Abstract:
The Gram Sabha of the village of Pachgaon, Chandrapur, owns a big chunk of the
forest land nearest to the village, from which they extract a number of products or trade
and sustenance, predominantly bamboo. The economy of the entire village depends on
an effective Working Plan for the extraction of bamboo based on principles of
sustainable harvest. This project was undertaken to evaluate conditions in Pachgaon
forest under the Working Plan affecting bamboo growth with the goal of increasing
shoot regeneration. The ecology and life history of bamboos called attention to potential
factors of shoot recruitment- clump characteristics, abiotic and biotic factors- to be
collected as data. The variation in forest density in Pachgaon forest provided a natural
experimental setup to understand density and harvest effects. Understanding the effects
of density and harvest on shoot recruitment patterns highlighted compensatory growth
in high-density areas only. Further analysis revealed a differential effect of density and
time since harvest on shoot recruitment: a detrimental effect of harvest in lower
densities and a compensatory effect in higher densities respectively on shoot
recruitment. Additionally, understanding patterns of herbivory led to the formulation of
‘Escape Height’, an anti-herbivory quantity.
