Forest of Bangladesh

Forest of Bangladesh:

Climate of Bangladesh is sub-tropical and monsoon rainfall varies from 1200-3500mm. Rice is the major cereal crop while jute, sugarcane, and tea are the main cash crops. Other important crops are wheat, tobacco, pulses, vegetable and tree fruits. Garments, raw and manufactured jute goods, tea, fish, and, hides and skins are the chief exports. A small tracts of higher land occur in Sylhet, Mymensingh, Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar and Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) regions. The southwestern region consists of a large number of dead and cut-off rivers. The coastal part of Bangladesh includes the famous Sundarbans Mangrove Forest. A number of depressed basins are found in the district of greater Mymensingh and Sylhet which are inundated by fresh water during the monsoon that gradually dry out during the dry winter season. These depressed basins are known as ‘Haor’. Sundarban is one of the 28 official finalists for the New7Wonders of Nature, A campaign which will see people worldwide vote to nominate the seven most remarkable, beautiful or extra-ordinary natural locations and features on our planet. In 2011, New7Wonders of Nature will be elected and announced to the world. Vote now and help bring Sundarban into the final seven. This is your Sundri( Heriteirafomes ) is the dominant plant species of the Sundarban. Perhaps this is the reason for naming the forest as ‘Sundarban'. On the other hand people presumed that from word “Samundar” (means Sea), first “Samundarban” and then the name “Sundarban” came into existence.

Kinds of forests in Bangladesh:

1.      Plain land forest,

2.      Hill forest,

3.      Mangrove forest.

Plain land forest:

Picture of Sal Forest

The Central and northern districts covering an area of 1,20,000 ha about 0.81% of total land mass of the country and 7.8% of the country’s forest land are bestowed with Tropical Moist Deciduous Forests. This forest is intermingled with the neighbouring settlements and fragmented into smaller patches. Sal (Shorearobusta) is the main species there with other associates like Koroi (Albizziaprocera), Azuli (Dilleniapentagyna), Sonalu (Cassia fistula), Bohera (Terminaliabelerica), Haritaki (Terminaliachebula), Kanchan (Bauhinia acuminata), Jarul (Lagerstroemia speciosa), Jam (Syzygiumspp) etc. A recent forest inventory encountered that 3.75 million cubic meter wood available in the salforests.Presently participatory forestry programme are being implemented here under the social forestry initiatives. Among the mammals, Jackel (Canisaureus), Monkey (Macacamulatta), Wild cat (Felischaus) etc. are found there and among the reptiles Bengal Monitor Lizard (Varanusbengalensis) and common cobra are remarkable. Tree coverage in the village forests are 2,70,000 hectare which acts as the source of a remarkable portion of national demand of forest produces. The latest inventory exhibits that a total of 54.7 million cu m forest products are available in this village forests.

Some plant species of plain land forest:

Local Name	Scientific Name
Akashmoni	Acacia auriculiformis
Am	Mangiferaindica
Amloki	Emblicaofficinalis
Arjun	Termarindusarjuna
Asok	Sarakaindica
Ata	Annoasquamosa
Badorlathi	Cassia fistula
Baramehegoni	Swieteniamacrophylla
Bashok	Adhatodaindica
Bohera	SemecarpusAnacardium
Borai	Zizyphusmauratiana
Chalta	Dilleniaindica
Chapalish	Artocarpuschaplasha
Chatim	Alstomiascholaris
Chhatian	Alstomiascholaris
Cocunut	Cocosnucifera
Dadraz	Engeiharadtiaspicata
Debdaru	Polyalthialongifolia
Dhaincha	Sesbaneabispinosa
Dutura	Datura metal
Eucalyptus	Eucalyptus  camaldulensis
Gab	Diospyrosperegrina
Gamari	Gmelinaarborea
Garjan	Depterocarpusspp
Goraneem	Meliaazedarach
Horitoki	Terminaliachevbula
IpilIpil	Leucaenaleucocephala
Kadam	Anthocephalusspeciosa
Kalazum	Syzygiumcumini
Kanchan	Bauhinia purpurea
Kanthal	Artocarpusheterophylus
Khejur	Phoenix  sylvestris
Krisnochura	Delonixregia
Lebu	Citrus spp
Minjiri	Cassia samea
Mohua	Bassialatifolia
Mulibansh	Melocannabeccifera
Nagessor	Mesuaferrea
Nim	Azadirachtaindica
Nisinda	Vitexnegundo
Pakur	Ficusinfectoria
Papaya	Carica papaya
Peyara	Psidiumguajava
Pit raj	Aphanamixispolystachya
Pitali	Twewianuditlorai
Raintree	Samaneasaman
Rubber	Heveabrasiliensis
Sarpogondha	Rauvolfiaserpenlina
Sazna	Moringaoleifera
Sheuli	Nyctanthesarbortristis
Shimultula	Bombaxceiba
Silkoroi	Albiziaprocera
Sindur	Malllotusphlippinensis
Superi	Areca catechu
Tal	Borassusflabelifer

Hill forest:

                                                           Picture of Hill Forest

The Hill Forest mainly situated in the district of Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Rangamati, Khagrachari, Bandarban and Sylhet. The total area of the Hill Forest is 670,000 hectare which accounts for 44% of total area managed by the Forest Department and 4.54% of total area of Bangladesh. The Chittagong Hill Tracts comprise 14,000 square kilometers, which represent about 10 per cent of the country's area. Some of the major species in these forests grow to gigantic heights and diameters. The tallest part of the canopy is generally formed by deciduous and semi-deciduous trees while the understorey is of evergreen type. Bamboo formations and savannah are also present. Several important species of mammals inhabit the area: e.g. elephants, bisons, deers, leopards, etc. Birds like the imperial pigeon, the green pigeon, and the white winged wood duck are also present. Commercial tree plantations, illegal logging, dam mega-projects, and forced displacement are responsible for the accelerated destruction of those precious ecosystems, which means the destruction of their biodiversity. Rubber, teak and eucalyptus monocultures for export have provoked negative ecological effects by the substitution of part of the forest, as well as conflicts between local communities belonging to the 13 ethnic groups that inhabit the region and the Forest Department.

another Picture of Hill Forest

Some forest species of Hill Forest:

No.	Local name	Scientific name
1.	Garjan	Dipterocarpus spp.
2.	Chapalish	Artocarpuschaplasha
3.	Telsur	Hopeaodorata
4.	Tali	Palaquiumpolyanthrum
5.	Kamdeb	Callophyllumpolyanthum
6.	Uriam	Mangiferasylvatica
7.	Jarul	Legarstromiaspeciosa
8.	Civit	Swintonia floribunda
9.	Toon	Cedrelatoona
10.	Bandorhola	Duabangagrandiflora
11.	Teak	Tectonagrandis
12.	Gamar	Gmelinaarborea
13.	Mehogani	Swietenia spp.
14.	Chikrassi	Chikrassiatabularis
15.	Pynkado	Xyliadolabriformis
16.	Kadam	Anthocephaluscadamba
17.	Chatim	Alstomiascholaris
18.	Dadraz	Engeiharadtiaspicata
19.	Eucalyptus	Eucalyptus  camaldulensis
20.	IpilIpil	Leucaenaleucocephala

Mangrove forest:

                                    Picture of the Sundarban Mangrove forest

Common Species

·   Sundri:Sundri is a small to moderate sized evergreen tree. It has buttressed stems and pneumetaphores. The leaves are brown in the lower side and green in the upper side. The bark is dark grey. It is the leading species of the Sunderbans. It has preference for low salinity. So it is common in less and moderately saline zones of the Sunderbans.

·         Gewa:Gewa is a small medium sized evergreen tree with thin, tall and smooth grey bark. The tree exudes a very sharp poisonous juice from the bark when cut. The sap is injurious to eyes and skins and for this reason the species is called blinding tree. It prefers moderately saline area. It is a shade tolerant species.

·         Keora:Keora is the largest and longest tree of the Sunderbans. The bark of the tree is black, smooth but the stem is white. It is the pioneer species in the ecological succession. It prefers high salinity areas. The wood is light and is not of good quality.

·         Passur:Passur is a moderate sized tree. The bark is thick and blackish color. It is found mainly in saline areas. The wood is deep red and even textured.

·         Baen: The canopy of Baen is usually wide. The pneumatophores are thin and finger like. The species is mainly distributed in the higher salinity areas of the Sunderbans. It is a strong light demanding species.

·         Goran:Goran is the dominant species in the strongly saline zone of the Sunderbans. They posses stilt roots. High quality of charcoal can be obtained from the species.

·         Golpata: Golpata It is an important palm species of the mangroves. It grows in the saline less saline and moderately saline zone. It grows vigorously where salinity is low. It is a trunkless palm with tall vertical fronds and an underground stem. It is often found on the bank of rivers and canal.

                       Visitors are visiting the amazing Sundarban

Some Peculiarities of Sundarbans

1.      Pneumatophores and buttress of Sundri and Koera

Pneumatophores developed from the cable root. Numerous lenticels are present on the surface of the pneumatophores. From the base of the pneumatophores feeder roots developed. The functions of pneumatophores are to uptake air and nutrient (feeder root). They do not take part in the gaseous exchange. In our campus sundri has also develop small buttress which give mechanical support to the tree.

2.      Stilt root and aerial root of Kankra (Bruguierasexacutangulata)

Stilt root and aerial root are same but stilt root produces from the stem and reaches the soil but aerial root don’t reach the soil. Both have lenticels on their surface. So both take part in the respiration but as stilt root reaches the soil it can provide some mechanical support to the tree.

3.      Viviparous germination

Many mangroves show a special type of germination called viviparous germination. In this type of germination, the seeds germinate while the fruit is still attached to the mother plant. In Khulna University campus there are three mangrove species which shows viviparous germination. These are Kankra, Kandeliakandel, and Rhizophora. Actually the germinated seeds have primitive cells. So it can produce the root from anywhere touching the soil. And the upward side produces the shoot. Even if the germinated seeds are cut into several parts, each part produces both root and shoot. This is one type of adaptation in mangrove environment.

4.      Top Dying Of Sundri

We saw most of the trees were affected by top dying in some areas. The symptoms that we were observed are given below:

§  Affected tree shows die back of twigs, branches and main leaders.

§  Often tree with truncated tops.

§  Develop gall or canker on twigs or main branches or on the trunks.

§  Some leaves change yellow and fall off.

Pneumataphores of SundriViviporus germination of Baen

Biotic influences on the Sundarbans

Deer, wild bore, crabs, rodents, monkey, etc. have some negative impact on regeneration, but these impacts are not so serious. Moreover, some wild lives like tiger, crocodile, etc. have some positive impact on protection of the Sundarbans.

 

Environmental requirement:

                                 

                                 Monkey in KaramjalThe Royal Bengal Tigar

The central and northern districts covering an area of 1,20,000 ha about 0.81% of total land mass of the country and 7.8% of the country’s forest land are bestowed with Tropical Moist Deciduous Forests. This forest is intermingled with the neighbouring settlements and fragmented into smaller patches. Sal (Shorearobusta) is the main species there with other associates like Koroi (Albizziaprocera), Azuli (Dilleniapentagyna), Sonalu (Cassia fistula), Bohera (Terminaliabelerica), Haritaki (Terminaliachebula), Kanchan (Bauhinia acuminata), Jarul (Lagerstroemia speciosa), Jam (Syzygiumspp) etc. A recent forest inventory encountered that 3.75 million cubic meter wood available in the salforests.Presently participatory forestry programme are being implemented here under the social forestry initiatives.The hill forests are abundant with numerous plant as well as animal species. Some important flora are Garjan (Dipterocarpus spp.), Chapalish (Artocarpuschaplasha), Telsur (Hopeaodorata), Tali (Palaquiumpolyanthrum), Kamdeb(Callophyllumpolyanthum), Uriam (Mangiferasylvatica), Jarul (Legarstromiaspeciosa), Civit (Swintonia floribunda), Toon (Cedrelatoona), Bandorhola (Duabangagrandiflora) etc. Moreover there are bamboo, cane, climbers and fern etc. in these forests.

Dendrology:

Dendrology is the science and study of wooded plants (trees, shrubs, and lianas). There is no sharp boundary between plant taxonomy and dendrology. However, woody plants not only belong to many different plant families, but these families may be made up of both woody and non-woody members. Some families include only a few woody species. This severely limits the usefulness of a strictly dendrological approach. Dendrology tends to focus on economically useful woody plants, their identification and horticultural or silvicultural properties.Trees are easy to identify in general terms because they are set apart in the way that they have one woody trunk leading to a whole system of woody branches and support systems, but if it hadn’t been for people who study dendrology we might not know how to distinguish one woody plant from another. With over 100,000 different species of trees, dendrology is a huge area of study and it’s a massive undertaking to try to learn more about each species than what meets the eye, and also attempt to find and identify new species of trees all the time.

Propagation:

Many annuals, herbs and vegetables are easy and fairly quick to grow from seed with minimum amount of equipment. Some vegetable seeds are sown directly into the ground (eg carrots) while others are started off in seed trays in the house or greenhouse and then transferred to either the veggie patch or a pot once the seedlings are strong enough.A surprising number of plants can be easily propagated by taking cuttings or potting up offsets. There are two types of cutting methods: stem cuttings and leaf cuttings.Some plants can be divided into clumps to create new plants. The plant is lifted from the ground or popped out of the pot in the spring and the roots are very carefully and gently tugged apart to form two or more seperate clumps. Each separate clump is then repotted or replanted.

Raising Plantation:

A plantation is a large artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption. The term plantation is informal and not precisely defined.Crops grown on plantations include fast-growing trees (often conifers), cotton, coffee, tobacco, sugar cane, sisal, some oil seeds (notably oil palms) and rubber trees. Farms that produce alfalfa, Lespedeza, clover, and other forage crops are usually not called plantations. The term "plantation" has usually not included large orchards (except for banana plantations), but does include the planting of trees for lumber. A plantation is always a monoculture over a large area and does not include extensive naturally occurring stands of plants that have economic value. Because of its large size, a plantation takes advantage of economies of scale. Protectionist policies and natural comparative advantage have contributed to determining where plantations have been located.Among the earliest examples of plantations were the latifundia of the Roman Empire, which produced large quantities of wine and olive oil for export. Plantation agriculture grew rapidly with the increase in international trade and the development of a worldwide economy that followed the expansion of European colonial empires. Like every economic activity, it has changed over time. Earlier forms of plantation agriculture were associated with large disparities of wealth and income, foreign ownership and political influence, and exploitative social systems such as indentured labor and slavery. The history of the environmental, social and economic issues relating to plantation agriculture are covered in articles that focus on those subjects.

Economic Importance:

Fuelwood is the major wood product required today, Bangladesh needs over 8.0 million cubic meter fuelwood every year. Domestic cooking uses an estimated 63%, which is 5.1 million cubic meter annually. Industrial and commercial use is also significant, which is 2.9 million cubic meter annually. According to Forestry Master Plan, village household supply about 75% of the fuelwood in the country where as government forestry program provides the rest 25%.
Due to limited alternative sources of energy the rural people are mainly dependant on fuelwood for cooking and other household activities. The Government of Bangladesh took many initiatives to provide the consumer an additional supply of fuelwood for the future.

Forestry is a long-term production system. It has manifold contribution towards the welfare of mankind. The multiple use of forest resources have been recognized from the advent of civilization. The Forestry sector contributes about 5% of the total GDP (Gross domestic product) of Bangladesh. This does not reflect the true contribution of this sector. The rural population uses fuelwood and other minor forest products practically free of cost. Forest also plays an important role in protecting watersheds, irrigation and hydraulic structure, also in keeping the rivers and ports navigable. It also plays key role in protecting the coastal areas from natural calamities. The role of forest in protecting the environment from pollution and its contribution towards bio-diversity is immense.

Eco-tourism is a new concept in the country though it has developed in the last 15 years in different countries of the world. The marketing of eco-tourism in the world today has reached maximum sophistication and supply of goods and services has exceeded than its present demand. Now a day more and more people want to spend leisure time for nature, so it is an important window of the hospitality Industry.