Articles

Comparative Study of the Herbaceous Biomass of 3- and 7-year-old Management Sites in Western Niger

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For years, degraded land in western Niger has been subject to unprecedented reclamation. The aim of this study, carried out in the Ouallam department (western Niger), was to characterise the herbaceous vegetation of two (2) sites of different ages, developed by building sylvopastoral half-moons. Aligned quadrat points and abundance-dominance methods were used. The quantity of fodder was estimated by cutting flush with the ground and weighing, after drying, all the above-ground biomass in the half-moon. The inventory identified 38 and 55 species in the 3 and 7 year-old sites respectively, divided into 20 families dominated by the Poaceae family. The Jaccard index shows that the sites are similar, but the similarity is greater between sites of the same age. The highest rate of herbaceous cover (29%) was obtained on the 3-year-old site. The best values for yield and animal carrying capacity, 350 ± 109.68 and 0.07 ± 0.2 respectively, were recorded on the 3-year-old site. The herbaceous vegetation changed with the age of the site. The development favoured the gradual return of vegetation, thus contributing to the restoration of ecosystem services.

Identification and Population Density of Primate Animals in the Stik Jantho Aceh Besar Educational Forest

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Long tail macac (Macac fascicularis) and black langur (Trachypitecus auratus) are two species of primates protected by law. The conservation status of both is listed as vulnerable in the IUCN and appendix II status in CITES. The very sharp population decline in the monkey population is due to declining habitat quality and poaching. The STIK educational forest is a secondary forest, which is disturbed by illegal logging and forest fires. The vegetation that forms the habitat for the lives of kedih and black langur primates in this area is not yet known. There is no data on primates from the kedih and langur groups in the STIK Jantho educational forest. This is the reason why this research is important to be conducted. The purpose of this study was to obtain data on monkeyand black langurs including the number of groups, the number of species, age structure and sex ratio in the STIK Jantho educational forest. Data collection in this study used the transex path method by recording the number of groups, the number of individuals, age structure and sex ratio. Data analysis using Arch GIS 10.1 to determine the distribution of monkey and black langur by plotting each coordinate obtained, using GPS visualized in the form of a map. Determination of the density of kedih and black langur using the formula: P = D x A. Found 2 types of primate animals (Trachypitecus auratus and Macaca fascicularis), each 1 group. The number of Trachyipitecus auratus individuals 10 individuals and Macaca fascicularis 50 individuals. Both species of primate animals are included in the developing age structure and have a complete composition (adult males and females, infant and juveneel. The results are presented in the form of a distribution map of black langur groups, and the population density of kedih and black langur primates, narrated in the form of a research reporthis document.

White-rumped Vulture’s Distribution in Relation to the Landscape Factors in Arunachal Pradesh, India

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Avian distribution over the globe is normally influenced by many environmental factors including landscape factors. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the influence of landscape factors like elevation, vegetation, and land covers on occurrence of White-rumped Vultures in Arunachal Pradesh. The occurrence and abundance data were obtained following road count and point count methods from 2016 to 2020. The digital elevation model and normalized difference vegetation index data were obtained from the USGS database. The land-use land-cover data was obtained from the ESRI database. To evaluate the correlation between the WRV distribution and prevailing landscape factors spearman ranked correlation was used. Our correlation analysis showed highly negative correlation between elevation and WRV distribution (rs = -0.77, n=53, p <0.0001), moderately negative correlation between NDVI11 and WRV distribution (rs = -0.57, n=53, p <0.0001), moderately negative correlation between NDVI02 and WRV (rs = -0.56, n=53, p <0.0001), and moderately negative correlation between NDVI06 and WRV distribution (rs = -0.62, n=53, p <0.0001). In case of land-use land-covers, WRV was found most abundant in shrubs/ scrubs followed by croplands, barren areas, areas with trees, built areas, grasslands, and areas with waterbody. According to the present study, WRVs prefer habitats with lower elevation, lower NDVI values, and open areas with scattered vegetation, particularly trees. These findings provide more insight into the habitat requirements of WRV, which is significant information for conservation of WRV.