• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.202-225
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• 2017

Non Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) has gained a lot of significance over the years as a means of income generation. Forests are playing a vital role in the supply of these products, however, due to their continuous extraction, the population of many species might have depleted. Very little information is known about community structure and population status of NTFPs. No specific studies have been made to find out the occurrence, availability of species and population status in the forests, supplying the resources. The present study has been carried out in community forests of the naturally occurring NTFPs in the temperate forest of the Ziro valley of Arunachal Pradesh. The main aim is to determine community structure, species composition and population status of NTFPs. Three forest stands viz., Nyilii, Dura and Gyachi were selected which are used by the Apatani tribe for extraction of the NTFPs. For evaluation of species composition and community characteristics, the sampling of the vegetation was done using the quadrat method. A total 137 species representing 68 families and 116 genera were recorded. Herbs represent the maximum diversity with 71 species followed by 35 shrub species and 31 tree species. The families Asteraceae and Rosaceaeae exhibited maximum representation followed by Urticaceae. The species under Fagaceae, Lauraceae, Rosaceae and Rutaceae were found to be important NTFP yielding species. Highest species richness was recorded in Nyilii having 124 species, while lowest in Dura with 102 species. Density of tree, shrub and herb ranged between 376 to $456\;individuals\;ha^{-1}$, 2848 to $3696\;individuals\;ha^{-1}$ and 31.44 to $36.64\;individuals\;m^{-2}$, respectively. The total basal area was found to be highest ($51.64m^2\;ha^{-1}$) in Dura followed by Nyilii ($25.32m^2\;ha^{-1}$) and lowest in Gyachi ($22.82m^2\;ha^{-1}$). In all the three study stands the species diversity indices showed the trend, herbs > shrubs > trees while the evenness index showed the trend as shrubs > herbs > trees. The overall species similarity index was highest (82.35%) between Dura and Gyachi. About 80% of the total recorded species showed clumped distribution while, no regular distribution was shown by any species. The three selected stands harbor about 50 important NTFP yielding species which are being used commonly by the Apatani people in their day to day life. Among the three study sites, overall diversity of NTFP was found highest in the Nyilii stand while the density of population was found better in Dura and Gyachi stands. The population of many species was found to be low due to continue harvesting without any sustainable management by the communities. All the selected forest stands have the potentiality to grow the high value NTFP yielding species and if managed properly, they can support the livelihood and economy of the local communities.