Geospatial Modelling of Ungulate Habitat Relationships in Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra

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Characterization of forest fire frequency using fire scar mapping of temporal satellite data for forest fire management

One of the most complex problems facing in tropical forests, particularly in deciduous forests, is the recurrent incidence of fire. It is well known that fire caused extensive damage in the forest ecosystem by quantitatively and qualitatively. To reduce occurrences of forest fire, proper management of fire is highly important which entails mapping of forest fire frequency and identification of suitable area for watchtowers. In the present study, fire frequency analysis of Melghat Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra was done for the last seven years (2014-2020) based on the fire scar on the temporal Landsat data during fire season (January-June). Fire frequency analysis shows that an area of 1053.64 ha (0.52%) of the reserve was burned all seven years followed by 3050.53 ha (1.49%) for six times, 3849.52 ha (1.88%) for five times, 5520.04 ha (2.70%) for four times, 11845.63 ha (5.80%) for three times, 36863.52 ha (18.03%) for two times, 70126.33 ha (34.31%) for once and 72093.02 ha (35.27%) remains unburned all these seven years. The fire frequency map generated was used as an input for prioritizing the locations of watch towers as well as prioritizing grazing closure areas and fires lines. Identification of suitable sites for locating new watchtowers has been done by integrating and modeling of forest fire frequency map, existing watchtowers and viewshed analysis in GIS. Based on these results only thirteen watchtowers were categorized under retainable among the existing watchtowers and 27 new watchtowers are proposed to cover the entire area

Remote Sensing Applications in Monitoring of Protected Areas

Protected areas (PAs) have been established worldwide for achieving long-term goals in the conservation of nature with the associated ecosystem services and cultural values. Globally, 15% of the world’s terrestrial lands and inland waters, excluding Antarctica, are designated as PAs. About 4.12% of the global ocean and 10.2% of coastal and marine areas under national jurisdiction are set as marine protected areas (MPAs). Protected lands and waters serve as the fundamental building blocks of virtually all national and international conservation strategies, supported by governments and international institutions. Some of the PAs are the only places that contain undisturbed landscape, seascape and ecosystems on the planet Earth. With intensified impacts from climate and environmental change, PAs have become more important to serve as indicators of ecosystem status and functions. Earth’s remaining wilderness areas are becoming increasingly important buffers against changing conditions. The development of remote sensing platforms and sensors and the improvement in science and technology provide crucial support for the monitoring and management of PAs across the world. In this editorial paper, we reviewed research developments using state-of-the-art remote sensing technologies, discussed the challenges of remote sensing applications in the inventory, monitoring, management and governance of PAs and summarized the highlights of the articles published in this Special Issue

Predator-prey interactions in subtropical forest and ecology and conservation of swamp deer or barasingha (Rucervus duvaucelii duvaucelii) : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Conservation Biology at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand

The tiger, an apex predator, is an indicator of a healthy ecosystem. Therefore, the conservation of this immensely important umbrella species necessitates ecological knowledge on its interaction with co-predators and status of significant prey species sharing the habitat. Royal Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) and common leopard (Panthera pardus fusca) are two sympatric carnivores in suitable habitats of the Indian subcontinent where sympatric ungulates cervids are prevailing as major prey species. This thesis investigated the diet overlap of these sympatric apex predators and the population status of prey species in the subtropical lowland landscape popularly known as Terai Arc Landscape (TAL), Nepal. This thesis further explored ranging behaviour, habitat preference, movements, conservation genetics and food habits of the swamp deer or barasingha (Rucervus duvaucelii duvaucelii), the largest cervid prey species of tiger in the western portion of TAL, Nepal. The line transect survey revealed high density and biomass of major cervid prey species compared to other tiger bearing protected areas, with large-sized swamp deer, medium-sized spotted deer (Axis axis) and hog deer (Axis porcinus) being main prey species. Scat analysis revealed that wild ungulates were the main food of both predators. Large-sized wild preys (mainly swamp deer) were found more frequently in tiger scats, and domestic cattle were found more frequently in leopard scats. Both predators consumed the medium-sized spotted deer in high proportions resulting in a high diet overlap. Swamp deer played a critical role in diet partition between the two cats. Dominant tigers displaced leopards to the degraded fringe habitat where the latter subsisted on the domestic livestock, a major cause of human-wildlife conflict. The monitoring of nine radio-collared swamp deer showed a high 95% Minimum Convex Polygon (MCP) and 95% Fixed Kernel (FK) home ranges compared to other sympatric ungulates such as spotted deer, hog deer, and barking deer (Muntiacus muntjac). There was no significant variation in 95% FK annual home ranges between sexes and across three seasons. Overall, the grassland was the most preferred habitat of swamp deer in all the seasons, and the dense Sal (Shorea robusta) forest was the least preferred. In the monsoon season, the moderately dense Sal forest followed the grassland. Within grassland, swamp deer preferred Imperata cylindrica assemblage followed by Imperata cylindrica – Narenga porphyrocoma and Narenga porphyrocoma assemblage. A range shift from the grassland to the Sal (Shorea robusta) forest, only during the monsoon season, indicated that the grassland had reached the carrying capacity during this season. The radio-collared swamp deer crossed the international border. During the rutting season, they consistently used contiguous habitat patches of Lagga-Bagga area of Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, India, thus emphasising the need for transboundary cooperation to conserve this species. The genetic variability, population structure and effective population size of Shuklaphanta National Park (SNP) and Bardia National Park (BNP) populations of swamp deer were examined using the mitochondrial (mt) DNA and microsatellite markers. The analysis revealed moderate to high genetic diversity compared to other swamp deer populations in India. Neutrality tests, which are used to evaluate demographic effects, did not support population expansion. The multimodal pattern of mismatch distribution indicated that both swamp deer populations are under demographic equilibrium. Furthermore, population bottleneck analysis indicated no signature of a bottleneck for both populations. Bayesian cluster analysis and population differentiation test revealed two population clusters with low population differentiation. The effective population size in BNP was below 50, which is often regarded as a threshold below which inbreeding depression is likely to occur. It is recommended to design and implement an effective conservation strategy to enhance the genetic diversity and increase the population size of swamp deer in BNP through an in-situ conservation program and translocation of some breeding individuals from SNP to BNP. Faecal microhistological analysis of swamp deer, sympatric hog deer, and spotted deer from both grassland and the Sal forest habitats revealed that graminoids constituted the majority of the diet of these species in both habitats. However, the proportion of woody plants in diets of spotted deer was significantly higher than the other two. Apart from the graminoids, woody plant Shorea robusta and herb Phoenix humilis were major plant species consumed in the Sal forest. Among graminoid species, early successional tall grasses, especially Saccharum spontaneum, were the dominant food of all three deer species in both habitats. The importance of early successional tall grasses in their diet emphasised the key role of the threatened alluvial floodplains in conserving threatened mammal species in South Asia. Swamp deer foraged more in late succession tall grasses (Saccharum narenga and Themeda spp.) and short grasses (Imperata cylindrica, Cyperus spp., Chrysopogon zizanioides, Cymbopogon spp.) than hog deer and spotted deer. Despite the similarity of their diet, the three ungulates coexisted through differential consumption of plants species and seasonal habitat partitioning

Triennial Report: 2012-2014

Triennial Report Purpose [Page] 3 Geographical Information Science Center of Excellence [Page] 5 SDSU Faculty [Page] 6 EROS Faculty [Page] 13 Research Professors [Page] 19 Postdoctoral Fellows [Page] 24 GSE Ph.D Program [Page] 36 Ph.D. Fellowships [Page] 37 Ph.D. Students [Page] 38 Recent Ph.D. Graduates [Page] 46 Masters Students [Page] 56 Previous Ph.D. Students [Page] 58 Center Scholars Program [Page] 59 Research Staff [Page] 60 Administrative and Information Technology Staff [Page] 62 Computer Resources [Page] 66 Research Funding [Page] 67 Glancing Back, Looking Forward [Page] 68 Appendix I Alumni Faculty and Staff Appendix II Cool Faculty Research and Locations Appendix III Non-Academic Fun Things To Do Appendix IV Publications 2012-2014 Appendix V Directory Appendix VI GIScCE Birthplace Map Appendix VII How To Get To The GIScC

Forest Biomass and Land Cover Change Assessment of the Margalla Hills National Park in Pakistan Using a Remote Sensing Based Approach

Climate change is one of the greatest threats recently, of which the developing countries are facing most of the brunt. In the fight against climate change, forests can play an important role, since they hold a substantial amount of terrestrial carbon and can therefore affect the global carbon cycle. Forests are also an essential source of livelihood for a remarkably high proportion of people worldwide and a harbor for rich global biodiversity. Forests are however facing high deforestation rates. Deforestation is regarded as the most widespread process of land cover change (LCC), which is the conversion of one land cover type to the other land cover type. Most of this deforestation occurs in developing countries. Agricultural expansion has been reported as the most significant widespread driver of deforestation in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. This deforestation is altering the balance of forest carbon stocks and threatening biodiversity. Pakistan is also a low forest cover country and faces high deforestation rates at the same time, due to the high reliance of local communities on forests. Moreover, it is also the most adversely affected by climate change. Agricultural expansion and population growth have been regarded as the most common drivers of deforestation in Pakistan. Financial incentives such as ‘Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, and the Role of Conservation of Forest Carbon, Sustainable Management of Forests and Enhancement of Forest Carbon Stocks’ (REDD+) offer hope for developing countries for not only halting deforestation but also alleviating poverty. However, such initiatives require the estimation of biomass and carbon stocks of the forest ecosystems. Therefore, it becomes necessary that the biomass and carbon potentials of the forests are explored, as well as the LCCs are investigated for identifying the deforestation and forest degradation hit areas. Based on the aforementioned, the following research objectives/sub-objectives were investigated in the MHNP, which is adjoined with the capital city of Pakistan, Islamabad; A) Forest Biomass and Carbon Stock Assessment of Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP) A.1) Aboveground Biomass (AGB) and Aboveground Carbon (AGC) assessment of the Subtropical Chir Pine Forest (SCPF) and Subtropical Broadleaved Evergreen Forest (SBEF) using Field Inventorying Techniques A.2) Exploring linear regression relationship between Sentinel-1 (S1) and Sentinel-2 (S2) satellite data with the AGB of SCPF and SBEF A.3) AGB estimation combining remote sensing and machine learning approach B) LC Classification and Land Cover Change Detection (LCCD) of MHNP for the time-period between 1999 and 2019 B.1) LC Classification for the years 1999, 2009 and 2019 using Machine Learning Algorithm B.2) LCCD of MHNP between 1999 to 2019

Habitat Suitability Evaluation for Leopard (Panthera Pardus) Using Remote Sensing and GIS in and Around Chitwan National Park, Nepal

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Nature Benefits in Kenya: an Atlas of Ecosystem and Human Well-Being

Nature’s Benefits in Kenya: An Atlas of Ecosystems and Human Well-Being integrates spatial data on poverty and the environment in Kenya, providing a new approach to examining the links between ecosystem services (the benefits derived from nature) and the poor. This publication focuses on the environmental resources most Kenyans rely on to earn their livelihoods, such as soil, water, forest, rangeland, livestock, and wildlife. The atlas overlays georeferenced statistical information on population and household expenditures with spatial data on ecosystems and their services (water availability, wood supply, wildlife populations, and the like) to yield a picture of how land, people, and prosperity are related in Kenya. In Kenya’s national development plans, improving the health and prosperity of Kenyan families while also safeguarding the natural environment and the many important economic and spiritual benefits it provides are identified as top priorities. Attaining these multiple development goals means that policymakers and civil society groups need to access information and analysis on the numerous interconnections among environmental resources, human well-being, and economic expansion. The maps and analyses presented in this atlas are a first attempt to provide such information. This information can be used in developing poverty reduction programs and in designing policies for water resources management, agriculture production, biodiversity preservation, and charcoal production, among others. The maps and analyses presented here will not provide easy answers to questions concerning the causes of poverty in Kenya and how ecosystems can best be managed to increase economic growth and improve livelihoods. But they are a first step toward stimulating more informed dialogue and provoking questions for which answers may be found. With up-to-date data and additional analyses, the implementation of Kenya’s Economic Recovery Strategy (and its successor strategy) can be targeted to specific geographic areas of the country, focusing on the poor, and making better use of Kenya’s natural resources