Chepang, inhabiting the rugged terrain of Mahabharat and Churia range in central Nepal, is a group of indigenous people suffering from severe food insecurity. Their ancestors lived a semi-nomadic life up to one and half century back. To a large extent, Chepang still continue their traditional way of living, which includes collection of wild tubers (‘kandamul'), hunting and fishing. Chepangs are especially connected with the tubers of Dioscorea spp. Wild and cultivated species of Dioscorea are being used as sources of carbohydrates to supplement cereal food. However, dependency on such wild food is decreasing with adoption of agriculture. In this study we documented local knowledge on the diversity and use of Dioscorea species among Chepang in Dhusa and Jogimara Village Development Committees in Dhading district. Ethnobotanical data were collected through semi-structured interviews, forest transect walk and participatory observations. Out of 13 species of Dioscorea reported from all over Nepal, 10 species have been recorded from the study area. Chepang people use one species (Dioscorea deltoidea) as detergent and the rest nine species are exclusively used as food although many of them have multiple utilities. Chepang people have diverse knowledge in the identification, processing and consumption of wild tubers of Dioscorea spp. and such knowledge might have developed as a strategy to combat severe food scarcity. Use of disproportionately higher number of Dioscorea species by a single ethnic group and within a comparatively small territory indicates very close affinity of local cultural practice and the nature. The richness of knowledge associated with wild tubers and high dependency of Chepang on them is the manifestation of severe food insecurity and traditional mode of life due to their social and economic isolation for long time. Key-words: food insecurity; indigenous knowledge; tubers; wild edible plants.DOI: 10.3126/botor.v6i0.2905 Botanica Orientalis - Journal of Plant Science (2009) 6: 12-17

Seminatural grasslands have long been shaped and maintained by human-induced fire and grazing regimes in order to utilise extensive land areas, not suitable for intensive cultivation, for the production of protein for human consumption. Changes in either management regimes have great implications for vegetation cover and composition. In this context, we qualitatively examined 18 grasslands used by transhumance agro-pastoralists in western Gorkha, Nepal, to 1) show that the pastoral landscape is undergoing change due to shrub and tree encroachment; 2) understand the role of change in grazing and fire regimes in shrub encroachment dynamics; and 3) discuss management practices and policy implications of shrub control. In this region, grassland abandonment and livestock population decline have been the overriding land-use change trend over the last four decades brought on by out-migration of local people from these marginal areas. Our results revealed that Berberis shrub encroachment started approximately three decades ago and attained a problematic cover approximately 15 to 20 years ago. The shrub encroachment drivers are discussed in the context of changed fire and grazing practices. We underscore the necessity of management intervention to maintain the services provided by these seminatural systems; and suggest synergistic application of burning, weeding and grazing, rather than sporadic single treatment.

Questions: Do composition and richness of woody plants differ between gaps and closed canopy in subtropical forests, and does this difference vary across life stages of tree species? Is tree species richness in gaps a function of regeneration density?Location: Subtropical Shorea robusta Gaertn (Sal) forest, central Nepal.Methods: We collected vegetation data from two old‐growth S. robusta forest stands. We sampled 128 plots of 100 m² equally spread between the two habitats: gap and closed canopy. In each plot, we recorded the total number of woody species, number of individuals of seedlings and saplings of tree species and measured the DBH of all saplings. We compared species richness and composition of total woody species, seedlings and saplings between the two habitats. We used ordination to analyse species composition, and an individual‐based species accumulation curves to illustrate the effect of density on species richness.Results: The species composition of total woody species and seedlings was similar in both habitats, but species composition of saplings differed between habitats. Total woody and seedling richness were similar between habitats at one site, but were richer under closed canopy at the other site. Sapling richness was higher in gaps at both sites and was a function of stem density at one site, but not at the other site.Conclusions: Gaps are not always areas of higher woody species richness and therefore may be less important than expected for the overall species richness of woody plants. Instead, they are potentially important for enhancing local tree richness by increasing sapling richness. Gap disturbance is the primary driver of structural heterogeneity in forests where topographic and edaphic gradients are negligible.