Ecosystem services of Naudhara Community Forest, Lalitpur, Nepal
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3126/njes.v14i1.70851Keywords:
Community forest, provisioning services, carbon stock, regulating services, Forest User GroupAbstract
Ecosystem services are the services provided by the ecological systems that either directly or indirectly benefit human beings. These services, categorized into provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services, are crucial for sustaining economic progress, livelihoods, and human welfare. This research aims to explore the provisioning services and regulating services provided by the forest to the user group of Naudhara Community Forest of Lalitpur, Nepal. For assessing the provisioning services, a questionnaire was administered to 80 households in five locations, and convenience sampling was carried out. Firewood and fodder along with timber were the main provisioning services that the forest user groups were using being influenced by family size with 278.2 Kg/ year/ household firewood utilization with preference for firewood are Alnus nepalensis, Quercus glauca, Celtis australis and Fraxinus floribunda. Additionally, the availability of other energy sources of LPG has no influence (r = 0.126) on the firewood consumption pattern. While assessing the regulating services in terms of carbon stock, it involved circular plots to measure tree height, diameter at breast height, and calculating above ground biomass using an allometric equation. The total carbon stock of Naudhara Community Forest was calculated to be 854.88 t/ha. Likewise, the standard deviation of carbon stock was found to be 30.16 t/ha, which shows significant variation in carbon stock among different parts of the forests. Understanding the value of ecosystem services, like those provided by Naudhara Community Forest, is crucial for developing countries to conserve their environment and achieve sustainable development. This study highlights the importance of Naudhara Community Forest for the local community and provides valuable information on resource utilization.
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