Ma Ter1als & Methods

CHAPTER III MA TER1ALS & METHODS INDEX CHAPTER - III MATERIALS AND METHODS Sr.No Description Page Nos 3.1 Study Area 51 3.2 Hydrology 51 3.3 Geology 52 3.4 Soils 52 3.5 Climate 53 3.6 Forest Types 54 3.7 Wild Animals 54 3.8 Agriculture 55 3.9 Materials Used 55 3.10 Methodology 57 3.10.1 Database Organization and Design Specifications 57 3.10.2 Database Design Specifications 57 3.10.3 Digitization of various layers and GIS Development 58 3.10.4 Analysis of satellite Images 59 3.10.5 Vegetation Classification Scheme 60 3.10.6 Satellite Data Analysis for Vegetation Classification 60 3.10.7 Forest Resource Base Calculation 61 3.10.7a Basis for Stratification of Forests 61 3.10.7b Field Survey and Data Recording 64 Tables Tables Description Page Nos Table 3.1 Geographic Area, Forest Area and Population in Study Area 51 Table 3.2 Location Details of Sample Plots in Study Area 61 Table 3.3 Sample Plot Data Collection Form 66 Maps Maps Description MapNo-3.1 Map Showing the Study Area Location MapNo-3.2 Drainage Network and Water Bodies in Study Area MapNo-3.3 Thematic Map Showing Soil Depth in Study Area Plates Plate Description Plate No. 1 Forest types in Sampling sites with Location in Lat/Long Plate No.2 Forest types in Sampling sites with Location in Lat/Long Materials and Methods CHAPTER - III MATERIALS AND METHODS 3.1.Study Area The study area is located in Pune district of Maharashtra state, India and it includes the Mulshi, Haveli talukas and Pune Municipal Corporation(PMC) areas. The study area has 23,798. lOh'a of Government forests in these three areas and is situated between 18°16'45"N and 18°44'15" North latitudes and between 73°19'25"E and 74°12'00" East longitudes. It is bounded on the North by the Vadgaon, Khed and Shirur talukas, on the East by Daund taluka, on the South by Velhe, Bhor and Purandar talukas of Pune district and on the West by Mangaon and Sudhagad talukas of Raigad district. The location of the study area is shown in Map No-3.1 The number of villages, towns, forest area, and human population as per 2001 census (Anonymous, 2001)are given in table No-3.1. Sr.No Sub- Geographic Forest area No of Population as district / Area in Ha in Ha Villages per 2001 taluka census. 1 Pune city 18400 235.0 PMC part 26,96,868 2 Haveli 133700 9967.2 133 13.46,346 3 Mulshi 103900 13595.9 147 1.27,305 Total= 256000 23798.1 281 41,70,519 > / Table No-3.1: Area Details of Study Area For the management, the forest department classified the area territorially into Pune, and Paud forest ranges. The area included in the Pune range is in Haveli and Pune city talukas and the area of Paud forest range is in Mulshi taluka. These forest ranges are part of Pune forest division under Forest department. Government of Maharashtra. The western part of the study area is rugged. In the eastern part of the study area, the smaller chains of hills sink slowly into the plain, valleys become straighter and wider and the larger spurs spread into plateau. 3.2.Hydrology:-The stud} area is crossed by rivers and streams which take their rise in and near the Sahyadris and flow east. The chief river is the Bhima which crosses Northern part of the area. The main tributaries of the Bhima are Mula or Mula-Mutha and the Rauna. During the rainy season all of these rivers flow with a magnificent volume of water and during the hot season shrink to a narrow stream in broad 51 a '-r 1 o S. udyare E 3 2 5 o CM ei o I >. © t" 1 >. O t/i rvo c Mit u) ra r n s a o cu e in E e > -<1> an ive at es ore ra -r CO 1 or. o IX or a 1- X 1l ' ' Ki II •>* 1 (l> CM a CO yy: C je « u c « 3 Materials and Methods stretches of gravel. The study area has no natural lakes but several artificial lakes provide a considerable supply of water for drinking, irrigation and for the generation of electricity. Several noted water works and irrigation schemes are in existence, in the study area. These are, Mutha river right and left bank Canal works for Irrigation, Khadakvasala reservoir for Supply of drinking water to Pune city and irrigation, and Pashan lake in Haveli taluka. In Mulshi taluka, Mulshi reservoir is utilized for water storage, irrigation and Generation of hydro, electricity at Bhira in Raigad district. Temghar dam for Drinking water and Irrigation. Besides these lakes there are many locally important tanks used mainly for drinking water purposes( Anonymous, 1963). 5.3. Geology : The area is covered by thick pile of Basaltic lava flows of Deccan Trap of Upper Cretaceous to '"Palaeogene" age. The basaltic flows are of two type viz.compound "pahoehoe" and "aa" flows. The pahoehoe flows contain several units which vary in thickness from less than a meter to several meters. The compound pahoehoe flows generally underlie or overlie a thick succession of aa flows, thereby constituting a regional marker for correlation. The thick lava succession has been grouped into seven formations. The oldest Lower -ratangarh formation comprises of two compound pahoehoe flows and is restricted to the western boundary of the study area. The upper Ratangarh Formation, consisting only of compound pahoehoe flows are restricted to the central part in the Bhima valley. The basalts are essentially, tholeiites \Vithout any marked chemical variation. The basalts are intruded by dykes varying in thickness from 5-10 meters and at right angles to the walls besides horizontal joints. The dyke rocks are fine to medium grained and show sparse phtfmocrysts ( Anonymous. 2001a). The rocks exhibit a tendency to spheroidal weathering by the exfoliation of roughly concentric shells and hence rounded weathered masses called "boulders"" are very common. These are seen generally scattered along the foot hills of the hilly terrain throughout the area. Another structural feature is the prismatic and columnar jointing. These are generally observed in the step like series of perpendicular escarpments on the hill sides and slopes of the narrow winding valleys. 3.4.Soils: The soils .of the study area belong broadly to three classes, namely black, red and brown. In some places one class of soil blends with another in varying 52 Materials and Methods proportions and is in turn modified by sand, gravel, lime salts and other ingredients. The following are various soils in the study area. The black soil, is generally black or nearly black and has sometimes a grayish or bluish tinge. It is commonly found in layers several feet deep. The black soil belongs to the plain, comprising the eastern portion. The black soil by the side of rivers and large streams is usually of the great and uniform depth. It is sometimes found mixed with lime nodules, and occasionally from the action of water or the presence of mineral salts, it becomes stiff and clayey which except in years of heavy rainfall, lessens its richness. Excellent black soil of small and varying depth, with its surface covered with black basalt stones, is found on tablelands. These are particularly suited for the afforestation, because of their quality 1 of retaining moisture for longer time and crumbling instead of becoming hard due to the sun. The brown soil is found in the transition tract viz., the eastern part of Haveli taluka . These soils are always shallower and coarser than the black soils. They are often impaired by mixture of gravel but when watered by frequent showers, are generally well suited for afforestation. Due to soil erosion especially on steep slope lands, considerable loss of soil takes places, at times only bare rocks are exposed in the brown soil traps. The red soil, covers a considerable area, and is commonly found in the western portions of the study area. There are three varieties of red soils, pure red, upland and sandy. The pure red is lighter and richer than the others. The uplands is a reddish soil thickly spread over rock, and has been further classified into two classes according to the its depth and quantities of sand and friable stones, plain red land and hilly red land. Sandy The problems of erosion is most acute and severe in this type because of the slope of lands mostly unprotected by natural vegetation due to overgrazing. A rich alluvial soil ranging in color from pale yellow to dark brown, is deposited on the banks of the rivers, the Mutha and Indrayani in Haveli talukas. It is the richest soil of the area but it covers only a limited area( Annonymous, 1963). 3.5.Climate:- The maximum and minimum temperatures in the area are 40°C and 8'C. In April and May the maximum temperature at Pune often rises above 41°C and temperature as high as 41.8°- 42.2°C have been recorded. The annual total rain fall in the western part of the study area is 1500 mm to 2100mm and in the east it is between 300 mm to 600mm. The mean relative humidity varies from 21% to 81% in a year. In the year, 2005 The highest maximum temperature was 4 1.8 C. occurred in 53 Materials and Methods the month of May, lowest minimum temperature was 5.7 C, the maximum relative humidity was 90% , in the month of September(IMD,2006).

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