IMPACTS OF MASS AFFORESTATION PROJECT ON IMPROVING ECOSYSTEM SERVICES IN DISTRICT SWAT
Abstract
The study was conducted to assess and quantify the impacts of a mass afforestation project in district Swat. For this purpose, two sites of the same afforestation project were selected for analysis. The first forestland was situated near Shin village having an area of 218 hectares and the other near Fatehpur village, which is about 70 hectares. The total number of plant species identified in the first forestland was 43, while only 35 plant species were identified in the later one. The average densities and percent frequencies of medicinal herbs were a bit higher for Shin forestland than the Fatehpur forest site. Two of the important medicinal herbs namely Asparagus adscendens and Mentha longifolia were completely vanished from the Fatehpur forest site. The Fatehpur forestland is relatively close to local population as compared to the Shin forestland. Hence, there is an increased medicinal plant collection and livestock grazing at the Fatehpur site. The stream discharge for two streams, one each at both the study sites were calculated before and after rainfall on various occasions from April to September in 2024. Average increase in the discharge rate of Stream I having its watershed located in the Shin forestland with comparatively dense vegetation cover was 0.094 m3/S. Whereas, Stream II having its catchments in the relatively scattered forest cover in the Fatehpur region, showed greater increase in the average discharge rates after rainfall i.e. 1.27 m3/S. Similarly, the average sediment load in stream I before and after rainfall was found to be 126 and 164 mg/L, respectively. In stream II the sediment load was again a little higher than stream I, on average 147 and 212 mg/L before and after rainfall, respectively. Finally, the research also estimates the amount of carbon sequestration potential of the two study sites. The total amount of carbon sequestrated by these forestlands is about 87,500 metric tons with a potential of sinking more than three hundred thousand tons of CO2.
