Geosciences Research

8

Authors: Tanveer Ahmed, Harendra Singh Bargali, Neha Verma, Afifullah Khan

The Terai-Arc Landscape in the foothills of Himalaya supports a mosaic of wildlife habitats that sustains an amazing biodiversity. The high human pressure coupled with developmental activities, not only degrade wildlife habitats but restrict the dispersal of wild animals particularly in multiple-use managed forest. We determined the status of wildlife habitats in Ramnagar Forest Division classifying Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS image acquired on April 2015. Landsat Aster GDEM data of 17 October 2011 was used to assess slope, aspect and elevation of the study area. Sal forest was the dominant class and it was followed by sal mixed forest, mixed forest, human habitation and barren land. The elevation ranges between 307m and 1892m amsl with sizable area having gentle slope (50 to 100 ). Most of the region was south facing. Importance of these habitats for mammals of western Terai-Arc Landscape has been discussed. The current information is expected to serve as baseline information for planning future management strategies and determining changes in wildlife habitats.