Trees outside forest for Chure dry land conservation in Makawanpur District, Nepal

Abstract

Abstract. Bolakhe S, Ghimire P, Paudel P, Lamichhane U. 2024. Trees outside forest for Chure dry land conservation in Makawanpur District, Nepal. Intl J Trop Drylands 8: 106-113. Trees outside forest (TOF) are considered as a potential strategy to meet the needs for timber, fuel wood, fodder and fruits of growing population and crop diversification to address land management problems and ecological concerns. In this backdrop, this study attempts to explore the contribution of TOF to Chure dry land conservation in Hetauda Sub-metropolitan City, Nepal. Field observation, household surveys (n=123), and in-depth discussions with local key informants were conducted to extract information about TOFs. The study documented 27 species of trees outside forest. About 19 species were present per household distributed on different locations like home gardens, terrace raisers, borderlands etc. More than 80% of these trees found on farmlands were planted, and only a few were naturally retained. Fruit trees (jackfruit and mango) dominated, followed by fodder (Litsea and Ficus) and other multipurpose species. Among the naturally regenerated trees, multipurpose species were abundant (>45%) and myriad fruit species (>60%) were seen among those planted. TOFs contributed to more than 40% of annual demands for fuel wood, fodder and bedding materials, whereas timber and poles are extracted in comparatively less amount. Almost all of the respondents agreed upon the positive impacts of TOFs on crop production, greenery enhancement and adaptation against drought. More than 90% of the respondents were positive about enhancing TOF for land productivity optimization and reducing pressure on forest to conserve fragile ecosystem of Chure dry land.