BEG499BE Bio-Engineering Chapter 07 Selection of Plant Species

PPT on Bio-Engineering
By: - Dr. Pradeep K. Shrestha
BEG499BE
Bio-Engineering
Chapter 07 Selection of Plant
Species
Dr. Pradeep K. Shrestha

Distribution of Plants in Nepal
Plant Ecology of Nepal

• Plant ecology is the study of plants in relation to the
environment in which they grow.
• A knowledge of plant ecology is necessary for

understanding not only why particular plants grow in
certain areas, but also how plants should be
managed to obtain the maximum results for bio-
engineering.
• Factor governing distribution of plants in Nepal

– The availability of moisture
– Temperature and the amount of sunlight
– The availability of nutrients
• Above factors are determined in Nepal by:
– Altitude
– Aspect
– Climate
– Geology, geomorphology and soils

Altitude
• Most important factor influencing the distribution of
vegetation
• Altitude affects moisture and temperature
• The effect of altitude are clearly visible throughout
the country
• e.g. Sal forest is dominant in the Terai, Bhabar upto
1000 m, Lali gurans are common on ridges above
1500 m, middle mountain has Khote sall between
1000 and 1900 m

Aspect
• Aspect determines the amount of direct sunlight
(insolation) that a site receives.
• South-facing slope are warm and dry whereas North
facing slopes are cool and damp
• For e.g. Khote sall is common on south facing side of
slope and Katus Chilaune forest on north-facing sides
• Khayer forest grows below 1000 meters in dry part
such as south facing side, Utis grows only in damp,
shady areas

Climate
• East to west in Nepal, there is a general change in
climate
• Western part has warmer summer and colder
winters
• Variation in climate are reflected by differences in
the forest types
Source: by Dobremez and Jackson – Bioengineering Reference Manual

Distribution of Plants in Central Nepal
Source: Bioengineering Reference Manual

Selection of Plant species for
Bioengineering
• Main factors to be considered when selecting
species for bio-engineering are:
– Method of propagation
– Biological and social considerations
– Establishment, vigor and persistence
– Site suitability
– Potential value to local farmers
– Availability
Bioengineering
2) Method of propagation
• Seed, vegetative cuttings
• Plants grown from vegetative cuttings grow fast and
stronger than seeds
• Planted line of grasses usually from grass slip in order
to develop stronger plant in short period.
Bioengineering
2) Biological and social considerations
• Following four criteria must be satisfied:

• What species will be robust enough to fulfil the
bio-engineering function?
• What will grow on the site?
• Are there possible species that can be put to
additional uses by local farmers?
• Can it be made available in adequate quantities?
Bioengineering
3) Establishment, vigor and persistence
• Plant should become well established in the
season of planting so that they survive in dry
month until next monsoon
• Vigorous growth means that the plant establishes
quickly and continuous to grow. (e.g. amriso,
simali, khar etc.)
• The ability of a plant to live for many years and
survive in harsh conditions. This is called
persistence
Bioengineering
4) Site suitability
• The ability of plant to grow in a certain site is
determined by the suitability of the species to
that site
• Some plants require a long day length during
growing season
Bioengineering
5) Potential value to local farmers
• Local farmers may be able to make use of the plants
grown on the sites.
• Choices are to be made considering potential use to
local people
• For e.g. amriso is to be selected instead of sito
• Wherever possible, discuss with local people and
make tentative agreement on how they may use
product when plants are big enough
Bioengineering
6) Availability
• Availability means that the planting material
must be obtainable at the right info
• Species that are local to the site are generally
better
Bioengineering
Selection of Plant based on Drought

Factor
• Draught factor is a measure of dryness of a site.
• Draught factor is determined based on these factors:
– Slope angle;
– Stoniness;
– Altitude;
– Aspect; and
– Annual rainfall.
• Slope scores are provided to a site under
consideration under these headings which are then
added to obtain the draught factor.

Factor
1) Slope Angle
• Slopes of less than 30° usually need only mild soil
conservation treatment whereas those with a slope
steeper than 45° usually demand more attention as
they will have greater erosion problems.

Factor
2) Stoniness
• Stoniness refer to percentage of fine in the soil
• The materials with a high content of clay relative to
sand and silt in the fine fraction tend to have poor
internal drainage. They tend to be prone to shallow
slumping if too much moisture accumulates.

Factor
3) Altitude
• Higher terrain is susceptible to greater rainfall as a
result of the orographic effects

Factor
4) Aspect
• Aspect determines the
amount of direct sunlight
that a site receives.
• South-facing (warm and
dry) and north facing (cool
and damp) slopes
• West-facing sites tend to be
drier than east-facing sites.

Factor
5) Rainfall (Moisture) , mm
• The level of moisture across the entire site must be
considered.

Factor
• Measure all these 5 factors as checklist and give the
scores and add them accordingly to get a
droughtness number
End of Chapter 7

BEG499BE Bio-Engineering Chapter 07 Selection of Plant Species

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

BEG499BE Bio-Engineering Chapter 07 Selection of Plant Species

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

PPT on Bio-Engineering

By: - Dr. Pradeep K. Shrestha

Dr. Pradeep K. Shrestha

Distribution of Plants in Nepal

Plant Ecology of Nepal

• A knowledge of plant ecology is necessary for

Distribution of Plants in Nepal

• Factor governing distribution of plants in Nepal

Distribution of Plants in Nepal

Distribution of Plants in Nepal

Distribution of Plants in Nepal

Source: by Dobremez and Jackson – Bioengineering Reference Manual

Distribution of Plants in Central Nepal

Source: Bioengineering Reference Manual

• Following four criteria must be satisfied:

Selection of Plant based on Drought

Selection of Plant based on Drought

Selection of Plant based on Drought

Selection of Plant based on Drought

Selection of Plant based on Drought

Selection of Plant based on Drought

Selection of Plant based on Drought

You might also like