ISBN: 978-93-7143-285-6
83
Chap e - 5
Impac O An h opogenic Ac i i ies: A View on The
Vege a ional Changes o Nambul Ri e Ripa ian Zone,
Manipu , India
D . So okhaibam Ibechaobi De i
Imphal College, Imphal
Email Id: [email p o ec ed]
ABSTRACT:
The an h opogenic ac i i ies a e accele a ing i s nega i e
impac s on he ecosys ems ei he land o wa e . The impac s
we e exagge a ed in sensi i e zones and delica ely balanced
sys ems. The Nambul Ri e Ripa ian zone (La i ude
93045'6.48"E-93057'56.88"E and Longi ude 24037'59.28"N-
24058'15.6"N) is one o he delica ely balance ecosys em
inco po a ed wi h a ious an h opogenic ac i i ies. I s
ca chmen wi h an app oxima e a ea o 223 sq. km
(app ox.)suppo a as a ay o ege a ion domina ed by
Poaceae, As e aceae, Cype aceous, Ama an haceae, Polygonacea, e c.
amilies. These ege a ions a e equen ly exposed o a ious
na u al and an h opogenic dis u bances. Ki chen ga dening,
ca le g azing, was e dumping, c ema o ia p ac ices,
cons uc ion o e aining wall along he i e bank, main aining
playg ounds along he i e bank, small comme cial
cons uc ions, se lemen s, looding du ing monsoon pe iod,
inunda ion, e c. a e majo dis u bances o he na u al
ege a ion o Nambul Ri e ipa ian zone. These ac i i ies
Impac O An h opogenic Ac i i ies: A View on The
84
d as ically a ec he ege a i e composi ion, di e si y and i s
p oduc i i y. The Nambul Ri e ipa ian ege a ion showed
low di e si y and low p oduc i i y on an a emp o assess he
impac s o dis u bances a he ups eam, cen al and
downs eam egions o he Nambul Ca chmen ege a ion.
Keywo ds: Ripa ian ege a ion, Nambul i e , An h opogenic
ac i i ies, Di e si y, P oduc i i y
INTRODUCTION
Ripa ian ecosys ems a e delica ely balanced and ex emely
agile in na u e. I is he ansi ional a eas be ween aqua ic
ecosys ems and he adjacen upland e es ial ecosys ems
(G ego y e , al., 1991). The wo d “ ipa ian” comes om La in
wo d “ ipa” meaning i e bank, (Kandol e al., 1996). The
s eams and hei ipa ian a eas o m an insepa able uni o a
heal hy i e ine landscape which is also a pa o he s uc u e
and unc ioning o ipa ian plan communi ies ha suppo
nume ous unc ions including bank s abiliza ion, habi a o
a ious aqua ic li es, educing e osion losses o soil and
nu ien s, suppo o di e si ied ipa ian ege a ion,
empe a u e egula ion o i e wa e , e c. Mos o en he
ipa ian ege a ion expe iences a ious dis u bances bo h
na u al and an h opogenic. These ecosys ems a e one o he
mos ulne able ecosys ems o he wo ld due o an h opogenic
ac i i ies in he o m o habi a ans o ma ion, ege a ion
clea ing o ag icul u e and de elopmen al ac i i y,
u baniza ion, damming, g azing, mining and in asi e species,
e c. (Saumya, e al., 2022). An h opogenic p essu es a e
So okhaibam Ibechaobi De i
85
inc easingly cons aining he heal h o ipa ian ecosys ems by
exposing hei emnan ege a ion o edge e ec s (Moses e al,
2025). F equen looding du ing monsoon pe iod, ma ginal
enc oachmen o a ious es ablishmen s, was e dumping si es,
g azing g ound o ca le, e c. a e ew dis u bances imposed on
hese ecosys ems. These impa se e e changes in he ipa ian
plan s like decline in ege a i e p opaga ion, dis u bances in
di e si y, educ ion o p oduc i i y, e c. An h opogenic
ans o ma ion lead o he dec eased in species di e si y,
dec eased biological p oduc i i y and deg ada ion o
biocenoses (Sokolo a, 2021).Ripa ian plan s a e embedded
wi hin one o he mos ulne able and h ea ened ecosys ems
in he wo ld oday (Tockne and S an o d, 2002). Popula ion
g ow h, u banisa ion, changing socio-economic cha ac e is ics
o he popula ion, and adminis a i e egula ions and laws a e
he mos e ec i e ac o s ha ha e led o he deg ada ion o
na u al ege a ion co e (Adel & Moa amed, 2021).
The Nambul i e which is lowing h ough he hea o Imphal
Ci y is one o he majo ibu a ies o Manipu Ri e sys em
discha ging in o he Lok ak lake and is also a majo wa e
supply o he Imphal alley. I belongs o pe ennial ypes o
s eam and lows con inuously h oughou he yea . I s
Ripa ian Zone is a agile ecosys em bu suppo s a wide a ay
o di e se ege a ion and i also expe iences a ious s esses
including wide sp eads o ki chen ga dening bo h a he
ups eam and downs eam egions dis u bing he na u al
ege a ion, g azing by domes ic ca les, domes ic uses like
washing and ba hing,was e dumping g ound, c ema o ia
Impac O An h opogenic Ac i i ies: A View on The
86
p ac ices, building public u inals and la ines along he i e
banks,main enance o playg ounds, small cons uc ions o
comme cial si es, con uc ion o e aining wall along he i e
bank o p e en lood du ing monsoon pe iod a Imphal ci y,
soil e osion, e c. The ipa ian zone in gene al ac as he il e ing
zone om he su ounding ca chmen s so likewise he Nambul
Ri e and i s ipa ian ege a ion can also ac in con olling soil
e osion om he i e banks. Hence, an a emp had been made
o s udy he impac o an h opogenic dis u bances o e he
ege a ion o Nambul Ri e ipa ian zone.
STUDY SITES
The p esen s udy was conduc ed along he cou se o Nambul
Ri e ipa ian zone (La i ude 93045'6.48"E- 93057'56.88"E and
Longi ude 24037'59.28"N-24058'15.6"N) ha ing i s ca chmen
a ea o 223 Sq.km (app ox). The egion is endowed wi h
mode a e empe a e, ain all (sub- opical monsoon) and
ela i e humidi y. Along he i e ipa ian cou se expe imen al
s udies we e pe o med a h ee si es one a ups eam (Si e 1),
he o he a Imphal ci y as middle (Si e 2) and he las a
downs eam (Si e 3). The na u al ege a ion o he Nambul
Ri e ipa ian zone was eplaced by species o ki chen
ga dening mos ly a he human habi ua ed a eas and hence, he
egene a ion o he na u ally a ailable species was a ec ed.
Among he h ee selec ed s udy si es, he ups eam si e was
leas dis u bed whe eas he s udy si e a he hea o Imphal
Ci y was he mos h ea ened si e om human ac i i ies, and
he downs eam si e also posed h ea s om a ious land uses.
So okhaibam Ibechaobi De i
87
F om he emo e sensing da a ins alled in 1998, he i e
ca chmen s we e g ouped in o:
1. Ag icul u al zone (95.43 Sq.km app ox.)
2. Se lemen a ea (57.88 Sq. km app ox.)
3. Deg aded land (55.41 Sq km app ox.)
4. Ma shy land (7.95 Sq.km app ox.)
5. Fo es ed a ea (6.10 Sq.km app ox.)
METHODOLOGY
The pape ocuses on he analysis o ege a ional li e o m,
species di e si y, and biomass p oduc i i y om hesampling
si es ollowing s anda d me hods. Li e o m o di e en species
we e s udied and de e mined a e de ailed lo is ic s udies
(Gup a and Kach oo, 1978; Raunkie , 1934). Di e en cha ac e s
o each species li e o m, habi and na u e o pe enna ing buds
we e s udied in he ield. Shannon Index, H’ (Shannon and
Impac O An h opogenic Ac i i ies: A View on The
88
Wiene , 1949) and Simpson Index, λ (1949) we e analysed o
species di e si y. Fo ege a ional p oduc i i y, biomass
a ia ion and ne p oduc ion was also es ima ed by sho e m
ha es me hod (Odum, 1960; Milne and Hughes, 1968). The
size o he sampling blocks o biomass was 25cm x 25cm x
30cm. The Ne Abo e G ound P ima y P oduc ion (ANP) was
de e mined by he sum o posi i e changes in biomass plus
mo ali y (Singh and Yada a, 1974). Likewise, he Belowg ound
Ne P ima y P oduc ion (BNP) was calcula ed as he
summa ion o posi i e inc emen s in belowg ound biomass
and To al Ne P ima y P oduc ion (TNP) is he sum o ANP and
BNP.
TNP = ANP + BNP
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
The ege a ion Nambul Ri e ipa ian zone e lec ed he scene
o a he baceous g assland ecosys em.
F om he selec ed
s udy si e along he Nambul i e ipa ian zone, he
plan species comp ised o 25 amilies 71 gene a and 90
species whe e he dominan amilies we e
Poaceae
and
As e aceae
(
Ibechaobi and Gup a, 2024).
Li e o m
cha ac e is ics displayed an ob ious ela ionship o he plan s
o he en i onmen al ac o s. Figu e 3 highligh ed ha he Li e
o m pa e n o he ipa ian ege a ion which was ound o be
domina ed by The ophy es ollowed by Chamaephy es a all he
si es. The p edominance o The ophy ic composi ion was
indica i e o be e adap a ion o he annuals o he exis ing
en i onmen al ac o s. Cain (1950) and Pandeya (1964) epo ed
ha inc ease in he pe cen age o The ophy es we e due o
So okhaibam Ibechaobi De i
89
o e g azing. Majo pa o Nambul ipa ian ege a ion was also
open o a ious s esses like g azing, sc aping, ampling, e c.
and he plan species o Nambul ipa ian zone showed he
p edominance o The ophy ic composi ion which e ealed he
adap i e capabili y o he annuals and indica ed he
dis u bance o he sys em om a ious an h opogenic
ac i i ies. Howe e , ac i e pe o mance o chaemophy es
showed he compe i i e abili y and adap abili y o hizomous
species.
Th-The ophy es, HC- Hemic yp ophy es, Ch- Chamaephy es,
Ph – Phane ophy es
G –Geophy es
Fig 3: Annual pe cen age con ibu ion o di e en li e- o ms a
he 3 s udy si es o Nambul Ripa ian Zone
Species di e si y which indica es he species ichness o a
egion showed i s leas alue o he Nambul Ri e ipa ian
ege a ion a he mos dis u bed si e i.e si e 2 du ing he h ee
seasons (Table 1). The esul s o species di e si y o he
Impac O An h opogenic Ac i i ies: A View on The
90
Nambul Ri e ipa ian ege a ion we e low. The Shannon’s
index o di e si y (H’) showed i s alues anging om 1.9 o
2.8 whe eas he Simpson’s index o co-dominance (λ) esul ed
an in e se ela ion o he Shannon’s index(H’) wi h i s alue
anging om0.06 o 0.2. The alues o able 1 highligh ed ha
human dis u bances like se lemen s along he i e bank,
was e dumping, ca le g azing, p ac icing o ki chen ga dens,
building lood e aining walls a he i e bank, e c. hinde s
he g ow h o na u al ege a ion he eby showing low
esponse o species di e si y. Cul i a ion may deg ade
ipa ian habi a and loodplains h ough sil a ion ha modi y
he lu ial geomo phology o he channel and educing he
complexi y and di e si y o he plan species (Cosmas,
2016). The exis ing an h opogenic ac i i ies a ec ed he plan
popula ion s uc u e and loss o species among plan
communi ies he eby deg ading he species di e si y o a
egion (Mwakosya & Cosmas, 2014).
Table 1: Di e si y indices o Nambul i e ipa ian ege a ion
a he 3 s udy si es.
INDICES
Seasons
Si e 1
Si e 2
Si e 5
Shannon’s
index (H’)
Summe
2.4
2.03
2.5
Rainy
2.8
1.9
2.8
Win e
2.4
2.04
2.8
Index o co-
dominance (λ)
Summe
0.13
0.2
0.12
Rainy
0.06
0.2
0.06
Win e
0.1
0.2
0.13
Table 2 : Ne p ima y p oduc i i y in gm-2y -1 a he 3 s udy si es
o Nambul Ripa ian Ecosys em.
So okhaibam Ibechaobi De i
91
Pa ame e s
Seasons
S I T E S
1
2
3
ANP
Annual
1220.11
287.51
587.37
Summe
245.74
124.60
239.53
Rainy
825.63
92.79
264.93
Win e
148.74
70.11
82.91
BNP
Annual
104.72
49.87
79.56
Summe
33.37
23.12
13.95
Rainy
37.67
12.63
39.6
Win e
33.68
14.12
26.01
TNP
Annual
1324.83
337.38
666.93
Summe
279.11
147.72
253.48
Rainy
863.3
105.42
304.53
Win e
182.42
84.23
108.92
ANP – Abo e G ound Ne P ima y P oduc ion
BNP – Below G ound Ne P ima y P oduc ion
TNP – To al Ne P ima y P oduc ion
The ne p ima y p oduc ion is he a e o s o age o o ganic
ma e in plan issue in excesses o espi a o y u iliza ion
du ing he expe imen al pe iod (Odum, 1971). To al d y ma e
p oduc ion is conside ed o be a measu e o i s sys ems
e iciency o ix ene gy in i s en i e compa men (Rochow,
1974).The na u al ecosys ems main ain hei high p oduc ion
h ough pa icula abo e and below-g ound p ocesses ha
se e o conse e nu ien s, wa e and soil o ganic ma e
(Sanchez, 1990).
