Seasonal distribution and habitat use preference of Barking deer (Muntiacus vaginalis) in Murree-Kotli Sattian-Kahuta National Park, Punjab Pakistan

ABSTRACT Microhabitat factors associated with the habitat of barking deer (Muntiacus vaginalis) were examined and compared between summer and winter seasons. Habitat characteristics and preferred habitat were measured by locating direct and indirect signs. To quantify the habitat utilization of barking deer, each selected study site was sampled for floral diversity from 2015 to 2017. Quadrats were deployed along transect lines to determine seasonal distribution. Barking deer were not evenly distributed across vegetation types in the study area; they occurred more often in the broad-leaved forest than in Chir pine forest, at an elevational range of 550-850 m, in thick vegetation on steep slopes. The most preferred habitat included trees and shrubs with 30% and 69% cover, respectively. Barking deer avoided thicker tree cover, possibly as it hinders movement and escape from predators. No significant difference (χ2 = 6.37, df = 3, p = 0.19) in seasonal vegetation cover was recorded.

MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS OF WILD BOAR IN SUB-TROPICAL CHIR PINE FOREST IN SIRAN FOREST DIVISION, TANGLAI RESERVE FOREST, DISTRICT MANSEHRA, KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA

The current study was conducted in May & June 2021 in Tanglai State Forest which is a Sub-Tropical Chir Pine Forest Type, the key species are: Common Leopard (Pathera pardus), Wild Boar (Sus scrofa), Jackals (Canis aureus), Rhesus Monkey (Macaca Mulatta), Kalij Pheasant (Lophura leucomelanos), Flying Squirrels (Pteromyini). In KPK, Wild Boar is found mostly in the west of Indus around Peshawar, Mardan Bannu, D.I Khan etc. In this paper it is recommended that the presence of Wild Boar and the way they may affect their habitat should be monitored because its population multiplies so fastly having high reproduction potential i.e. reaching sexual maturity as early as six (06) months of age, therefore, it is required to be managed in the habitats, the aim of such control should be to bring Wild Boar population into balance on particularly sensitive sites or in response to disease control. Moreover, this work is also aimed to suggest wild boar management to the authorized department, these approaches of management will be profitable to mitigate its adverse damages to the agricultural crops, forest crops, human beings, livestock i.e. wildlife conflicts.

A prediction of suitable habitat mapping of Pinus roxburghii sarg. using maxent modeling

Prediction of the potential geographic distribution of species is essential concerning various purposes in protection and conservation. The present study focused on predicting the distribution of Pinus roxburghii Sarg. (chir pine) in Uttarakhand Himalayas using the MaxEnt model. The model produced AUC curve with significant value of 0.882 (± 0.023). The study results showed that 426200 ha (5.91%) cover highly potential habitat area for chir pine. Whereas 833900 ha (11.56%), 1019200 ha (14.13%) and 4936000 ha (68.41%) cover good potential, moderately potential and least potential habitat areas, respectively. Based on the jacknife test, it was observed that temperature seasonality (bio4), precipitation of seasonality (bio15) and precipitation of driest month (bio14) are the significant contributors to the occurrence of chir pine in Uttarakhand Himalayas. This study exemplifies the usefulness of the prediction model of species distribution and offers a more effective way to manage chir pine forest by all means, which is beneficial for both the wildlife and human beings for future prospects.

Variation in Soil Organic Carbon under Different Forest Types in Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park, Nepal

Understanding distribution of soil organic carbon (SOC) in soil profile is important for assessing soil fertility and SOC stock because it varies with soils of different vegetation and land use types. In this context, the objective of this research is that it was conducted to determine key variance in the SOC stock in three different soil layers, 0–20 cm, 20–40 cm, and 40–60 cm of different vegetation covers of Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park of Kathmandu district, Nepal. Overall field measurement was based on standard national methods. We used the dichromate digestion method to analyse SOC concentrations. The highest SOC concentration (%) was recorded as 4.87% in 0–20 cm of oak forest and lowest 0.42% in 40–60 cm of Chir pine forest. Forest types (oak, upper mixed hardwood, lower mixed hardwood, and Chir pine) had SOC stock 149.62, 104.47, 62.5, and 50.85 t/ha, respectively, up to 60 cm depth. However, these values are significantly different ( p = 0.02 ) at 5% level of significance when comparing means between the forest types. The SOC stock was decreased with increased soil depth, though not significantly different at 5% level of significance. Further study with respect to different climate, soil, forest, and land use type is recommended.