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Oak Forests, Lopping, and the Transformation of Rural Society in Central Himalaya, India.

dc.contributor.authorMakino, Yukaen_US
dc.date.accessioned2009-05-15T15:23:13Z
dc.date.availableNO_RESTRICTIONen_US
dc.date.available2009-05-15T15:23:13Z
dc.date.issued2009en_US
dc.date.submitteden_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/62403
dc.description.abstractVillagers are blamed for degrading the forest by lopping oak branches for fodder in the Central Himalayan region of India. Yet, research is lacking on the direct relationship between peoples’ livelihood, lopping, and forest regeneration. In this 13-year study, I assess the effects of lopping Quercus leucotrichophora A. Camus and Quercus floribunda Lindley ex Rehder on forest composition, regeneration, and socio-economic conditions in Beli village, Tehri Garhwal Himalaya. Specific objectives were to determine: (1) the relationship between villagers and their use of the forest, (2) the lopping process, and (3) the influence of lopping on oak forest stands, their persistence and regeneration capacity. In this study, data collected in 1993 and 2006 combine both ethnographic and ecological research methodologies to assess changes in the socio-economic conditions and in the forest. Face-to-face interviews and household surveys were conducted in 37 households out of 144 in Beli village. Method of fodder collection, type of branches and trees lopped, and amount of foliage collected were recorded for 49 collection trips. Data on physical site properties and on forest composition and regeneration were collected in 1993 and 2006 from a protected and a lopped forest. The livelihood of the villagers is maintained by gender and age roles in households, availability of oak foliage, number and type of livestock, and type of agricultural production. The diameter of branches lopped in 2006 was significantly smaller, and weight of fodder bundles carried by females was significantly greater in 2006. Both effects reflect the villagers’ strategies to adapt to decrease in oak foliage. They are increasingly sending their children to school and decreasing their reliance on agriculture for income. The oaks have maintained their abundance, and pines have not become abundant or dominant in the overstory or ground-cover. Oaks accounted for 69.3% of the overstory stems in the lopped forest, whereas, pines only accounted for 1%. The greater number of oak stems regenerating in the ground-cover of the lopped forest compared to that of pine indicates that oaks continue to establish themselves. The oaks have the greatest coverage in the ground-cover of both the protected and lopped forests.en_US
dc.format.extent1551088 bytes
dc.format.extent1373 bytes
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.format.mimetypetext/plain
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.subjectHimalayan Mountain Ecosystemsen_US
dc.subjectEthno-ecologyen_US
dc.subjectForest Ecologyen_US
dc.subjectIndigenous Forest Managementen_US
dc.titleOak Forests, Lopping, and the Transformation of Rural Society in Central Himalaya, India.en_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.description.thesisdegreenamePhDen_US
dc.description.thesisdegreedisciplineNatural Resources and Environmenten_US
dc.description.thesisdegreegrantorUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studiesen_US
dc.contributor.committeememberBarnes, Burton V.en_US
dc.contributor.committeememberWitter, John A.en_US
dc.contributor.committeememberCurrie, William S.en_US
dc.contributor.committeememberFricke, Thomas E.en_US
dc.subject.hlbsecondlevelEcology and Evolutionary Biologyen_US
dc.subject.hlbsecondlevelGeology and Earth Sciencesen_US
dc.subject.hlbsecondlevelNatural Resources and Environmenten_US
dc.subject.hlbsecondlevelAnthropology and Archaeologyen_US
dc.subject.hlbsecondlevelSoutheast Asian and Pacific Languages and Culturesen_US
dc.subject.hlbtoplevelScienceen_US
dc.subject.hlbtoplevelSocial Sciencesen_US
dc.description.bitstreamurlhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/62403/1/yukam_1.pdf
dc.owningcollnameDissertations and Theses (Ph.D. and Master's)


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