TSFD pitches for boosting green cover in State

Hyderabad: Telangana State Forest Department is hoping that the systematic steps taken to rejuvenate the degraded forest lands as part of Telangana ku Haritha Haram (THH) would play a key role in improving the green cover in the State.

As part of this, the department has taken up assessment of the existing status of the trees in the degraded forest lands across the 20 districts of the State.

Speaking to The Hans India, Additional PCCF R M Dobriyal said a total of 2, 64,714 hectares of the degraded forest land across the 20 districts of the State have been identified with trees of different heights numbering 25,97,13,740 till 2018-19.

The root stock assessment and cultural operations has been taken up in a systematic manner. Firstly, assessment of the existence of root stock, degraded forests in each forest block with a density ranging between 0.1 to 0.4 meters was identified, the official said.

A beat-wise and random sampling was done with a simple plot size of 0.05 hectares with a sampling intensity of 0.1 per cent. This way, 9,767 of the sample plots were identified by the department.

Further, in each plot of 0.05 hectors, saplings of trees of above 3 centimetres diameter and trees of above 30 cm girth were enumerated to assess the root stock.

Secondly, to assess regeneration status, six square meters of plots were identified within the sample plots and seedlings up to 50 cm height were enumerated.

After the completion of enumeration in the degraded forests of not less than 600 of root stock per hector has been identified.

While doing so, preference is given in the miscellaneous forests with the young crop. In the selected areas, singling and coppicing was supplemented by removing invasive weed, climbers and cultural operations have been taken up.

Following these efforts, currently, there are 10, 77, 33,569 saplings of 0.5 to 1.5 meters of height. Similarly, trees ranging from 1.5 to 3 meters of height are around 11, 10, 77,229 and there are 4, 09, 02,942 trees found ranging from 3 to 5 meters.

Though the process of assessment is yet to complete the picture being presented out of this exercise will give the department content to work on suitable action plans to take up rejuvenation of the degraded forest lands.

While doing so, preference is given to the plant varieties suitable and native to the Telangana lands and forests, the sources said.