Tracking forest loss and fragmentation between 1930 and 2020 in Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) range in Nepal

Abstract Forest cover is the primary determinant of elephant distribution, thus, understanding forest loss and fragmentation is crucial for elephant conservation. We assessed deforestation and patterns of forest fragmentation between 1930 and 2020 in Chure Terai Madhesh Lanscape (CTML) which covers...

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Autores principales:	Ashok Kumar Ram, Nabin Kumar Yadav, Pem Narayan Kandel, Samrat Mondol, Bivash Pandav, Lakshminarayanan Natarajan, Naresh Subedi, Dipanjan Naha, C. Sudhakar Reddy, Babu Ram Lamichhane
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/96b54ecb42b246f999815b8e0c6e95a8
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:96b54ecb42b246f999815b8e0c6e95a82021-12-02T18:51:35ZTracking forest loss and fragmentation between 1930 and 2020 in Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) range in Nepal10.1038/s41598-021-98327-82045-2322https://doaj.org/article/96b54ecb42b246f999815b8e0c6e95a82021-09-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-98327-8https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Forest cover is the primary determinant of elephant distribution, thus, understanding forest loss and fragmentation is crucial for elephant conservation. We assessed deforestation and patterns of forest fragmentation between 1930 and 2020 in Chure Terai Madhesh Lanscape (CTML) which covers the entire elephant range in Nepal. Forest cover maps and fragmentation matrices were generated using multi-source data (Topographic maps and Landsat satellite images of 1930, 1975, 2000, and 2020) and spatiotemporal change was quantified. At present, 19,069 km2 forest cover in CTML is available as the elephant habitat in Nepal. Overall, 21.5% of elephant habitat was lost between 1930 and 2020, with a larger (12.3%) forest cover loss between 1930 and 1975. Area of the large forests (Core 3) has decreased by 43.08% whereas smaller patches (Core 2, Core 1, edge and patch forests) has increased multifold between 1930 and 2020. The continued habitat loss and fragmentation probably fragmented elephant populations during the last century and made them insular with long-term ramifications for elephant conservation and human-elephant conflict. Given the substantial loss in forest cover and high levels of fragmentation, improving the resilience of elephant populations in Nepal would urgently require habitat and corridor restoration to enable the movement of elephants.Ashok Kumar RamNabin Kumar YadavPem Narayan KandelSamrat MondolBivash PandavLakshminarayanan NatarajanNaresh SubediDipanjan NahaC. Sudhakar ReddyBabu Ram LamichhaneNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-13 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Ashok Kumar Ram Nabin Kumar Yadav Pem Narayan Kandel Samrat Mondol Bivash Pandav Lakshminarayanan Natarajan Naresh Subedi Dipanjan Naha C. Sudhakar Reddy Babu Ram Lamichhane Tracking forest loss and fragmentation between 1930 and 2020 in Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) range in Nepal
description	Abstract Forest cover is the primary determinant of elephant distribution, thus, understanding forest loss and fragmentation is crucial for elephant conservation. We assessed deforestation and patterns of forest fragmentation between 1930 and 2020 in Chure Terai Madhesh Lanscape (CTML) which covers the entire elephant range in Nepal. Forest cover maps and fragmentation matrices were generated using multi-source data (Topographic maps and Landsat satellite images of 1930, 1975, 2000, and 2020) and spatiotemporal change was quantified. At present, 19,069 km2 forest cover in CTML is available as the elephant habitat in Nepal. Overall, 21.5% of elephant habitat was lost between 1930 and 2020, with a larger (12.3%) forest cover loss between 1930 and 1975. Area of the large forests (Core 3) has decreased by 43.08% whereas smaller patches (Core 2, Core 1, edge and patch forests) has increased multifold between 1930 and 2020. The continued habitat loss and fragmentation probably fragmented elephant populations during the last century and made them insular with long-term ramifications for elephant conservation and human-elephant conflict. Given the substantial loss in forest cover and high levels of fragmentation, improving the resilience of elephant populations in Nepal would urgently require habitat and corridor restoration to enable the movement of elephants.
format	article
author	Ashok Kumar Ram Nabin Kumar Yadav Pem Narayan Kandel Samrat Mondol Bivash Pandav Lakshminarayanan Natarajan Naresh Subedi Dipanjan Naha C. Sudhakar Reddy Babu Ram Lamichhane
author_facet	Ashok Kumar Ram Nabin Kumar Yadav Pem Narayan Kandel Samrat Mondol Bivash Pandav Lakshminarayanan Natarajan Naresh Subedi Dipanjan Naha C. Sudhakar Reddy Babu Ram Lamichhane
author_sort	Ashok Kumar Ram
title	Tracking forest loss and fragmentation between 1930 and 2020 in Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) range in Nepal
title_short	Tracking forest loss and fragmentation between 1930 and 2020 in Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) range in Nepal
title_full	Tracking forest loss and fragmentation between 1930 and 2020 in Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) range in Nepal
title_fullStr	Tracking forest loss and fragmentation between 1930 and 2020 in Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) range in Nepal
title_full_unstemmed	Tracking forest loss and fragmentation between 1930 and 2020 in Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) range in Nepal
title_sort	tracking forest loss and fragmentation between 1930 and 2020 in asian elephant (elephas maximus) range in nepal
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/96b54ecb42b246f999815b8e0c6e95a8
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Tracking forest loss and fragmentation between 1930 and 2020 in Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) range in Nepal

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