Documentation of non-timber forest products and medicinal plants available in Narayanpur forest area of Chhattisgarh

Abstract

Documentation of non-timber forest products and medicinal plants available in Narayanpur forest area of Chhattisgarh. The study was carried out in two block namely Narayanpur block- Chhotedongar Benoor, Bharanda and Orchha block- Orchha, Gudadi, Basing site Narayanpur, district of Chhattisgarh. Forest and tribal’s are mutually dependant on each other. Tribal’s like to live in forest. The livelihood of tribes totally depends on forest in which NTFPs and agriculture are the main source of their income. The productions of agriculture crops were also low due to traditional cropping practice and lack of irrigation facilities. Most of the Tribal’s now practice some sort of settled agriculture; only those living in interior hill ranges such as the Marias of Abujhmar still do shifting cultivation. The study reveals that the total 112 NTFPs species were documented belongs to 47 trees, 29 shrubs, 12 herbs 22 climber and 1 bamboo and 1 rattan species. A variety of NTFPs viz, seeds, leaves used for plate making, Tans and Dyes, Gum and Resin, Edible products, Oil yielding, Bamboo, Fibre, and Broom making, Medicinal plants and Biocides (fungicidal, insecticidal and nematicidal) were identified.