and to plot the distribution of defined vegetation types after sampling and analysis. Eleven forest noda are described in relation to their habitats, and area and timber volume estimates given. Deforestation pressures are discussed.

Keywords

BhutanclassificationforestsHimalayasLANDSAT 2mappingphytosociology
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 1 , Issue 3 , August 1985 , pp. 265 - 286
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1985

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

LITERATURE CITED

Champion, H. G. & Seth, S. K. 1968. A revised survey of the forest types of India. Government of India, Delhi.404 pages.Google Scholar
Cowan, J. M. 1929. The forests of Kalimpong; an ecological account. Records of the Botanical Survey of India 12:1–74.Google Scholar
Tschering, Dago & Varnham, M. (eds). 1979. Bhutan Himalayan Kingdom. Royal Government of the Kingdom of Bhutan, Thimphu. 48 pages.Google Scholar
Fischer, F. 1972. Bhutan: the importance of forests for a continuous development of human ecology in high mountain conditions. Translated from German by Huber., A.Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich. 76 pages.Google Scholar
Fletcher, H. R. 1975. A quest of flowers. The plant explorations of Frank Ludlow and George Sherriff. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh.387 pages.Google Scholar
Grierson, A. J. C & Long, D. G. 1983. Flora of Bhutan. Volume 1, part 1. Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh.186 pages.Google Scholar
Grierson, A. J. C, Long, D. G. & Page, C. N. 1980. Notes relating to the Flora of Bhutan 111. Pinus bhutanica: a new 5-needle pine from Bhutan and India. Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 38:297–310.Google Scholar
Griffith, W. 1839. Journal of the mission which visited Bootan in 1837–38, under Captain R Boileau Pemberton. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 8:208–291.Google Scholar
Hill, M. O. 1979a. TWINSPAN: a FORTRAN program for arranging multivariate data in an ordered two-way table by classification of the individuals and attributes. Section of Ecology and Systematics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. 90 pages.Google Scholar
Hill, M. O. 1979b. DECORANA: a FORTRAN program for detrended correspondence analysis and reciprocal averaging. Section of Ecology and Systematics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.52 pages.Google Scholar
Hooker, J. D. 1854. Himalayan journals. John Murrary, London. Vol. 1, 408 pages; Vol 2, 487 pages.Google Scholar
Mueller-Dombois, D. & Ellenberg, H. 1974. Aims and methods of vegetation ecology. John Wiley, New York. 547 pages.Google Scholar
Negri, G. S. 1983. Report on consultancy in remote sensing, land use and vegetation mapping. (BHU/75/007). Forestry Development Project, unpublished report, Thimphu. 112 pages.Google Scholar
Numata, M. 1983. Structure and dynamics of vegetation in eastern Nepal. University of Chiba, Chiba. 297 pages.Google Scholar
Sabins, F. F. 1978. Remote sensing, principles and interpretation. W. H. Freeman, San Francisco. 426 pages.Google Scholar
Sargent, C. 1984. Mapping the forests of Bhutan: a practical approach to quantifying resources in remote and inaccessible areas. Annual Report of the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, 1983:45–48.Google Scholar
Schweinfurth, U. 1957. Die horizontale und vertikale Verbreitung der Vegetation im Himalaya. Dummler, Bonn. 373 pages.Google Scholar
Singh, J. S., Pandey, A. N. & Pathak, R. C. 1983. A hypothesis to account for the major pathway of soil loss from Himalaya. Environmental Conservation 10:343–345.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stainton, J. D. A. 1972. Forests of Nepal. J. Murray, London. 181 pages.Google Scholar
United States Army Corps of Engineers. 1956. Phari Dzong, India and Pakistan. (Sheet NG 4–4, Series U502). 1:250,000. USACE, Washington DC.Google Scholar