Frontiers in Science and Technology in India

An Overview

Livre Spécialisé , 2021 , 230 Pages

Biologie - Zoologie

This book includes compiled information about science and technology. It focuses on developments in India. Discussed topics are for example: Plants of Religious Value, Diversity and Socioeconomic Importance of different medical Plants, Synthesis and characterization of Ni-doped Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles, Environmental Impacts of Tourism Activities or the Indirect Impact of SARS-CoV-2 on Environmental Quality and Waste Management.

Each of these topics were analyzed in detail by multiple authors, using a diverse range of scientific scources.

CONTENTS

1. Some Plants of Religious Value, Their Aesthetic and Therapeutic Utilization Among The Folklore of District Mandi, Himachal Pradesh
Sharma Ritu, Goraya G.S. and Seth M.K.

2. Environmental Impacts of Tourism Activities: A Case Study of Manali Town, district Kullu, Himachal Pradesh
Yagyesh Kant and Pankaj Gupta

3. Unraveling the Spatio-Temporal Variation of Rotifers Community from Khutaghat Dam, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, India.
Rama Mishra and R K Singh

4. Spatio-Temporal Variation of Fish Assemblages In The Khutaghat Dam, Bilaspur of Chhattisgarh With Special Reference to Conservation Issues
Sunita Dwivedi and Hemlata Nishad

5. Marketing Channel for Non-Timber Forest Product (NTFP) In Chhattisgarh
Chandni Sharma and Pooja Yadav

6. Diversity and Socioeconomic Importance Of Different Medicinal Plants in Korba Chhattisgarh India
Sunil Kumar Tiwari

7. Synthesis And Characterization of Ni-Doped Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles
Nashna Thakur and Nidhi Sharotri

8. Isolation And Screening Of Actinomycetes From Soil Sample of Wular Lake (Kashmir) Against Selected Pathogens
Neha Salaria

9. A Review on “Synthesis of Copper Oxide Nanoparticles by Using Different Precursors”
Indu Sharma, Diksha Sharma and Pooja Rana

10. Insect Fauna Visiting Tecoma castanifolia
Jasvir Singh Dalio

11. Apis mellifera and Other Insect Fauna Visiting Spermadictyon suaveolens Roxb. Bloom
Jasvir Singh Dalio

12. Environmental Concerns in Himachal Pradesh: Legal & Regulatory Framework of Government Departments
Abha Sheetal and Pankaj Gupta

13. Comparing the Conservation Models of Sacred Groves and National Park: A Case Study of Ghnp, Kullu and Adjacent Sacred Groves
Manisha Guleria and Pankaj Gupta

14. Environmental Challenges in Current Scenario
Tanni Dam and Anjana Devi

15. Physical and Chemical Limnology of Two Snow Fed Tributaries of Beas River Near Palampur Town (Himachal Pradesh)
Meenakshi Sharma, Sachin Choudhary, Rimi Katoch, Anjali Devi, Priyanka Thakur and Ankush Sharma*

16. Status of Temple Waste and Strategies for Its Management: A Review
Rajesh Kumar, Bharti Sharma, Nitesh Kumar and Younis Ahmad Hajam

17. Role of Sugar Factories in Rural Employment: A Case Study of Kabirdham District of Chhattisgarh
Ankita Gupta and Prabhakar Pandey

18. Carbon Emission Changes During the COVID-19 Lockdown in India: An Insight into the Impact of Human Activity Pattern Changes on Carbon Footprint Variation
Mohd Rafi Wani and Shyam Shanker Singh

19. Covid-19 Pandemic Reshaped The Economies: An Overview of Potential Impact of Covid-19 On Indian Economy
Gautam Mishra

20. Neurogenetic Perspective of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Protective Role of Exogenous Biomolecules
Raksha Rani, Preeti Sharma, Rajesh Kumar, Seema Rai and Younis Ahmad Hajam

21. Farmer’s Perceptions of Climate Change On Farming Practices: A Case Study of Kharal Valley, District Kullu, Himachal Pradesh
Ankita Thakur and Pankaj Gupta

22. Indirect Impact of SARS-CoV-2 on Environmental Quality and Waste Management: A Brief Review On Indian Context
Anupama Mahato

Some Plants of Religious Value, Their Aesthetic and Therapeutic Utilization Among The Folklore of District Mandi, Himachal Pradesh

*Sharma Ritu¹, Goraya G.S.² and Seth M.K.³

¹ Ph.D. Research Scholar, Department of Biosciences, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla-5.

² Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Retd.), Himachal Pradesh Forest Department, India

³ Professor (Retd.) and Guest Teaching Faculty, Department of Biosciences, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla-5.

Abstract

The integral relationship of plants and mankind exists since ages. The vital role played by the plants in food, fodder, medicines, shelter and almost all the sectors of human life may be the reason that the human started considering these plants as sacred and started worshipping them. Tradition of tree worship or considering a plant sacred has its roots deep seated since ancient times and still continues to be an important part of our culture. Right from the cradle to pier, the rituals and traditions of Himachal Pradesh are incomplete without the involvement of the plants. Mandi district is rich in such magico-religious beliefs and their rituals, festivals, taboos, marriage, funeral and other aspects revolve around the plants/ trees available nearby. Some plants are believed to be the abode of the deities while others are used in various religious affairs. Such close association of folklore with local plants is one of the best traditional practices to conserve the biodiversity. The present paper focus on some of the sacred plants of Mandi district and their aesthetic as well as therapeutic values.

Keywords: Sacred Plants, Traditional knowledge, Medicinal Plants, Mandi, Himachal Pradesh.

1.1.Introduction

In India, the relationship of plants and mankind exists since Vedic era and the elements of this relationship in various forms is still intact in the Modern times. The role of plants in the life of folklore is diversified in the form of food, fuel, fodder for domesticated cattle, shelter, fibers, rituals and rites and most importantly medicines. The significance of plants is mentioned in our Vedas, Puranas and other religious scriptures too which prove the integral relationship of mankind and the plants. The Kalapvriksha, Chaityavriksha, Sanjeevani booti are mentioned in our religious scriptures indicating the importance of plants. The various parts of plants have been used as a source of medicine by man since ancient times (Bisht & Badoni, 2009; Mehra et al., 2014; Kumaran Citarasu 2015; Truyen et al., 2015; Bajpai et al., 2016). Some plants are believed to be the abodes of Gods and Goddesses while other plants are considered sacred and worshipped, few of them have become the integral part of traditional ceremonies, rituals and rites. Plants like Ficus religiosa L., Ocimum sanctum L., Azadirachta indica A.Juss., Curcuma domestica, Cynodon dactylon have divine qualities and therefore used in various religious ceremonies, marriage and rites (Robinson and Cush, 1997). Himachal Pradesh popularly known as “Dev Bhoomi” is the abode of many local gods and goddesses. Himachal Pradesh has the maximum number of sacred groves in the country indicating towards the strong bond of local deities with the folklores. People of the State are god believing and are closely associated with their local deities in each walk of their lives. Mandi district is known as “Choti Kashi/ Varanasi of Himachal Pradesh” and is a religious hub of about 81 small and big temples. Not only the main town, the whole district houses many religious places, temples, Dev Ban (sacred groves) of the local deities, shrines like Dev Kamrunag, Shikari Devi, Parashar Rishi temple, Mamleshwar Mahadev, Mahu Nag temple and many more keep a very special place in the lives of the people. Most of the populations of the district reside in the rural areas where local deities hold the supremacy and plants keep an important place right from worshipping of their deities to many magico beliefs. In the present paper, 26 species belonging to 22 Families have been reported which are considered sacred or involved in various rituals and ceremonies by the people of study area.

1.2. Review of Literature

The sacred plants have firstly been documented in the Rigveda where they are mentioned in the samhitas. The same plants were reported from Harappan sites which indicated the common culture between the two era (Krishna, 2014). Trees have been worshipped in ancient India as the indication of the gods (Pande, 1964). Issar (1981) documented the traditional important medicinal plants and folklore of Uttrakhand Himalya. Balapure et al. (1987), Sharma (1994, 1995) reported some sacred plants used in religious ceremonies. Samant and Pant, 2003 reported 150 sacred plants from Himalayan region. Lata & Seth (2018) reported some sacred plants from Kinnaur. Discussing about the study area, although floristic and ethnobotanical surveys has been done before Burkhill (1965), Murti & Uniyal (1985), Rawat & Srivastva (1986), Marpa & Samant (2012), Sharma et al. (2015), Sharma & Seth (2020), Singh P.B. (1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2018)], but Mandi district has received little attention with reference to traditional knowledge of rural people regarding the utilization of plant resources. Therefore the attempt has been made to assess some of the sacred plants which keep an important and integral place in the rituals, traditions and life of the people.

1.3. Study Area

Mandi district is situated between 31o72’N latitude and 76o92’E longitude and covers a geographical area of 3950 km2. It is bounded by Kangra district in the North and North West, Hamirpur and Bilaspur district in the West and by Kullu district in the East. It occupies second rank among the twelve districts in the population rate. The altitude varies between 503 meter and 4034 meter asl. District Mandi is surrounded by Dhauladhar, Ghogardhar, Sikandar Dhar and Vairkot Dhar. Beas and Sutlej are major rivers in the District. The district is well known for its beautiful temples and the Dev Culture followed during Shivratri. The Madho Rai (Lord Krishna) is believed to be the King of Mandvya princely state but Lord Shiva in different forms are worshipped. Shivratri fair is celebrated at International level under the supremacy of Madhorai and more than 250 local deities in their traditional palanquins grace the whole festival. The main religions followed in the district are Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism. Riwalsar has deep religious significance for all these three religions.

1.4. Material and Methods

Different methods were adopted for ethnobotanical data collection. Surveys were conducted in the district and a free list technique was used to get information about the knowledge of sacred plants or those with religious aspects from informants which proved very helpful to get information from illiterate people. Formal questionnaire was also framed to get more information from informants. All plant species were arranged alphabetically which included botanical name, family, vernacular name, habit and their utilizations. The plants were identified with the help of existing standard literature available on the flora of the region [Flora Simlensis, (Collett, 1902); Flowers of Himalaya, (Polunin O. & Stainton A, 1997); Flora of District Mandi, North West Himalaya (Singh PB, 2018)].

1.5. Results and Discussion

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

It is clear from the Table No.1 that the plants which are considered sacred or have religious aspect are of significant medicinal value as well. The roots of belief in the deities of the valley are deep seated and the utilization of plants in various rituals too. Some plants have close association with deities and are considered their favorites and are offered to them to appease. For example, Ocimum tenuiflorum (Tulsi) with Lord Krishna, Aegle marmelos (Bael) with Lord Shiva, Cynodon dactylon (Dhrubh) with Lord Ganesha, Musa paradisiaca (Banana) with Lord Vishnu. Some plants are considered abode of the deities. Plant like Cedrus deodara (Deodar) which is the “State Tree of the State” literally means the “The place of Gods” and is an essential part in the construction of sanctum of the deity in the valley. Ficus religiosa (Peepal) is considered the abode of Lord Vishnu and Maa Lakshmi and people offer water to the tree to appease them. Peepal tree is considered sacred by Buddhists as well because Lord Buddha attained enlightenment under this tree.

In Himachal Pradesh, the plants are associated with local festivals and rituals. In fact, Ocimum tenuiflorum (Tulsi) is considered so divine and pious that there is a ritual “Tulsi Vivah” which is celebrated every year by the valley people and falls in the Ekadashi of Shukl paksh of Kartik month. The Tulsi planted in the courtyard is decorated like a bride, stems of Saccharum offiocinarum (Sugarcane) are used as altars. A twig of Phyllanthus emblica (Amla) is placed in the centre. After five days, Tulsi is uprooted and drained in the nearby river or clean water body. The logic behind pounding the Tulsi plant is that in earlier days, people used water for drinking purpose from the nearby water bodies, thus consuming the water containing Tulsi which helps in fighting with cough and cold during the winters.

The second most celebrated festival of the district is “Sair Sajja” which falls on 16th September ever year. This festival is celebrated as welcome note for winters. The Mother Nature is worshipped in the form of seasonal flowers and fruits. These plants include Oryza sativa (Dhaan), Punica granatum (Daaru), Citrus sp. (Khatta), Zea mays (Maize), Cucumis sativus (Cucumber), Benincasa hispida (Dhooda Petha), Juglans regia (Khod) and Colocasia esculenta (Kachalu). Moreover on this day the snack made of Colocasia esculenta (Kachalu) called as “Patrodu” are essential part of the ceremony. On this day, the young members of the family offer Walnut and Dhrub (in odd number) to elders and deities as a regard and play with the walnuts, so called as “Khod Sajja”. In other words, this festival is dedicated to Mother Nature and a good way towards the conservation and management of plant resources.

One more famous ritual among the folk ladies of the district is “Kajlitritiya Poojan” in which the ladies fast for the entire day and worship the Oryza sativa (Dhaan), Achyranthus aspera (Phutkanda) and Colocasia esculenta (Kachalu) for the wellbeing and life span of their spouses. It indicates the active participation of rural women in the conservation of the plants thus being the “Custodians of the Biodiversity”.

Some plants like Prinsepia utilis (Bhekhal), Zanthoxylum armatum (Tirmira) are believed to ward off the negative energies and are kept by the rural people as the sign of good omen. But some plants like Bombax ceiba (Simbal) are believed to be the abode of negative energies/ ghosts, locally called “Huddal” and the people and children refrain to go there.

It is noteworthy that the plants with religious aspect have high medicinal value and various parts are used for therapeutic purpose. These plants are available around their vicinity and are readily available at the time of need whether it’s for aesthetic purpose or some therapeutic purpose.

1.6. Conclusion

It is quite clear from the above discussion that the plants are the integral part of not only our daily needs, but the traditions and rituals as well. Realizing completely well that religion will make it hard to disregard the value of plants, our ancestors made this framework and made involvement of the plants in our rituals and traditions. It is the duty of each individual to preach their upcoming generation regarding the conservation Aesthetic aspect is one of the best and first hand methods of “Biodiversity Conservation and Sustenance”.

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

Pictures (from Left to Right): Pullah made of fibres obtained from Bhaang, Women holding Doob Grass, Lady worshipping Peepal, Deity with Walnuts as offering, Deity decorated with leaves of Ner, Sair Sajja Poojan

1.7. References

1. Balapure, K. M., Maheshwari, J. K., & Tandon, R. K. (1987). Plants of Ramayana. Ancient science of life, 7(2):76.
2. Burkill, I.H. (1965). Chapters on the History of Botany in India. 245.
3. Chowdhery, H. J. & Wadhwa, B. M. (1984). Flora of Himachal Pradesh: An analysis, Department of Environment, Government of India, Botanical Survey of India, Howrah, India. 1-3: 860.
4. Collett, H. (1902). Flora Simlensis: A Handbook of the flowering plants of Simla and the neighbourhood. Thacker, Spink & co., London, 2nd edition by Thacker, Spink and Co., Calcutta and Simla. Reprint; Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehradun, India. 652.
5. Issar, R. K. (1981). Traditionally important medicinal plants and folklore of Uttarakhand Himalayas for animal treatment. JSci PlMed, 2: 61.
6. Kaur, I., Sharma, S. and Lal, S. (2011). Ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants used for different diseases in Mandi district, Himachal Pradesh. Int J Res Pharmacy and Chem. 1:116771.
7. Kumar, S. (2015). Ethnobotanical Uses of Some Medicinal Plants of District Mandi, Himachal Pradesh (India). JBiol Chem Chron, 2:34-7.
8. Marpa, S. and Samant, S.S. (2012). Diversity and conservation status of Orchids in and around Prashar sacred shrine in Himachal Pradesh, India. J. Orchid Soc. India, 26(1-2):83-7.
9. Sharma R. and Seth, M.K. (2020). Role of Rural Women in Conservation of Plant Resources and its Management in District Mandi, Himachal Pradesh. International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts. ISSN:2320-2882,8(5):1493-1501.
10. Murti, S.K. and Uniyal, B.P. (1985). Some Overlooked Plant Species of Himachal Pradesh. J. Econ. Tax. Bot. 6(3):705-7.
11. Pande, T. (1964). Tree worship in ancient India. Folklore, 5(6): 213-218.
12. Samant, S. S., Joshi, H. C., Arya, S. C., & Pant, S. (2003). Planning for the conservation and management of natural resources using participatory approach: a case study from Pindari area of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, West Himalaya, India. Van Vigyan, 38(1-4): 41-54.
13. Sharma, H. K. (1996). Sociocultural perspective of substance use in India. Substance use & misuse, 31(11-12): 1689-1714.
14. Singh, P.B. (1993). Flora of Mandi Forest Division, Himachal Pradesh, India (Doctoral dissertation, Ph. D. Thesis. HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar, Garhwal.
15. Stainton, A., & Polunin, O. (1984). Flowers of the Himalaya. Oxford University Press. 580.
16. Lata, Swaran and Seth, M. K. (2018). Commonly Used Sacred Plants in Tehsil Moorang, District Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh. IJSR, 7(3): 1770-1771.

Environmental Impacts of Tourism Activities: A Case Study of Manali Town, district Kullu, Himachal Pradesh

Yagyesh Kant and Pankaj Gupta School of Environmental Sciences, Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla-171005

Course Coordinator, School of Environmental Sciences, Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla-171005

Abstract

Tourism at any place can act as boon or bane, and such is the situation of Manali town located in Kullu valley of Himachal Pradesh. The mass influx of tourists beyond the carrying capacity has environmental implications. More than three million tourists visit the place pressurizing the local natural resources and degrading environment. This paper is based on primary and secondary data collected for analyzing the impacts of tourism activities on natural resources and environment. The data reveals that about 35 MT solid waste is produced during the peak season which is sent to landfill. Sewage production rises to 15-16 MLD during the peak season while the capacity of STP of Manali is 1.82 MLD. Due to increased ease of access, the vehicular pollution is also at risk. In the year 2018-19, the RSPM value reached up to 108.8 pg/m3 while the prescribed National Ambient Air Quality Standard is 60 pg/m3 and WHO has set standard at 20 pg/m3. Furthermore, hotels and building constructions have converted the paddy fields/ orchards into concrete jungle. All these activities have hazardous impacts on local ecosystem. The increased tourism provides ample opportunities for employment but these economic endeavors adversely affect the ecological balance and disturb the social fabric. Increased tourism has exposed the native people to western lifestyle, drug trafficking, smoking of marijuana, gambling, prostitution, etc. Hence, the tourism plan needs to be reframed and alternate tourism practices like ecotourism needs to be promoted so that the ecological balance can be restored back and local environment doesn’t deteriorate further.

2.1. Introduction

Man is fully dependent on nature and there is no doubt that nature has provided all the resources for human being as well as other organisms living on earth. Man excavated earth surface, cut downs the trees, polluted environment and modifying the environment according to his needs.

Tourism industry which is an emerging industry has increased economy of nations. But if tourism industry is a boon for man, it is also a bane for nature. In present study area, tourism has severe impact on physical as well as social environment. Most of the impacts are seen in peak seasons of tourism i.e., May and June. Influx of tourists is more in these months. In the study area these negative impacts are observed, air quality has been decreased due to traffic. There is no segregation of solid waste, river and khuds are polluted with solid waste at dumping site as well as in domestic settlements which caused water contamination, improper management of sewage treatment plant due to less carrying capacity than influx.

2.2. Methodology

The present study has included both qualitative and quantitative research tools for gathering and analyzing the information. Data has been collected from both primary and secondary sources

2.3. Study Area

Present study was taken in Manali town of Kullu district, which is situated at40 kilometres from Kullu, the district headquarters in the northern part of the valley, under the Pir Panjal mountain range. The town is located between latitude 32°24’32 N to longitude 77°18’92 E at altitude ranging about1958 meters above mean sea level. The details of the study area are:

Topography: Moderate Slope

Geographical area: 327815-08 dm2

Soil type: Alluvial and non-calcic soil types

Climatic conditions

- Temperature typically ranges from -7 degree Celsius to 24 degree Celsius for the entire year.
- The average temperature during the summers is between 18 degree Celsius to 22 degree Celsius and during the winters is -2 degree Celsius to 9 degree Celsius.

Occupational structure:

- 10.6% agriculture and horticulture
- 29.39% government services
- 29.65% business
- 30.90% are labours and others

Seismic zone number: IV and V, near a fault line

2.4. Results

2.4.1. Physical environment:

a) Solid waste generation: The door-to-door waste collection has been initiated in all the wards; however, the percentage of hotels, shops and houses population covered under the system varies from ward to ward.

- Average waste generation is about 14-15 MT/day.
- During the peak tourist season (mid-April to end-September) waste generation increases about 35-36 MT/day. This depicts that the waste generation per capita per day:
- From houses as 400 gm/capita/day
- From hotels as 1.20 kg/capita/day
- From shops it is 3 kg/shop/day.
- Biodegradable - 8.75MT, Non- Biodegradable- 26.25MT
- MT solid waste is collected from the surrounding panchayat (9 Nos) areas.

Rohtang Pass: In offseason, the quantity of solid waste is about 6 to 8 tons/day which increases up to 14-16 tons/day during the peak tourist season.

b) Air pollution: The data was obtained from HPPCB, shows increasing and decreasing rate of different pollutants. Since, June has more inflow of tourists and fruit season in Manali starts; hence, the traffic of vehicles is more than the other months. Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM) is the main reason for decreased air quality in the town and RSPM rises mainly during the peak tourist season.

Rohtang: Because of rough terrain, wind blow, moisture, etc., it is very difficult to install air quality monitoring systems in Rohtang area. Therefore, air monitoring of the area monitoring is done for 5-6 months at Gulaba and for 4-5 months at Marhi. Black snow was observed near the NH in Rohtang Pass because of the movement of large number of vehicles causing pollution with soot particles and CO gases. RSPM also increased above the desirable limit 77.12pg/m3 (June, 2018-19) (Desirable limit is 60 pg/m3). It also fluctuates between 40-80 pg/m3.

c) Water pollution: According to the IPH department laboratory test reports, the parameters of potable water tested are always within acceptable limit.

But on the other hand, value of total coliform in Beas river is more than desirable limit (500MPN/SCP/100ml) but less than permissible limit (5000MPN/SCP/100ml).

Sewage treatment plant: Sewage production rises to 15-16 MLD during the peak season while the capacity of STP of Manali is 1.82 MLD. The situation becomes worse in tourism season due to extra incoming sewage flow especially in the months of May, June and July.

d) Land degradation: With increased tourism activities, hotels, cottages, resorts and restaurants have been constructed for meeting the requirement of tourists. Due to land degradation, natural resources of water and forest resources are in danger.

2.4.2. Social environment: Manali is famous for rich culture, traditions and scenic beauty. It was found that the employment and jobs have increased in the area. The negative activities have also been noticed which includes drugs and body trade rackets. With the expansion of tourism, following impacts have been noticed:

a) Positive Impacts

Employment Generation: Hotels, restaurants, home stays, taxi services, travel agencies, tourist guide, photographer, sports and adventures activities.

Developments: Manali has emerged as a city from a small village with the growth of tourism and people of Manali are open-minded. Schools, hospitals, administrative offices such as Executive Engineer HPSEB, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Area Manager HPTDC, Range Officer Forest department, etc. Road and transport facility also developed with the passage of time. But these roads are also overcrowded due to the tourist’s vehicles.

b) Negative Impacts

Drugs Trade: Drug business has grown simultaneously with tourism activities. The government banned the cultivation of cannabis and tobacco; however, this has not stopped yet. District Administration Kullu has taken many steps and organized awareness programs for stopping the drug supply.

Cultural degradation: Half of the population has become victim of change and people have forgotten their culture for money and even changed the structure of houses which were previously, made of mud-n-stone, wood-n-stone and wood.

High Prices: Local people have to face price rise due to tourism activity, especially during the peak season when more tourists visit the town.

2.4.3. Mitigation Measures

For minimizing environmental impacts; planning, regulation, incentives, physical hardening and education must be united. Capacity of sewage treatment plant must be increased and influx of tourists must be reduced as compare to carrying capacity.

2.5. Discussion

Similar study carried out by Apollo (2015) in Himalayan villages of India and Nepal, which view tourism as an important component in the development process, especially in Global South countries like India and Nepal. Tourism that generates such a large transformation must be taken into consideration during the development of plans to protect the environment. In the Manali town, the major problem is solid waste which increases during the peak tourist season. Observations made by Singh (2013) in Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh shows that Manali and Shimla are preferred destinations for summers due to pleasant climate. Both the hill stations have almost similar impacts of tourism development activities. With the flow of tourist, the major impacts on nature are: global warming, depletion of ozone layer, acid rain and pollution of water resources which results in disappearance of habitats and species. The same impacts were noticed in Manali.Thomas (2013) proposed the concept of sustainable tourism. He evaluates the challenges by tourism and studies the impacts on environment responding to global challenges. Environmental problems as well as economic risks posed by climate change are serious concern among countries, mainly the climate affects the tourism because climate is the principal resource for tourism industry, on the other hand tourism also affects the environment and responsible for many climatic and environmental issues but in our study area the climate change is slow or minor changes caused by tourism. Presently tourism is one of the largest and fastest growing sectors in the world. Growth of tourism activities has resulted in unnecessary pressure on natural resources. Global climate change is only in its nascent stage and its intensity will be different on different tourist destinations. Similar observations were made by Habibullah et al. (2015) where they established the relationship between tourism and biodiversity loss, i.e., increase in tourism activities results in biodiversity loss and same is observed in the study area. Thus, the tourism activities have posed threats to landscapes, air quality, water quality, biodiversity, and noise quality, and waste generation, besides affecting the socioeconomic and socio-cultural milieu of an area. In the present study of Manali town, it is found that government has taken the mitigating measures but measures have need of a good implementation. If not implemented properly, future of Manali will be drastic. Environmental problems must be monitored and laws and regulations must be implemented strictly for sustainable tourism. Thus, there is need of assessing the same with regard to the environment for effective policy formulation.

2.6. References

1. Apollo, M. (2015). The clash- social, environmental and economic changes in tourism destination areas caused by tourism: The case of Himalayan villages (India and Nepal). Current Issues of Tourism Research, 5(1):6-19.
2. Habibullah, M. S., Din, B. H., Chong, C. W. and Radam, A. (2016). Tourism and biodiversity loss: Implications for business sustainability, 7th International Economics & Business management conference, 5th&6th October 2015, Kuantan, Malaysia, doi: 10.1016/S2212-5671(16)00021-6.
3. Singh, A. (2013). Sustainable Tourism: A case study of Shimla. International Journal of Management Research and Review, 3(7):3067-3072.
4. Thomas, A.E. (2013). Impact of Tourism on Environment: Responding to Global Challenges. Pauline Journal of Research and Studies;,1(1):169-182.

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

Littering near Government School, Ward No. 3, Manali

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

Sewage Treatment Plant, Manali

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

Close View of Dumping Sites in Manali

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

Open Garbage near Hidimba Temple, Dhungri, Manali

Unraveling the Spatio-Temporal Variation Of Rotifers Community from Khutaghat Dam, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, India.

Rama Mishra¹ * and R K Singh²

² Professor and Head, Department of Zoology, Dr C. V. Raman University, Kargi Road Kota, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, 495113.

¹ *Assisstant professor, Department of Zoology, Dr C.V.Raman University, Kargi Road Kota, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh,495113.

Abstract

In the present study the quantitative analysis of the rotifers in the surface water of Khutaghat dam, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh was carried out in three seasons. The samples were collected, once in a month, in the morning hours between 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM at four different sites (Site- I, Site-II, Site-III and Site-IV) of each dam. The samples were collected by filtering surface water through plankton net which was made up of bolting silk cloth no. 20. The planktons were properly placed on a slide, and then the counting was made under a microscope. A total of 15 rotifers were encountered in different sites of Khutaghat dam. They were identified to be as; Brachionus angularis, Brachionus forficula, Brachionus falcatus, Brachionus calyciflorus, Brachionus caudatus, Brachionus diversicornis, Cephalodella species, Euclanis species, Filinia species, Keratella tropica, Keratella tecta, Keratella cochlearis, Keratella procurva, Lecane species and Monostyla species. A significant variation in the average number of zooplanktons across different seasons in Khutaghat dam was documented. In Khutaghat dam, the highest number of rotifers were observed in summer (1566 cells/lit) and the lowest number of rotifers observed in winter season (935/lit). The study recorded a significant variation of rotifers across different seasons.

Keywords: Rotifers, Spatio-temporal variation, Khutaghat dam, Diversity, Composition

3.1. Introduction

Zooplanktons are an economically and ecologically important group of aquatic organisms. Their ecological processes affect fisheries, oceanography and climate. Zooplanktons play an important role in the food web by linking primary producers and higher trophic levels. They have a variety of life histories, influenced by seasonal variations of biological factors, leading to ecological and predation pressures. Zooplankton is one of the most important ecological parameters in water quality assessment. Freshwater zooplankton include protozoa, rotifera, cladocera, copepoda, ostracoda, micro crustaceans, and micro invertebrates. They have their peak times of density and are also influenced by local environmental conditions prevailing at the time. Their density and diversity depend on the biological and abiotic factors of the habitat. Their heterotrophic activity plays an important role in the rotation of organic materials in an aquatic ecosystem. Zooplankton plays an integral role and can serve as biocompatible and is a well-suited tool for understanding the state of water pollution (Contreras et al., 2009).The behavior of zooplankton shows periodic vertical migration exhibited by many copepods (Steele and Henderson, 1998). The daily vertical migration of many planktonic organisms may be influenced by the abundance of both food items and predators, as well as other environmental cues such as, light, salinity, and temperature. In addition to locating food and avoiding predators, zooplankton may benefit from the changes in their bioenergetics which results from metabolic rates that differ on either side of the thermocline in stratified waters.

Rotifers are soft bodied invertebrates from zooplanktons which are found in both, marine and fresh water ecosystem. They are small sized organisms, but their abundance make them important component of the aquatic environment (Herzig, 1987; Walz, 1997). Rotifers play a crucial role in many ecosystems as the fish, aquatic crustaceans and their larvae feed on them. Presence of some rotifer species indicates the pollution level of water body. Rotifers are used as good indicator for pollution level and eutrophication state of aquatic ecosystem because of their sensitivity to the changes in water environment (Boltovskoy and Mazzoni, 1998). Rotifer diversity and distribution is influenced by deteriorating quality of water in fresh water ecosystem. Since rotifers constitute a considerable position of total zooplanktons, the limnological investigations of rotifers is important as part of study. The present study is undertaken to investigate the seasonal abundance, diversity and distribution of rotifers from the Khutaghat dam of Bilaspur District Chhattisgarh, India.

3.2. Material and Methodology

For the study of rotifers, samples were collected seasonally from July-2019 to June-2020. Samples were collected from three different sampling sites, viz site 1(West side), site 2 North side) and site 3 (South side) of the Khutaghat dam in the morning time. Analysis was carried out during the three seasons of the year-summer, monsoon and winter. Collected samples were mixed well and brought to the laboratory for analysis. Water sample of 25 litres was filtered through the plankton net of bolting silk no. 25 of mesh size 63 micron. The filtered zooplankton sample was preserved in 4% formalin (Zabbey et al., 2008). Few drops of glycerine were added to it to prevent hardening of rotifers. All zooplanktons were allowed to settle down at the bottom. Supernatant plankton free water was removed by siphoning with pipette and the sample was reduced to the desired volume of 25 ml. For quantitative estimation of rotifers, 'Sedgewick Rotifer Cell' was used. Number of rotifers in the SR cell was derived from the following formula (APHA, 1998). Rotifers were identified up to the genus/species level based on the minute morphological details by observing them under the microscope and using standard identification key as described by Edmondson (1965), Sharma &Tonapi (1980).

3.3. Results and Discussion

Rotifers are wheel animals, microscopic and mostly living freely. They showed up wide range and morphological diversity and adaptations. They are mostly soft bodies, metazoan invertebrates, having short life cycle under favorable condition of the temperature, diet and photoperiods. Rotifers are pseudocoelomate group of small, usually aquatic microscopic organisms bearing a size range between 100 to 1000 micro meter. The body of specific rotifer consists of head, trunk and foot. The head bears the rotator organ called carona, mouth and sense organ. The rotifer produces many generations every year and can rapidly increased in population under fruitful conditions. Abundance of rotifers indicates clean and polluted water. They are important component of aquatic food web as they occupy intermediate position as they feed on phytoplankton and are being fed by carnivorous zooplankton and fishes.

In the present study the quantitative analysis of the rotifers in the surface water of Khutaghat dam, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh revealed their occurrence and dynamics in three seasons (Monsoon, Winter and Summer) during July-2019 to June-2020. In Khutaghat dam the obtained members of rotifer population is shown in Table-1. A total of 15 rotifer species were encountered in different sites of the Khutaghat dam. They were identified to be as; Brachionus angularis, Brachionus forficula, Brachionus falcatus, Brachionus calyciflorus, Brachionus caudatus, Brachionus diversicornis, Cephalodella species, Euclanis species, Filinia species, Keratella tropica, Keratella tecta, Keratella cochlearis, Keratella procurva, Lecane species and Monostyla species.

Pollution indicator species from rotifers such as Lepadella, Monostyla, Keratella were identified. Abundance of genus of the family Brachionidae i.e. Keratella tecta, Keratella tropica and of the family Lecanaeidae i.e. Lecanae species are indicator of eutrophication (Baloch et al., 2000). Absence of these rotifer species can be attributed to turbulence generated by the excess water flow during this season (Chakraborty, 2004).

TABLE 1. Spatio-temporal variation in zooplanktons of Khutaghat Dam, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh during July 2019 to June 2020.

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

FIG-1: Spatio-temporal variation in zooplanktons at different sampling sites of Khutaghat Dam, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh during July 2019 to June 2020 (cells/lit.)

The total numbers of rotifers recorded in Khutaghat dam during July-2019 and June-2020 was 3708 cells/lit (fig-1). Imoobe and Akoma (2008) reported that the rotifer family Brachionidae constituted 29% of the zooplankton population and dominated the Tana lake, Ethiopia, and this confirms the mostly accepted fact that rotifera is the most dominant species in freshwater ecosystems in other parts of the world. Deshmukh (2001) recorded 28 species of rotifers from Chhatri Lake of Amravati with maximum number of species in summer. Nimbalkar and Pawar (2018) reported that the Rotifera was dominated in Narangi Sarangi dam of Vaijapur, dist. Aurangabad, Maharashtra. In freshwater water bodies rotifers dominate the zooplankton fauna, and thus this group is also used as the biological indicators to determine the trophic status of the environment (Sladecek, 1983; Saksena, 1987). The qualitative and quantitative feature of rotifers is essential to evaluate the water quality, that high rotifer abundances expresses eutrophication (Sendacz, 1984). More over the high abundance and dominance of rotifers can be correlated with their dominance effect and their role in the trophic level of the respective ecosystem. Seasonally, the number of rotifer in Khutaghat dam was highest during summer, followed by monsoon and lowest during winter. Deshmukh (2001) found that the rotifers from Chhatri Lake of Amravati with maximum number of species in summer. In summer, the factors like water temperature, dissolved oxygen and water pH play a vital role in controlling the density and diversity of rotifers. Akin-Oriola (2003) also observed rotifers as the most dominant zooplankton in Ogunpa and Ona rivers, Nigeria. The dominance of rotifers in Khutaghat dam was attributed to their short development rate and fish predation on large zooplanktons of an aquatic ecosystem. Raj shekhar et al. (2010) recorded 24 species of zooplanktons in a fresh water reservoir of Gulberbarga district, Karnataka and they found that across different seasons the highest count of rotifers was recorded during summer. Similarly, Rajkumar (2012) observed 23 species of zooplanktons and found that the number of rotifers was highest during summer followed by monsoon and lowest during in winter.

The high diversity of rotifer groups of zooplankton in the present study revealed that the Khutaghat dam have been experiencing organic enrichment and may slowly progress towards degradation. The local people and pilgrims who use these dams for bathing and washing seem to add much of the allothonous input in to these dams. Khutaghat dam experiences higher pressure of people and pilgrimage. Thus the organic enrichment of Khutaghat dam is higher. This organic enrichment of Khutaghat dam may lead this asset to a severe deterioration in future. The Khutaghat dam which is located at the base of the hillocks of Achanakmar Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve, Central India in the vicinity of the human settlement which is day by day increasing may cause fast deterioration of these dams in future. Creation of general awareness among the fringe people and tourists is required for proper conservation of these historical perennial freshwater bodies, which support a rich biodiversity of flora and fauna.

3.4. Conclusion

The present study infers that there is a abundance of rotifers in the Khutaghat dam of Bilaspur Chhattisgarh, India. The high diversity of rotifer groups of zooplankton in the present study revealed that the Khutaghat dam have been experiencing organic enrichment and may slowly progress towards degradation. Few pollution indicator species were also recorded in all the seasons indicating the urgent need of proper purification system in the dam. Creation of general awareness among the fringe people and tourists is required for proper conservation of these historical perennial freshwater bodies, which support a rich biodiversity of flora and fauna.

3.5. Conflict Of Interest

The author would like to undertake that the above mentioned manuscript has not been published elsewhere, accepted for publication elsewhere or under editorial review for publication elsewhere. The authors declare that they do not have any conflict of interest with the submission of this manuscript.

[...]

• Auteurs: Dr. Rajesh Kumar (Auteur), Dr. Ankush Sharma (Auteur), Dr. Younis Ahmad Hajam (Auteur)
• Année de publication: 2021
• Pages: 230
• N° de catalogue: V987653
• ISBN (ebook): 9783346354082
• ISBN (Livre): 9783346354099
• Langue: anglais
• mots-clé: frontiers, science, technology, india, overview