Agarwood is a valuable non-timber forest product in international trade regulated under the CITES... more Agarwood is a valuable non-timber forest product in international trade regulated under the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species). One of the Scientific Authorities of CITES working on agarwood is the Rain Forest Research Institute (RFRI). The paper reviews the research by the RFRI on agarwood and indicates the road ahead, which will be relevant for the whole country. The research till date has revolved around distribution, genetic variation, tree improvement, silviculture, agroforestry, artificial induction of agarwood, pests and diseases and their control, besides NDF (Non-Detriment Finding) study and fixing of export quota. Research is required on the post-harvest processing, products, their diversification, chemistry, grading, quality control, trade and socio-economics. The Institute has a key role to balance the demands of trade with conservation.
In this chapter the current understanding on various components of Indian mangrove habitats is re... more In this chapter the current understanding on various components of Indian mangrove habitats is reviewed and conservation measures required to ensure the sustainability of Indian mangroves are discussed. In India, mangroves are found on the east and west coasts of the mainland and on the Islands of Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep. Indian mangroves represent 3.3% of global mangroves and about 56% of global mangrove species. Despite considerable work on the floristics and ecology of mangroves with minimal attention to management-related issues, Indian mangroves also remain underexplored in various other aspects—forest structure, faunal diversity, genetic diversity, soil physicochemical properties, microbial diversity, ecological services and its economic evaluation—which are prerequisites for effective implementation of conservation and management measures. Further, the bulk of the research has been carried out in the Indian Sundarbans, Bitharkanika, Pichavaram, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands; other areas remain little studied. As we live in a world of diminished ecological diversity, the conservation focus on natural resources has shifted from species to ecosystems, and recent efforts have been focused on an ecosystem-based management approach. However, mangrove conservation measures have often relied on legal protection of existing mangroves and rehabilitation of degraded mangroves by monospecific plantation globally, as well as in India. Despite a recent increase in mangrove coverage and a slowdown in the degradation rate (judged solely on the basis of global or regional-scale remote sensing studies) achieved by existing conservation and rehabilitation measures, the ecological health of Indian mangroves, as well as mangroves in other countries, has experienced a continuous decline due to uncontrolled upstream anthropogenic activities and global climate change. National-level policy making in India lacks comprehensive understanding of how the various types of mangrove habitats along the coast function, in what social and ecological aspects they differ, and how those differences might be taken into account while planning for conservation. Since mangroves are highly dynamic and threatened, the understanding of various components and their interconnections is invaluable for streamlining future research and effective formulation of long-term, integrated, ecosystem-based management for preserving the biological diversity, ecological health, and ecological integrity of mangroves. Considering these facts, this chapter discusses the current knowledge on Indian mangroves on the basis of the available literature and future prospects for ecosystem-based management are also highlighted.
A recent floristic survey revealed the occurrence of three species of Xylocarpus in the Andaman a... more A recent floristic survey revealed the occurrence of three species of Xylocarpus in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. Of these, Xylocarpus granatum and X. moluccensis are true mangrove species, whereas X. rumphii is a non-mangrove species. All three Xylocarpus species were recorded from the Andaman Islands, but none of them have been recorded from the Nicobar Islands. The key distinguishing characters of X. granatum, X. moluccensis and X. rumphii are described to resolve the nomenclatural ambiguity of Xylocarpus spp. in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Bamboo is an integral part of life in the Northeast India, occupying 33% of bamboo growing area a... more Bamboo is an integral part of life in the Northeast India, occupying 33% of bamboo growing area and holding 39% of the bamboo growing stock of the country. The region is the centre of origin of woody bamboos, and has a rich diversity with more than 90 species. Rain Forest Research Institute, Jorhat (RFRI) has undertaken various research activities on bamboos in the Northeast India, including distribution, flowering, genetic improvement, silviculture, agroforestry, pest and disease management, genetic variation studies, ex-situ conservation, tissue culture, preservative treatment, use in restoration of degraded lands, value addition and socio-economics. The paper reviews and summarizes the work done by RFRI since 1976 till date, and also provides the roadmap for the future research and extension, which will be applicable not only for the region, but for the entire country.
The Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Coimbatore is involved in Eucalyptus tree imp... more The Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Coimbatore is involved in Eucalyptus tree improvement programme and identified highly productive on the basis of biometrical parameters. In the present study, 25 of these selected clones were evaluated for certain biochemical parameters €“ CA activity, chlorophyll and organic acids which may aid in future breeding programme as well as may act as markers. Results revealed that there exists highly significant variation in CA activity among the selected Eucalyptus clones. Among clones, clone - c196 registered the least and clone - c198 registered the greater values of chlorophyll-a, chlorophyll-b and total chlorophyll. ANOVA on organic acids revealed that there exist highly significant variations among the clones of eucalyptus. Among the organic acids studied, Oxalic acid registered the greater variation (CV of 10.63%) and Fumaric acid registered the least variation (CV of 5.60). In the present study, clustering analysis was carried o...
Global warming plays a major role in climate change which is caused mainly due to increase in CO ... more Global warming plays a major role in climate change which is caused mainly due to increase in CO 2 level in the atmosphere. Present study attempted to evaluate four important tropical tree-species, Tectona grandis, Ailanthus excelsa, Casuanna equisetifolia and Casuarina ,Jungkuhniana for adaptation to elevated levels of CO 2 at nursery stage. The study was conducted inside the poly tunnels and CO 2 enrichment was done to double the concentration. Seedlings in poly tunnel without CO 2 enrichment served as control The short term experiments revealed that of the four species studied, casuarinas performed well under elevated CO 2 conditions in terms of all growth parameters studied. The performance of teak alone was poor indicating adverse effect of CO 2 enrichment on morphological traits of tbiB species as seen by reduced leaf area, lesser dry' matter accumulation both in shoot and root system and poor Seedling Quality Index at elevated CO, levels. Thus, in the present study, all t...
Agarwood is a valuable non-timber forest product in international trade regulated under the CITES... more Agarwood is a valuable non-timber forest product in international trade regulated under the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species). One of the Scientific Authorities of CITES working on agarwood is the Rain Forest Research Institute (RFRI). The paper reviews the research by the RFRI on agarwood and indicates the road ahead, which will be relevant for the whole country. The research till date has revolved around distribution, genetic variation, tree improvement, silviculture, agroforestry, artificial induction of agarwood, pests and diseases and their control, besides NDF (Non-Detriment Finding) study and fixing of export quota. Research is required on the post-harvest processing, products, their diversification, chemistry, grading, quality control, trade and socio-economics. The Institute has a key role to balance the demands of trade with conservation.
In this chapter the current understanding on various components of Indian mangrove habitats is re... more In this chapter the current understanding on various components of Indian mangrove habitats is reviewed and conservation measures required to ensure the sustainability of Indian mangroves are discussed. In India, mangroves are found on the east and west coasts of the mainland and on the Islands of Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep. Indian mangroves represent 3.3% of global mangroves and about 56% of global mangrove species. Despite considerable work on the floristics and ecology of mangroves with minimal attention to management-related issues, Indian mangroves also remain underexplored in various other aspects—forest structure, faunal diversity, genetic diversity, soil physicochemical properties, microbial diversity, ecological services and its economic evaluation—which are prerequisites for effective implementation of conservation and management measures. Further, the bulk of the research has been carried out in the Indian Sundarbans, Bitharkanika, Pichavaram, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands; other areas remain little studied. As we live in a world of diminished ecological diversity, the conservation focus on natural resources has shifted from species to ecosystems, and recent efforts have been focused on an ecosystem-based management approach. However, mangrove conservation measures have often relied on legal protection of existing mangroves and rehabilitation of degraded mangroves by monospecific plantation globally, as well as in India. Despite a recent increase in mangrove coverage and a slowdown in the degradation rate (judged solely on the basis of global or regional-scale remote sensing studies) achieved by existing conservation and rehabilitation measures, the ecological health of Indian mangroves, as well as mangroves in other countries, has experienced a continuous decline due to uncontrolled upstream anthropogenic activities and global climate change. National-level policy making in India lacks comprehensive understanding of how the various types of mangrove habitats along the coast function, in what social and ecological aspects they differ, and how those differences might be taken into account while planning for conservation. Since mangroves are highly dynamic and threatened, the understanding of various components and their interconnections is invaluable for streamlining future research and effective formulation of long-term, integrated, ecosystem-based management for preserving the biological diversity, ecological health, and ecological integrity of mangroves. Considering these facts, this chapter discusses the current knowledge on Indian mangroves on the basis of the available literature and future prospects for ecosystem-based management are also highlighted.
A recent floristic survey revealed the occurrence of three species of Xylocarpus in the Andaman a... more A recent floristic survey revealed the occurrence of three species of Xylocarpus in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. Of these, Xylocarpus granatum and X. moluccensis are true mangrove species, whereas X. rumphii is a non-mangrove species. All three Xylocarpus species were recorded from the Andaman Islands, but none of them have been recorded from the Nicobar Islands. The key distinguishing characters of X. granatum, X. moluccensis and X. rumphii are described to resolve the nomenclatural ambiguity of Xylocarpus spp. in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Bamboo is an integral part of life in the Northeast India, occupying 33% of bamboo growing area a... more Bamboo is an integral part of life in the Northeast India, occupying 33% of bamboo growing area and holding 39% of the bamboo growing stock of the country. The region is the centre of origin of woody bamboos, and has a rich diversity with more than 90 species. Rain Forest Research Institute, Jorhat (RFRI) has undertaken various research activities on bamboos in the Northeast India, including distribution, flowering, genetic improvement, silviculture, agroforestry, pest and disease management, genetic variation studies, ex-situ conservation, tissue culture, preservative treatment, use in restoration of degraded lands, value addition and socio-economics. The paper reviews and summarizes the work done by RFRI since 1976 till date, and also provides the roadmap for the future research and extension, which will be applicable not only for the region, but for the entire country.
The Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Coimbatore is involved in Eucalyptus tree imp... more The Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Coimbatore is involved in Eucalyptus tree improvement programme and identified highly productive on the basis of biometrical parameters. In the present study, 25 of these selected clones were evaluated for certain biochemical parameters €“ CA activity, chlorophyll and organic acids which may aid in future breeding programme as well as may act as markers. Results revealed that there exists highly significant variation in CA activity among the selected Eucalyptus clones. Among clones, clone - c196 registered the least and clone - c198 registered the greater values of chlorophyll-a, chlorophyll-b and total chlorophyll. ANOVA on organic acids revealed that there exist highly significant variations among the clones of eucalyptus. Among the organic acids studied, Oxalic acid registered the greater variation (CV of 10.63%) and Fumaric acid registered the least variation (CV of 5.60). In the present study, clustering analysis was carried o...
Global warming plays a major role in climate change which is caused mainly due to increase in CO ... more Global warming plays a major role in climate change which is caused mainly due to increase in CO 2 level in the atmosphere. Present study attempted to evaluate four important tropical tree-species, Tectona grandis, Ailanthus excelsa, Casuanna equisetifolia and Casuarina ,Jungkuhniana for adaptation to elevated levels of CO 2 at nursery stage. The study was conducted inside the poly tunnels and CO 2 enrichment was done to double the concentration. Seedlings in poly tunnel without CO 2 enrichment served as control The short term experiments revealed that of the four species studied, casuarinas performed well under elevated CO 2 conditions in terms of all growth parameters studied. The performance of teak alone was poor indicating adverse effect of CO 2 enrichment on morphological traits of tbiB species as seen by reduced leaf area, lesser dry' matter accumulation both in shoot and root system and poor Seedling Quality Index at elevated CO, levels. Thus, in the present study, all t...
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Papers by R.S.C. Jayaraj