- 1888 -
was depicted in two categories, namely: occuring on good site,
occuring on poor site.
2. Degraded Forests (D): Forest areas near about village in
small patches and affected bv biotic factors and density
generally less than 20% were classified under this categorv.
3, Plantation Areas (P): The existing plantation areas of anv
species and areas recently cleared or under the process of
clearing were classified under this categorv.
4, Shifting Cultivations (S): This category included old as
well as recent cultivation areas, the areas covered with
vegetation or regrowth were also classified under this category.
5. Blank and Rocky Outcrops (B): This was identified on photos
on the basis of areas havinggrass lands, rockv outcrops and
barren land with tree density less than 5$.
6. Erosion: Such areas bearing erosion were classified according
to the severity of erosion under the following two categories,
namely: areas bearing severe erosion (E-1) and areas bearing
moderate to light erosion (E-2).
7, Other Non Forested Land (N): All lands bearing agriculture,
habitation, water areas etc.
Areas identified as class 1 (Natural Tree Forests) and class 2
(Degraded Forests) have been further classified as follows
(Level II - VI):
Level II: MANAGEMENT CLASSES
The following classes were deliniated:
Category
- Areas suitable for working,flatter areas suitable for clear
felling and plantation.
- Areas suitable for selection felling, broken areas having
middle to higher slopes not fit for clear felling.
- Full protection areas - areas having high risk of erosion
and on steep slopes.
Level III: MAJOR SPECIES GROUPING
Since the scale of aerial photography was too small to identify
the major species grouping namely, Sal (Shorea robusta), Teak
(Tectona grandis) and Mixed type, therefore, this information
was obtained from the existing stock mans.
Level IV: VOLUME CLASSES
Natural tree forests were classified bv 3 volume classes:
- Low (50m° /ha)
- Medium (50-100m* /ha)
- Figh (1COm? /ha)
Level V: AVERAGE SLOPE
An attempt was made to interpret this information on air photos
but since the slopes appear exaggerated in a stereo model the
help of topo maps was taken while transfering the information
on to the maps. The following three classes were delineated:
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