A case study on people's choice conservation of biodiversity in homesteads of Assam, India.
Prosanta Hazarika, Biswas S. C., Kalita R. K.
Author Affiliation: Bio-Prospecting and Indigenous Knowledge Division, Rain Forest Research Institute, Jorhat - 785 001, Assam, India.
International Research Journal of Biological Sciences 3 : 89-94
Abstract : Choice of useful plant species from forests for domestication has been found to start simultaneously with the progress of human civilization since the beginning of cultivation and used to conserve them in particular piece of land near to their habitat. Those habitats may be the outcome of today's homesteads. Now, homesteads are considered as important sites for ex-situ on-farm conservation. Homesteads are also considered, as need base multi-purpose high-density, multi-layered agroforestry cropping systems, which not only mitigate the local needs but also take major part in conservation of biodiversity. Therefore, a study was conducted to determine the role of the homestead in the conservation and management of plant diversity of forests origin in nine selected villages of Jorhat, Sivasagar and Golaghat districts of Assam, India during 2005-2007. More than 393 plant species of 111 families are recorded in the homesteads, which are categorized as timber and non-timber species. Non-timber species are again grouped as food (i.e., fruits, roots stem, leaves and vegetables), fodder, medicinal, spices, aromatic and essential oil, fibers, dyes, beverage and pesticides yielding species. The study implies that several fruit plant species including Areca nut, Banana (Musa spp.), Mango (Mangifera indica), Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophylla,), Citrus spp, Lateku (Baccuaria sapida), Poniol (Flacaurtia catapharacta), Garcinia spp, Syzygium spp etc and Bamboo spp, Cane spp, and Livingstonia jenkinsiana are major components of homestead agroforestry system. In addition, some of the plant species are found to link with the cultural heritage of the local people. Tea, Aquilaria, Bamboo, Canes and Livingstonia species are recorded as commercially important plant species in their homesteads. Many rare and endangered plant species including orchids are well nourished in homesteads of the locality.