Authors:Amit Kumar; Uniyal, S.K
Abstract:Recognizing the multiple utilities ofbamboo, mapping ofbamboo resources has been done in many bamboo growing counLries including India. In India, such type of work has been confined to North-eastern States and Western Ghats. Little information is available on the distribution pattern of bamboo in Western Himalaya. Therefore, present work was carried out to understand the prospects of remole sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) in extracting bamboo related information in the Kangra distnet of Himachal Pradesh using IRS LISS III satellite image. The results showed that 302.64 ha of the study area was occupied by Dendrocalamus strictus, while its extent ofoccurrence was 572.51 ha. The difference between area of occupancy and extent of occurrence of D. strictus is a result of opening up of bamboo canopies. The area of occupancy of D. strictus was highest in Indora tehsil of the study area followed by Nurpur, Jaisinghpur and Dera Gopipur tehsils. Its extent of occurrence was highest in Nurpur followed by Jaisinghpur, Indora and Dera Gopipur tehsils. It was concluded that there is a need of proper conservation and sustainable utilization of the bamboo resources in the region.
Keywords:canopy; geographical information systems; nature conservation; occurrence; remote sensing; satellit