Home > Species Composition, Structural Diversity, Anthropogenic Pressure and Sustainability of Western Himalayan Forests of Bagh District, Azad Jammu and Kashmir
Species Composition, Structural Diversity, Anthropogenic Pressure and Sustainability of Western Himalayan Forests of Bagh District, Azad Jammu and Kashmir
MoisttemperateandsubtropicalforestsofKashmirareveryimportantecological zones of western Himalayas. Local forest reserves are the most important natural resource of the area being the only source of fuelwood, timber, medicinal plants and livestock forage for the mountain communities. The forest cover of area has experienced about 75% decline duetomultidimensionalsocio‐economicandenvironmentalfactors.Areadeserves immediate and special attention for conservation and sustainable use of forest ecosystem. Present study was conducted in forest and alpines of Bagh district, Azad Jammu & Kashmir to investigate species distribution patterns, community structure, diversity, ethnomedicinal practices and anthropogenic pressure. 18 villages in upper and lower valleys of study area weresurveyedtoinvestigatethecommunitydependenceaswellasutilizationofforest ecosystem including herd size, grazing area, fuel wood consumption, timber extraction and ethnomedicinal practices. 13 moist temperate, 3 subtropical and 4 alpine sites were studied indetailbyusingstratifiedsystematicsamplingtocollecttheprimaryspeciesdata, geographical characteristics and anthropogenic interactions. A total of 171 species belonging to 56 plant families were recorded from the area. TreelayerwasdominatedbymembersofPinaceae(Abiespindrow(12%IVI),Pinus Wallichiana (6%), Quercus dilatata (2%), Quercus incana (1.7%) & P. roxburghii (3%)); shrub layerbyViburnumgrandiflorum(5%)&Sarcoccocasaligna(3%);whereasherblayerwas dominatedbyPoaceaegrasses(Poaalpina(6%),P.pratensis(4%)&Arthraxonprinioides (2%)) and herbslike Sibbaldia cunneata (2%), Fragaria nubicola (3%) and Trifolium repens (2%). Population showed a uniform monotonic response about the use of medicinal plants. Atotalof94plantspecieswerereportedofhavingethnomedicinalutilizationinlocal communities. Area population showed an average family size of 9; herd size, 3; land holding 2.2acres;andgrazingareaof0.41acres/cattle.Annualfuelwoodconsumptionof10.2 metric tons/household; 2.97 kg/capita/day was recorded in the area. Timber consumption of 288.4 cft/house hold was recorded in post 2005 earthquake reconstruction activities with a further demand of 139.5 cft per household. Forest stands showed an average basal area of 69.01m2andtreedensityof190/ha.Animmensetreefellingactivitywasindicatedbyan average stem/stump ratio of just 1.62. Retarded forest regeneration patterns was indicated by a seedling count of 124/ha. Species richness for the whole area averaged 36; Simpson’s diversity,0.91;Shannon‐Wiener’sdiversity,1.82;Menhinick’sdiversity,1.34;Species evenness, 0.51; and Degree of community maturity, 45. A persistent grazing pressure along with significant erosion activity was observed at all the sites. Theimpactofenvironmentalfactors(altitude,aspect,slope)alongwith anthropogenicdisturbancestimuli(Treefelling,erosion,fuelwoodextraction,overgrazing) on vegetation dynamics was investigated and correlated by multivariate analyses (CCA). CCA showed a total inertia of 3.308 accounting for 88.7% of species‐environmental correlation. Altitudeanddistancefromthedisturbancestimuliappearedtobethemainfactors controlling species distribution patterns. Thequantitativephytosociologicalattributesandregenerationpatternoflocal forestsandalpineswerefoundtobefarlessthantheotherHimalayanregionsinIndia, Kashmir, China and Nepal, indicating high anthropogenic pressure and disturbed community structure. The favourite fuelwood speciesandrare medicinalherbs are facinga persistent exploitation which can lead to their local extinction from the area. Governmental authorities donothaveanyconservationpolicyforthenativefloraandforestreserveswhichis resulting in continuous depletion of already under pressure forest. It is the need of hour to develop and implement a practical conservation management policy for the sustainable use of local forest reserves, so that they can be protected, rehabilitated and preserved for the future generations.
This study aims to evaluate the effects of accountability, audit opinion, financial statement disclosure, audit findings, and follow-up on audit results in reducing corruption levels within the Regional Apparatus Organization (OPD) of Kampar Regency. Conducted through a survey method, the study utilized a purposive sample of 50 accounting and finance professionals to achieve its objectives. Consistent with the research objectives, this study adheres to a conventional academic structure, utilizing clear and objective language, precise technical terminology, and a logical progression of ideas presented in a balanced manner. Primary data was collected via questionnaire distribution. Multiple linear regression tests were utilized to analyze the data. Results indicate that accountability, audit opinion, financial statement disclosure, audit findings, and follow-up of audit results significantly suppress the level of corruption in the Kampar district. It is imperative to follow up on audits to maintain transparency and accountability in the district. Based on simultaneous testing, the evidence suggests that factors such as accountability, audit opinion, disclosure of financial statements, audit findings, and follow-up on audit results play a role in reducing the incidence of corruption in Kampar district, in 2023.
Underactuated mechanical systems have increasing number of practical applications, theoretical importance as nonlinear benchmark systems, and obvious advantages such as low cost and low weight. However, complex nonlinear behavior makes the control design problem a difficult task and the presence of uncertainties makes it further challenging. Hence, enhanced performance and robustness to uncertainties become critical issues in designing control for these systems. Increasing practical applications and theoretical importance, make the design of a comprehensive robust control framework for underactuated mechanical systems an important problem. The explicit consideration of uncertainties in the design framework and its capabilities to effectively control the highly nonlinear dynamics will enhance the advantages of these systems. SMC techniques remain the only nonlinear control techniques that can better achieves these objectives. In this research work, the author proposes a sliding mode based robust control design framework for underactuated mechanical systems. The framework is comprehensive applicable to classes of systems in a unified but simply-to-apply way. The framework is built on three sliding mode design solutions to the problem. First, a standard SMC design is proposed for underactuated mechanical systems. The control laws take explicitly into account both the matched and unmatched uncertainties. Generic expressions for the sliding mode dynamics are derived. Analytic expressions for the sliding parameters are also given which characterize the desired performance. The main results are general and based on the EulerLagrange representation of these systems. Moreover, the discontinuous terms explicitly embedded in the control for the rejection of matched and unmatched uncertainties provide a better insight and understanding into the complex nature of uncertainties in these systems. Second, to address the chattering associated with standard SMC, the author proposes the use of super-twisting algorithm for underactuated mechanical systems. This treatment is based on linear sliding mode surfaces and use some the results derived for the standard SMC. Third, novel nonlinear sliding manifolds based on the Lagrangian zero dynamics are proposed for underactuated mechanical systems. The application of smooth higher order sliding mode control is proposed to enforce sliding mode in the manifold that guarantees stability of the overall dynamics of the system. The relative degree of these systems, in general, is not 1, and hence, leaving the designer with the choice of using higher order sliding mode control. The proposed design framework remarkably simplifies the control design problem of underactuated mechanical systems. Finally, the nature of dynamics and singularities are hurdles in the global convergence of some underactuated mechanical systems. To overcome these hurdles, the author address the swingup control problems of these systems in a classical way and demonstrate successful swingup and balancing using the proposed higher order sliding mode control.The proposed control design framework is validated for the following benchmark underactuated mechanical systems and achieve enhanced performance with the added advantage of remarkable robustness to uncertainties. 1. The Inertia-Wheel Pendulum 2. The Translational Oscillator with Rotational Actuator 3. The Acrobot 4. The Furuta Pendulum 5. The Overhead Crane 6. The Cart-Pole System 7. The Pendubot 8. The Beam-and-Ball System