This study was carried out to simulate the forest cover changes in India using Land Change Modeler. Classified multi-temporal long-term forest cover data was used to generate the forest covers of 1880 and 2025. The spatial data were overlaid with variables such as the proximity to roads, settlements, water bodies, elevation and slope to determine the relationship between forest cover change and explanatory variables. The predicted forest cover in 1880 indicates an area of 10,42,008 km², which represents 31.7% of the geographical area of India.

To determine the contribution of Orientia tsutsugamushi, the agent of scrub typhus, as a cause of acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) in Assam, India, researchers conducted a retrospective study of hospital patients with symptoms of AES during 2013–2015. Our findings suggest that O. tsutsugamushi infection leads to AES and the resulting illness and death.

Original Source

Human-nature relations are diverse, multifaceted and often contradictory, especially the relationships with animals. Mishmi people living on the Sino-India border claim tigers to be their brothers and take credit for tiger protection as they observe taboos against hunting tigers. Drawing on this notion of relatedness with tigers, local residents of the Dibang Valley question the governments’ recent plans to declare the Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary into Dibang Tiger Reserve and its scientific surveys of tigers and habitat mapping.

Bacterial and archaeal diversity of two alkaline Indian hot springs, Jakrem (Meghalaya) and Yumthang (Sikkim), were studied. Thirteen major bacterial phyla were identified of which Firmicutes, Chloroflexi and Thermi were dominant in Jakrem and Proteobacteria in Yumthang. The dominant genera were Clostridium, Chloroflexus and Meiothermus at Jakrem (water temperature 46 °C, pH 9) and Thiobacillus, Sulfuritalea at Yumthang (water temperature 39 °C, pH 8) hot springs.

Flash floods are a recurrent phenomenon in the North Bank Plains Zone (NBPZ) of Assam, India, causing wide spread damage to rice (Oryza sativa L.) crop growing during Kharif season. Therefore, it is imperative to identify indigenous technical knowledge and integrate this with mainstream technologies, Maguri and not only to enable more effective ways of coping with such extreme events but also to enhance the adaptive capacity of small-scale local farmers of the NBPZ.

This research was carried out with the Adi and Galo tribes of East Siang and West Siang districts of Arunachal Pradesh, India to understand fishing methods employed by them using stones and boulders occurring in the river beds of small tributaries of the Siang River in the study area. The identified sustainable fishing technique is locally known as Lipum and practised by these communities. The capture of fish ranged from 4-10 kg per Lipum and one person could make 3-4 different Lipum structures per day.

In Nagaland, three species (Tetragonula irridipenis, Tetragonula laviceps and Lophotrigona canifrons) of stingless bees were observed; however, most of the beekeepers were rearing T. irridipenis. Stingless bees were found to prefer low light, high humidity, and stenothermal climatic conditions with diverse abundant flora. The traditional colony capture method of terrestrial and subterranean stingless bee was logical and practical and shows immense scope to introduce precise method with scientific interventions.