Avian diversity and density estimation of birds during the spring season and land use land cover change analysis of the Vinayak forest station area of Kosi range, Nainital district, Uttarakhand
Student name: Mr Ankit Sanhotra
Guide: Dr Chubamenla Jamir
Year of completion: 2018
Host Organisation: WWF- India
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Mr Meraj Anwar
Abstract: This study took place at the Vinayak forest station area inside the Nainital forest division in order to measure the overall avian density distribution along with the avian diversity estimation during the spring season between February, March and April months of the year 2018. The avian density was calculated by the point transect distance sampling method and the data was analysed in the software Distance. The density observed during the March was 220.3 birds / sq. km and 205.8 birds / sq. km in April. The avian diversity was also calculated with the help of Simpson and Shannon-Weiner diversity indices during this spring season to understand how population of birds fluctuates during this time. Simpson diversity was calculated as 5.7, 7.1 and 9.0 in February, March and April respectively. The Shannon-Weiner diversity was also calculated as 2.0, 2.2 and 2.4 in February, March and April respectively. An increasing trend was observed in terms of bird diversity. Similarly LULC classification was done to provide an overview of how much land has changed between 1995 to 2011 according to different land use classes, such as forest, soil, settlements, etc. The change in the area of soil cover was more relevant than any other class, as it showed a maximum increase of 11% from 1995 to 2011, as it is gradually replaces forest land cover.
