Diversity of Ethnomedicinal Plants in Boridand Forest of District Korea, Chhattisgarh, India

Present study deals with an extensive ecological assessment of natural forest areas under several in-situ conservation plots which have resulted from high rate of grazing and biotic pressure. Over-exploitation of forest and unwanted incidental fire cases decreased the diversity of several ethnomedicinally and economically valuable plants species from the Boridand forest region in Korea district, Chhattisgarh. The total number of plants reported in all three study sites, 41 plants species belonging to 26 families and 37 plant genera were identified. A field survey was conducted at three different study sites in Boridand forest, district Korea, Chhattisgarh as Plot A, Plot B and Plot C, during months March 2013 to February 2014 to identify the diversity of ethnomedicinal plants.

Fluoride Mobilization Due to Coal Mining in Parts of Chhattisgarh

This paper reports the ground water quality deterioration due to fluoride in the parts of Chhattisgarh state. Out of selected 60 sites, high contamination of fluoride content up to 7.00 ppm was found in Kolam, Muragaon and Saraitola villages and in the range of 1.0 to 1.2 ppm in Basanpalli, Bhalumuda, Dolesara, Penkapara, Kunjhemura villages. Ten new areas were selected for yearly monitoring and fluoride concentration was found up to 1.44 ppm. The results call for immediate steps for monitoring and treatment of contaminated locations.

Effects of harvesting intensities and techniques on re-growth dynamics and quality of Terminalia bellerica fruits in central India

Terminalia bellericaRoxb. （Belleric myrobalan） is one of the important multipurpose trees in central India. The fruits of the tree are highly valued for medicinal uses, with the greatest demand coming from the pharmaceutical industry. This has resulted in overexploitation and present harvesting practices have led to a significant decline in natural regeneration for this tree species. Our study was conducted from 2006 to 2009 in Chhattisgarh （India） to standardize suitable harvesting practices for sustainable management for this valuable species. Experiments were conducted at four different sites located in Dhamtari, Sarguja, and Rai-garh forest divisions of the state, covering both protected and open forest in a complete randomized block design （RCBD）. At each site, linear transects of 200 m× 100 m （2 ha） were randomly selected to sample the initial population and study the effects of two harvesting methods （tradi-tional and nondestructive） and four harvesting intensities （60%, 70%, 80%, and 90%） on the sustainability ofT. bellerica. Fruits were collected and analyzed for their tannin and gallic acid content. Significant increase in tannin and gallic acid content was found with the maturity of fruits （September to December）. This is the first study to experimentally assess the consequences of harvesting ofT. bellericafruits in central India. Our findings reveal that harvesting intensity, time, and method are key factors for maintaining the population. Nondestructive harvesting meth-ods were found to be superior to traditional harvesting in terms of regen-eration, recruitment, and concentration of active ingredients. When the fruits were harvested through non-destructive means at maturity, the population of species increased. The study concludes that 70% harvest of T. bellerica fruits through non-destructive means maintains the sustain-ability and provides quality raw material for the pharmaceutical industry.

Preservation Artifacts and Loss Pattern of Arsenic: A Case Study from Highly Contaminated Location in Central-East India

Arsenic is the focus of public attention because of its wider prevalence and toxicity. Proper sampling is important in characterizing toxic water contaminants in the groundwater. The present paper studies aspects of sampling, preservation artifacts, analytical issues etc. in a natural arsenic contaminated groundwater. The samples were collected from arsenic contaminated groundwater at three locations of village Kaudikasa in Rajnandgaon (Chhattisgarh). The standard method of sampling and preservation of arsenic was examined. The permitted sample holding time in this state is 180 days which has been found to be unrealistic on examination. The communication also compares the loss pattern of arsenic in unpreserved samples with samples preserved and kept at 4?C. It was found that about As losses during hold- ing after preservation were about 0% in one day, 35% in seven day, 70% in fifteen day, and 65% in thirty days time. Hence, the present recommended method of preservation leads to huge under reporting of As in natural samples. If the pattern of losses observed at the present location exists at other locations then the actual As levels could be much higher than the reported ones.