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C. R. Ranganathan

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C. R. Ranganathan

Abstract

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C. R. Ranganathan

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C. R. Ranganathan

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C. R. Ranganathan

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C. R. Ranganathan

Abstract

The protective influence of forests on the habitat has been noted and recorded from the earliest times. During the past 100 years this has been the subject of observation and study. Naturalists are con-vinced of the beneficial effects of forests on the meteorological and hydrological conditions and of the large part that properly distributed and well maintained forests play in the well-being of rural and agricultural communities. Careful experimental studies have indicated that the influence of forests on major climatic factors (especially rainfall) and on stream flow may have been overstated; but generally speaking, the influence of forests is to mitigate and ameliorate excesses in the factors of the locality. Historical evidence from many countries proves conclusively that the soil and physical conditions deteriorate with the destruction of forests or their degradation through excessive grazing or burning. Forest devastation may in time lead to the destruction of the physical bases of life, the spread of desert conditions, and the extinction of the local civilization. Comparison of the protective efficiency of grassland, cropland and forest leads to the conclusion that the reactions of the forest on the climate and water regime of the locality are most constant and sustained. By forest is meant a community of trees possessing a more or less continuous canopy with or without subordinate shrubby or herbaceous vegetation. Such a forest renders the air inside it cool and damp, protects the soil from direct exposure to the sun, retards the flow of air currents and promotes the accumulation of an absorptive and protective layer of leaf-litter and humus on the floor. Forests are important pedogenic agents. The development of the soil and of the natural vegetation it supports are co-ordinate and interdependent. The moderating influence of forests on the temperature is distinctly notice able. Trees act as pumps tapping the ground water from considerable depths and transfer it as moisture to the air, thereby increasing the relative humidity. Forests affect the ground water-table according to the initial nature of the soil and the topography : in dry soils and on slopes the water-holding capacity increases, but in ground liable to marshy or swampy conditions, forests tend to lower the water table and exercise a draining effect. The influence of' forests on rainfall has been much debated: while forests do not affect the primary meteorological causes of rainfall, they do have a noticeable effect on the incidence and distribution of local precipitation (as shown by observations in Ootacamund, South India, extending over a period of years). The problem of soil erosion arises from the imprudent use of land and the indiscriminate destruction of forest cover. Planned afforestation has an important role in the rehabilitation of eroded lands. Narrow shelter belts of trees can afford effective protection against wind erosion. The solution of the problem of soil erosion lies in rational land use. Forests perform a unique function of biological interest in affording shelter for wild fauna. They are also of considerable recreational value to man. On purely commercial considerations alone forests may not be as profitable as other uses to which the land can be put, but the steady supply of forest products and the protective benefits of a forest cover are of paramount importance. Such commercial considerations have no real place in the long term policies associated state ownership of forests.

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C. R. Ranganathan

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As a reflex of the continental range of climatic conditions prevailing in India, the forests in the country exhibit a corresponding diversity of types. While extensive coniferous forests occur on the Himalayas and tropical evergreen forests in wet localities, the mass of India's forests belongs to the tropical deciduous type characterized by a great wealth of species, of which only a few are valuable. The sal forests of Northern India are an important exception in that the species occurs gregariously as the climax dominant over extensive tracts. High forest systems of natural regeneration have been successful only in the coniferous forests on the Himalayas and in sal forests where advance growth is already present in quantity. It has not been found possible to rely on natural reproduction for restocking gaps left after selection fellings in mixed forests. The effect of such fellings is in general to increase the proportion of valueless species at the expense of the valuable ones. This applies in particular to teak forests, where the species occurs in mixture with other less valuable or useless species. The problem of regenerating such forests has been solved by making compensatory plantations of the selected species in suitable sites in the forest. Our fuel forests are worked under the Coppice System but repeated working has been found to lead to reduced density of the crop and to lower yields. This effect has had to be countered by special measures of artificial regeneration. For these various reasons India has had to develop special techniques of artificial regeneration of which the most significant are (1) the controlled use of fire in regeneration areas, (2) the rob method, (3) Taungya method and (4) the method of stump planting. A brief descripion of. these methods is given. New developments in the utilization of timber and the programme of afforestation which has been decided on in the country for increasing our timber and firewood potential and for securing a more balanced distribution of forests will alike call for research aiming at advances and modifications in our silvicultural techniques to meet new requirements. The importance of statistical control of silvicultural research has been realized in India and progressive steps have been taken during the last two decades at the Forest Research Institute for securing such control.

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M. D. Chaturvcdi , C. R. Ranganathan , R. N. Singh , C. M. Chowdhuri , B. Pal , J. Bancrji , D. D. Saigal , V. S. Krishnaswamy , G. S. Lamba

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C. R. Ranganathan

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