research article status, diversity, and traditional uses...
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Hindawi Publishing CorporationISRN BiodiversityVolume 2013 Article ID 124103 11 pageshttpdxdoiorg1011552013124103
Research ArticleStatus Diversity and Traditional Uses of HomesteadGardens in Northern Bangladesh A Means of SustainableBiodiversity Conservation
Bishwajit Roy Md Habibur Rahman and Most Jannatul Fardusi
Bangladesh Institute of Social Research (BISR) Hasina De Palace House No 614 Block No A Lalmatia Dhaka 1207 Bangladesh
Correspondence should be addressed to Md Habibur Rahman habibmdrgmailcom
Received 29 March 2013 Accepted 26 May 2013
Academic Editors I Bisht and H Ford
Copyright copy 2013 Bishwajit Roy et al This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution Licensewhich permits unrestricted use distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original work is properly cited
A study was conducted to assess the status ecological diversity traditional uses spatial arrangement and importance of homesteadgarden for biodiversity conservation of the urban and rural households in Kishoreganj Sadar of northern Bangladesh Assessmentwas done bymeans ofmultistage random sampling from a total of 80 households using a semistructured questionnaire A total of 62plant species belonging to 36 families including 5 threatened species were identified The majority of the species were used as fruitand food (45) followed by medicinal plants (3871) firewood (3226) and timber (29) Ecological diversity indices indicatedthat the existing plant species in the homestead gardens in the study area have moderately high biodiversity and species richnessFarmers perceived importance for homestead plant species conservationwas for fruit and food (85) followed by buildingmaterials(7875) subsistence family income (7375) and source of firewood (6875) In addition analysis of existing managementregime indicates that growers lack scientific information almost every household still follows traditional management systemsFinally a specific homestead forest management plan conservation of homestead species diversity through scientific managementand obtaining training and support from government and NGOs was found highly demandable by this study
1 Introduction
Homestead garden is a traditional agroforestry system andan important component in the livelihoods of rural poorand in the rural economy of the country During the last40ndash50 years the relative importance has shifted from thetraditional forestry to homestead forestry in such a situationhomestead garden plays a vital role in providing firewoodfodder medicine fruit and timber It is estimated that about70 of timber 90 of firewood 48 of sawn and veneerlogs and almost 90 of bamboo requirements are met fromhomestead forests [1]
In Bangladesh homestead gardens represent a well-established traditional land-use system where natural forestcover is less than 10 percent homestead gardens whichare maintained by at least 20 million households representone possible strategy for biodiversity conservation [2 3]The management of the traditional homestead garden has
evolved as a response to many factors cultural economicand environmental as well as personal preferences [4] Theconservation of cultivated plants in homestead gardens ofBangladesh not only preserves a vital resource for humankindbut plays an important role in household food security as itis a sustainable source of food fruits and vegetables [5]
In Bangladesh there is no specific management planfor the homestead forests [6] which are being traditionallymanaged by the household owners Most of the plants grownin homestead garden havemultiple usesThese home gardensare some sort of additional income for some families of ruralarea whereas for most of the families of urban area they actas a medium of nutritional demand fulfill Millat-E-Mustafaet al [7] record eight major uses of the homestead forestplants fruitfood timber firewood spice fodder medicinefencing and miscellaneous uses The miscellaneous usesinclude brooms handicrafts shade ornamental ceremonialenvironmental and aesthetic Again the ecological merits of
2 ISRN Biodiversity
homestead garden are related to conservation of soil waternutrients and biodiversity [8]
Several studies showed that species diversity in a home-stead garden can range from less than five [9ndash12] to morethan 100 [13ndash15] In Bangladesh various studies for example[3 7 9 16ndash23] explore the floristic composition (mainly trees)in the homestead gardens homestead agroforestry systemby [24ndash26] homestead plantation and traditional uses by[27 28] quantitative structure and silvicultural managementby [29ndash31] production and services by [32 33] MoreoverMotiur et al [34] studied the role of homestead gardens inrural economy Alam and Masum [35] and Masum et al[8] studied the status of homestead garden in an offshoreisland of Bangladesh and Akhter et al [36] studied therole of women in homestead gardens management in thenortheastern Bangladesh
Since the natural forest of Bangladesh is shrinking atan alarming rate due to unprecedented anthropogenic pres-sure researchers from across the world have demonstratedhomestead gardensrsquo dynamic role in the conservation ofbiodiversity and provision of necessary daily needs to ruralpeople by turn for urban people Researchers from acrossthe country and world have explored the quantitative statusof homestead garden but not the driving factors which leadpeople to plant trees in their house premises Therefore thisstudy was conducted to evaluate and quantitatively assessthe total botanical diversity and the status of homesteadgarden ecosystem (both rural and urban) and choice ofpeople spatial arrangement of different species in both urbanand rural homestead areas of Kishoreganj Sadar Upazila(subdistrict) of Bangladesh The study also tried to findout the reasons towards differences in species diversity andbiodiversity conservation for both areas and then representedschematically so that we can understand what are the drivingfactors behind the differences in both areas (rural andurban) In the study areas homestead gardens are substantialenterprises and play a significant role in household income
2 Materials and Method
21 Study Area Profile Kishoreganj Sadar Upazila with anarea of 19373 km2 is bounded by Nandail Upazila on thenorth Pakundia and Katiadi upazilas on the south Karim-ganj and Tarail upazilas on the east and Hossainpur andNandail upazilas on the west The Main River is Narsunda[37] Table 1 represents the main features of the study area
22 Research Methods The study was based on the primarydata collected directly from the field during September2011 to January 2012 through physical measurement Duringstudy multistage random sampling method was adoptedfor data collection From 12 upazilas of Kishoreganj district(administrative unit) Kishoreganj SadarUpazila was selectedpurposively Out of 11 unions in Sadar Upazila two unionsfrom rural area and only one existing municipality in thestudy area were firstly selected randomly Then two villagesfrom municipality area and one from rest of the unions wererandomly selected
Table 1 Description of the study area (Kishoreganj Sadar Upazila)
Items Description
Location
Kishoreganj Sadar Upazila is an Upazila ofKishoreganj District in the Division of Dhakawith 205 villages Kishoreganj Municipality wasestablished in 1869 with an area of 1957 km2 Ithas a population of 77165 males 5251 females4749 Literacy rate among the municipalitypeople is 59
GPS locationIt is located between 24∘281015840 and 24∘241015840 northlatitudes and between 90∘461015840 and 90∘501015840 eastlongitudes
Population 500208 (density 1550km2) males 5152females 4848
Number ofvillages 205
Number ofhouseholds 71178
Averagehousehold size 421 persons
Literacy 2830 where the national average was 324
Land use
Total cultivable land 13766 ha single crop1765 double crop 60 and treble crop land2235 land under irrigation 3239 ha Maincrops are paddy jute wheat mustard seedonion potato brinjal betel leaf and vegetablesMain exports products are jute and leather
Mainoccupations
Agriculture 3577 agricultural labourer1756 wage labourer 341 industry 122business 1522 transport 497 construction157 service 872 and others 1156
23 Data Collection from Respondents Interviews were con-ducted targeting primarily old-aged or local experiencedpersons (usually aged between 30 to 70 years) A total of 80households that is 20 households (PSU primary samplingunit) with a confidence interval of 33 from each villagewere selected for interviewing (Table 2) A semistructuredquestionnaire was used for data collection based on the infor-mation collected through reconnaissance and pilot surveyAll the species found in each household had been accountedfor botanical survey The final survey and eight focusedgroup discussions (two in each PSU for crosschecked) werecompleted with the participation and informed consentfrom the members of the households Responses to openquestions were collected on a variety of demographic andsocioeconomic indicators household species compositionchoice of species cultural activities practices in homesteadgarden perceived importance for conservation of speciesmarket access of homestead garden products and so forth Inorder to explore spatial arrangement and respondentsrsquo choiceto plant trees in their homestead garden we have divided thegardens into five different habitats namely (front yard backyard homestead boundary that is adjacent to the dwellinghouse pond bank and road side) for both rural and urbanhomesteads On each topic the respondents were free toexpress their views
ISRN Biodiversity 3
Table 2 Description of the sample villages
Items Urban RuralPSUlowast 1(Solakia)
PSU 2(Mohinanda)
PSU 3(Maijkapon)
PSU 4(Joshodol)
Location Municipality area Municipality area Maijkapon union Joshodol unionNumber of households 160 124 92 110Household size 708 803 920 657Sampled households 20 20 20 20
Major homestead forestproducts
Fruits timberand ornamental
species
Fruits timberfirewood andornamentalspecies
Fruits timberbamboo
firewood andornamentalspecies
Fruits timberbamboo
firewood andornamentalspecies
Main occupationBusiness
services andforeign services
Businessservices and
foreign services
Agriculturefisheries smallbusiness and
services
Agriculturefisheries smallbusiness and
serviceslowastPSU primary sampling unit
24 Plot Survey All species present in each sampled home-stead garden (average size of 005 hectare to 025 hectare)were identified and recorded by the botanical name or bylocal name All individuals of trees herbs and shrubs werecounted and recorded except the individuals in hedgerowsNo climbers were counted due to the difficulty in differenti-ating stems A botanical inventory was conducted only oncein each selected home gardenThus the seasonal variation infloristic and structurewas not assessed Each species recordedwas classified by family habit (tree shrub and herb) andtheir origin that is exotic or indigenous and conservationstatus as followed by [38ndash45]
25 Data Analysis For the present study nine ecologicalindices were used to analyze and to get a clear picture of thespecies diversity of the study areas which are listed below
(1) Species diversity index was calculated according toOdum [46] SDI = 119878119873
(2) Species richness index was measured by Margalef[47] 119877 = (119878 minus 1)Ln(119873)
(3) The Shannon-Winner diversity index was calculatedfollowing Michael [48]119867 = minussum119875
119894Ln119875119894
(4) Shannonrsquos maximum diversity index was followed byKent and Coker [49]119867max = Ln(119878)
(5) Shannonrsquos equitability index according to Kent andCoker [49] 119864
119867= 119867119867max
(6) Species evenness index was estimated followingPielou [50] 119864 = 119867Log(119878)
(7) Simpsons index was estimated according to Magur-ran [51]119863 = sum1198752
119894
(8) As biodiversity increases the Simpson indexdecreases Therefore to get a clear picture of speciesdominance1198631015840 = 1 minus 119863 is used
(9) Family importance value (FIV) index (the FIV indexis used to evaluate floristic composition at the species
family level and it combines richness density anddominance) according to the formulae of Mori et al[52]
(i) Family relative density () = (no of individualsin a familytotal no of individuals) times 100
(ii) Family relative diversity () = (no of species ina familytotal number of species) times 100
(iii) FIV is the sum of family relative diversity andrelative density
Where 119878 is the total number of species119873 is the total numberof individuals of all the species119875
119894is the number of individuals
of one speciestotal number of individuals in the samples
3 Results
31 Status of Homestead Garden Plants The study surveyrecorded 62 plant species belonging to 36 families fromthe set of 80 surveyed homesteads (Table 3) Among thetotal species 5323 trees 2258 shrub and 2419 herbsAmongst the recorded species 31 trees 11 herbs and shrubsspecies were found common both in urban and ruralhomesteads Except this shrub species was higher in urbanhomestead tree species was found higher in rural homesteadand in case of herb species was found the same in both areasThereafter out of the recorded species based on conservationstatus two species namely Alocasia indica and Terminaliachebula are vulnerable Pteris cretica is near threatenedBoehmeria nivea Cinnamomum tamala are not evaluatedand the rest of the species are of least concern in the contextof Bangladesh
Floristic composition of the homestead flora consists ofboth native and exotic species About 18 species were iden-tified as exotic and some of them have been domesticatedRecently fruit-bearing species were gradually being replacedby some exotic timber species such as Bauhinia acuminateAlbizia saman Swietenia mahagoni Tectona grandis and
4 ISRN Biodiversity
Table3Listof
homestead
garden
plantspecies
with
conservatio
nstatus
anduses
inKishoreganjSadar
Upazila
Family
Scientificn
ame
Localn
ame
English
name
Individu
als
Lifeform
Orig
inFIV
CS
Uses
Rural
Urban
(Referenceslowast)
Acanthaceae
Adhatoda
vasicaNees
Bashok
Malabar
nut
1612
ShI
284
LC(6)
6
Amaranthaceae
Alternantheraphiloxeroides(M
art)
Gris
bHele
ncha
Dwarfcop
perle
af21
8H
I512
LC(6)
16
Gom
phrena
globosa
LTimep
hol
Globe
amaranth
mdash13
ELC(6)
Anacardiaceae
Mangifer
aindica
LAam
Mango
3848
TrI
853
LC(6)
1235
Spondias
pinn
ataKu
rz
Amra
Wild
mango
2319
TrI
LCbu
tgradually
disapp
earin
g(6)
123
Ann
onaceae
Annona
squa
mosaL
Shorifa
Sugara
pple
1411
TrI
272
LC(6)
13
Apiaceae
Centellaasiatica(L)Urban
Thanku
niIndian
penn
ywort
3117
HI
363
LC(6)
16
Apocyn
aceae
Carissa
carand
asLinn
Ko
romcha
Blackcherry
119
STI
252
LC(6)
1
Araceae
Colocasia
esculen
taScho
ttKa
chu
Elephantrsquosear
267
ShI
134
LC(11)
16
Alocasia
indica
Scho
ttMan-kachu
Great-le
aved
caladium
218
ShI
V(11)
16
Cocosn
ucifera
LNarikel
Cocon
ut27
23Tr
ILC(11)
128
ArecacatechuL
Supari
Beteln
ut30
21Tr
ILC(11)
1278
Asteraceae
Eupatoriu
modoratum
LAs
sampata
Com
mon
flossflo
wer
2919
ShE
647
LC(6)
6Tagetese
rectaL
Gadap
hol
African
marigold
mdash28
ELC(6)
6
Caesalpiniaceae
Bauh
inia
acum
inataL
Kanchan
Butte
rflytre
e7
21Tr
I898
LC(7)
23
Delo
nixregia(Boj)Ra
fKr
ishno
chura
Flam
etree
1416
TrI
LC(7)
28
Tamarindu
sind
icaL
Tetul
Tamarindtre
e19
19Tr
ELC(7)
13
Caric
aceae
Caric
apapaya
Linn
Pepe
Papaya
6337
ShI
569
LC(7)
1
Com
bretaceae
Term
inalia
belliric
aRo
xbBo
hera
Belliric
myrob
alan
817
TrI
527
LC(7)
16
Term
inalia
chebula(G
aerth)Re
tz
Harita
kiCh
ebulicmyrob
alan
615
TrI
V(7)
16
Crassulaceae
Kalanchoepinn
ata(Lam
)Pers
Patharku
chi
American
lifep
lant
2228
HI
371
LC(7)
6Cy
peraceae
Mauric
esmicrocephalusP
resl
Boro
gothori
Perenn
ialsun
flower
2316
HI
327
LC(11)
6Dilleniaceae
Dillenia
indica
LCh
alta
Elephant
apple
3631
TrI
438
LC(7)
13
Elaeocarpaceae
Elaeocarpu
sfloribun
dusB
lume
Jalpai
Indian
olive
2037
TrI
399
LC( 7)
123
Euph
orbiaceae
Phyllanthus
emblica
LAmalaki
Indian
gooseberry
1128
TrI
882
LC(7)
16
Phyllanthu
sacid
us(L)Skeels
Arbori
2119
TrI
LC(7)
18
Codiaeum
varie
gatum(Linn)AJuss
Patabahar
Gardencroton
mdash13
ELC(7)
Fabaceae
Erythrinavarie
gata
Linn
Mandar
Indian
coraltree
1713
TrI
292
LC(8)
2357
Labiatae
Leucas
indica(L)R
BrE
xVa
tkeinOesterr
Don
dokolos
Dronp
ushp
i24
11H
E311
LC(8)
6Lamiaceae
Ocim
umsanctum
LTu
lsiSacred
basil
1923
HI
339
LC(8)
6Lauraceae
Cinn
amom
umtamalaNees
Tejpata
Bayleaf
47
TrI
216
NE(8)
48
Lythraceae
Laws
oniainermisL
Mehnd
iHenna
1027
ShE
319
LC(8)
8Malvaceae
Hibiscus
rosa-sinensisL
Joba
ful
Chinar
ose
2317
ShI
331
LC(9)
78
ISRN Biodiversity 5
Table3Con
tinued
Family
Scientificn
ame
Localn
ame
English
name
Individu
als
Lifeform
Orig
inFIV
CS
Uses
Rural
Urban
(Referenceslowast)
Meliaceae
Swieteniamahogany(
L)Jacq
Mahagon
iMahagon
i21
31Tr
E69
LC(9)
23
Azadira
ctaindica
AJuss
Neem
Indian
lilac
1421
TrI
LC(9)
236
Mim
osaceae
Albiziaspp
Koroi
Whitesir
is23
21Tr
E
126
LC(9)
23
Albiziasaman(Ja
q)Merr
Raintre
eRa
intre
e26
26Tr
ELC(9)
23
Mim
osapu
dica
LLazzabati
Bashfulm
imosasensitive
plant
1316
HI
LC(9)
6Streblus
asperL
our
Shew
raSiam
eser
oughbu
sh9
9Tr
ILC(9)
67
Moraceae
Artocarpus
heterophyllusL
amk
Kathal
Jackfruit
3141
TrI
458
LC(9)
1235
Musaceae
Musaspp
Kola
Banana
5113
ShE
426
LC(11)
157
Myrtaceae
Syzygium
cumini(L)Skeel
Jam
Blackberry
1626
TrI
754
LC(9)
123
Psidium
guajava(L)Ba
tPayera
Com
mon
guava
2833
STI
LC(9)
12
Oxalid
aceae
Averrhoa
carambolaL
Kamrang
aStar
fruit
2327
TrI
604
LC(9)
13
Oxalis
cornicu
lata
LAmrul
Indian
zorale
16mdash
HI
LC(9)
6
Poaceae
Bambu
sabalco
oaRo
xb
Barakbans
Bambo
o13
mdashTr
I91
LC(12)
235
78
Melo
cann
abaccifera(Roxb)Ku
rz
Mulib
ans
Bambo
o14
17Tr
ILC(12)
235
78
Cynodondactylon(L)Pers
Durbagh
ass
Grass
3619
HI
LC(12)
6Po
lypo
diaceae
Pteriscretica
Wilson
iiFern
Cretan
fern
2920
HE
367
NT(5)
16
Rham
naceae
Zizyphus
mauritiana
Lamk
Boroi
Indian
date
1823
TrI
335
LC(10)
15
Rutaceae
Aegle
marmelo
s(L)Correa
Bel
Goldenapplesto
neapple
16mdash
TrI
982
LC(10)
13
Citru
sgrand
is(L)Osb
Jambu
raPu
mmelo
1919
TrI
LC(10)
13
Citru
slim
on(L)Bu
rmF
Lebu
Lemon
3231
ShE
LC(10)
16
Solanaceae
Solanu
mviolaceum
OrtegaHortMart
Bon-begun
Lemon
29mdash
ShI
531
LC(10)
6Ce
strum
nocturnu
mL
Hasnahena
Poiso
nberry
mdash18
ShE
LC(10)
8Urticaceae
Boehmerianivea(L)Gaudich
Artika
Night
jasm
ine
17H
E24
NE(10)
6
Verbenaceae
Nyctanthesarbortristis
LSh
iuliph
ool
Chinag
rass
1311
ShI
116
LC(10)
8La
ntanacamaraL
Lantana
Night
queen
336
ShE
LC(10)
6TectonagrandisL
f
Shegun
Lantana
1013
TrE
LC(10)
23
Lippia
alba(M
ill)Brito
netWilson
Voiu
khra
Bushymatgrass
275
ShE
LC(10)
6
Zing
iberaceae
Zingiber
officin
aleR
oscoe
Ada
Ginger
618
HI
889
LC(12)
46
Curcum
alongaL
Holud
Turm
eric
5810
HI
LC(12)
46
Lifeform
Trtre
eHherbandSh
shrub
Orig
inE
exotic
speciesIindigeno
usspeciesFIV
family
impo
rtance
valueCScon
servationstatusLC
leastcon
cernN
Tnear
threatenedN
Eno
tevaluatedand
Vvulnerable
Uses1food
fruit2tim
ber3fuelwoo
d4spice5fodd
er6m
edicine7fenceand8otherslowastRe
ferencesvaluesinthep
arentheses
indicatethev
olum
enum
bero
fthe
book
entitledEn
cyclo
paedia
ofFloraandFaun
aofBa
ngladesh
[38ndash45]
6 ISRN Biodiversity
Albizia spp because of the peoplersquos attitude towards earningmoremoney through timber production However Swieteniamahagoni Albizia saman Delonix regia and Tectona grandishave been domesticated and have a long heritage of introduc-tion
32 Species Family Composition Araceae Mimosaceae andVerbenaceae families represented the highest numbers of fourspecies followed byCaesalpiniaceae Euphorbiaceae Poaceaeand Rutaceae representing three species AmaranthaceaeAsteraceae Anacardiaceae Combretaceae Meliaceae Myr-taceae Oxalidaceae Solanaceae and Zingiberaceae denotedtwo species and the rest of the families comprised onlyone species (Table 3) Among them 20 families (5556)represented only one species followed by two species wererepresented by nine families (25) three and more thanthree species are represented by four families (1111) and3 species (833) respectively The family importance value(FIV) was recorded highest for Araceae (163 individualsFIV 134) followed by Mimosaceae (143 individuals FIV126) Verbenaceae (118 individuals FIV 116) Rutaceae (117individuals FIV 982) Poaceae (99 individuals FIV 91)Caesalpiniaceae (96 individuals FIV 898) Zingiberaceae(137 individuals FIV 889) and lowest for Lauraceae (11 indi-viduals FIV 216) followed by Urtiaceae (17 individuals FIV240) Apocynaceae (20 individuals FIV 252) Annonaceae(25 individuals FIV 272) and Acanthaceae (28 individualsFIV 284)
33 Ecological Diversity Indices of Homestead Species Theresult of Shannon-Winner diversity index value was cal-culated highest for rural homestead garden both of tree(339) and of shrub (236) species where for herb speciesthe highest value (25) was found for the urban homesteadgarden Shannonrsquos maximum diversity index value (35) wasobserved highest for rural homestead tree species In case ofherb (256) and shrub (248) species the values were similarfor both types of the gardens Shannonrsquos equitability index(097) Simpsonrsquos index (004) and dominance of Simpsonrsquosindex (096) values were found similar for both the rural andurban homestead tree species For herb species Shannonrsquosequitability index value was highest for urban gardens (097)where dominance of Simpsonrsquos index (091) was found similarfor both rural and urban gardens However in case of shrubspecies Shannonrsquos equitability index value was highest forrural gardens (095) Simpsonrsquos index value (093) for urbangardens and dominance of Simpsonrsquos index value (089) forrural gardens However in case of tree and herb speciesspecies evenness index value was highest (224) for urbanhomestead garden where for shrub the value (219) washighest in rural homestead Species richness index valuesfor tree (498) and herb (226) species were highest in ruralhomestead but for shrub species the value (214) was highestin urban homestead (Table 4)
34 Spatial Arrangement of Homestead Garden Species In thestudy area it was observed that homestead gardeners do notfollow any specific spatial arrangement pattern and scientific
Table 4 Ecological diversity indices of homestead plant species inrural and urban areas of the study area
Ecologicaldiversity indexlowast
Tree Herb ShrubUrban Rural Urban Rural Urban Rural
SDI 004 005 007 004 007 004R 459 498 226 203 214 189E 224 223 224 22 213 219H 335 339 25 245 23 236Hmax 343 35 256 256 248 248EH 097 097 097 096 093 095D 004 004 009 009 012 011D1015840 096 096 091 091 088 089lowastH Shannon-Winner diversity index Hmax Shannonrsquos maximum diversityindex EH Shannonrsquos equitability index SDI species diversity index Rspecies richness index E species evenness indexD Simpsons index andD1015840dominance of Simpsons index
considerations for raising plants Plants were usually plantedin the front back and surroundings of the houses Resultsrevealed that 475 of rural gardeners preferred mostly thefront yard for species plantation followed by back yard325 homestead boundary (adjacent to the dwelling house)by 125 and 75 household owners preferred both pondbanks and road side simultaneously In case of urban area35 gardeners preferred balcony and veranda for plantingspecies followed by 30 in front yard 225 in homesteadboundary and 125 in rooftopThe reason for this variationwas that rural people depend more on homestead forest fortheir livelihood security as well as certain amount of familyincome than that of urban households Except these otherfactors those influence the species planting in different sitesare beautification of household area low canopy coverageland scarcity and so forth Ornamental plants for exampleGomphrena globosa Tagetes erecta Codiaeum variegatumOcimum sanctum and Nyctanthes arbortristis and majorfruit crop species for example Mangifera indica ArtocarpusheterophyllusCitrus limon Psidium guajava Zizyphusmauri-tiana Citrus grandis and Carica papayawere usually plantedin the front yard of the house (rural and urban) so that thegardeners can keep eye on them Trees in the homestead-boundary acted as a live fence and windbreak Tall woodyspecies such as are planted in the back yard for buildingmaterials and firewood
35 Choice of Species Grown for Different Usages The reasonsfor growing a variety of fruit species in the homesteadgardens are more or less complex A number of factorsdetermined the farmersrsquo decisions for growing particularspecies or groups of species The farmers were keen to growtimber trees for cash income if they already had a successfulstrategy for deriving income from off-farm labour or fromcrops Farmers with large families tend to grow fruit treesIn the surveyed area homestead plant species generally usedfor fruit and food medicines firewood timber and orna-mental and beautification purposes were identified Amongthem 45 were fruit and food providing species 3871
ISRN Biodiversity 7
medicinal plant species 3226 firewood species 2903timber species 1613 ornamental beautification and spir-itual species 1129 species are used as both for fodder andfence and 483 species used as spice and vegetables
36 Cultural Practices of Homestead Garden Farmers gen-erally collect planting materials from homesteads wildings(species that are growncollected from outside homesteadpremises) friends and families relatives government andNGO nurseries No specific spacing is followed in plantingof species in homestead garden Sometimes it was also foundto plant herbaceous species like Zingiber officinale Curcumalonga under the layer of shrub like Carica papaya Citruslimon and so forth in order to make the optimum use oftheir land Study figured out the analysis of respondentsanswers regarding different aspects of the existing manage-ment systems of homestead gardens in the study area Duringsurvey it was found that some households are not engagedin any managementcultural operations in their homesteadgardens whereas other households are more or less engagedwith the management of homestead gardens Species wereplanted usually during the morning andor afternoon ofthe day mostly in the monsoon season Generally fastgrowing and species having low crown coverage are selectedfor the plantation The results revealed that almost all thehouseholds carried out watering (100) and soil ploughing(94) Weeding was done out by 85 of respondents as wellas fencing (5375) and 675 respondents did mulchingConsequently about 62 respondents practice thinning orpruning in their homestead garden Large farmers generallyhired labour for doing thinning and pruning operations Butthey do very much little care for manuring (4625) andapplying pesticide (35) in their homesteads
37 Role of Homestead Gardens in Local Biodiversity Conser-vation Homestead gardens have long been themost effectiveand widespread measure for biodiversity conservation inBangladesh as due to anthropogenic pressure and land usechange the natural forest has been decreasing day by dayboth in explicit and implicit ways leading to threats tofuture productivity Generally rural communities preferredcultivated and planted multipurpose species that can beserved as fruits vegetables and spices also used as tim-ber Such kind of choice is the most important factor tohomestead gardens conservation in Bangladesh and playsa significant role in forest conservation since all the woodand other non-timber forest products that are harvested inthe homestead gardens do not need to be collected fromforests Respondents said that homestead gardens attract anumber of bird species like Streptopelia chinensis Psittac-ula krameri Eudynamys scolopaceus Micropternus brachyu-rus Dinopium benghalense Oriolus xanthornus Dicrurusmacrocercus Acridotheres tristis Corvus splendens Turduscafer Orthotomus sutorius Copsychus saularis Nectariniazeylonica Anthus campestris Passer domesticus and Plo-ceus philippinus to collect their food and making nestMoreover some animal species like squirrel take shelter
Table 5 Perceived importance of homestead garden conservationin the study area
Items Veryimportant
Lessimportant
Notimportant
Food and fruit 85 15 0Firewood 6875 2375 75Building materials 7875 20 125Subsistence familyincome 7375 20 625
Medicinal plants 2875 35 3625Ecological balance 2875 375 3375Soil erosion control 5125 375 1125Otherslowast 3625 175 4625lowastBoundary ornamental and spiritual purposes and so forth
and collect their food especially fruit like Aegle marme-los Annona squamosa Areca catechu Averrhoa carambolaCarica papaya Carissa carandas Cocos nucifera Dilleniaindica Elaeocarpus floribundus Mangifera indica Phyllan-thus acidus Phyllanthus emblica Psidium guajava Spondiaspinnata Syzygium cumini Tamarindus indica and Zizyphusmauritiana from the urban and rural homestead gardensThey also mentioned that some birds play a significant roleas pollinators or in the control of insect pests At this timedispersal of seeds also occurs by the animal birds andhelps in natural regeneration of homestead plants speciessince natural regeneration is the most important factor fortree diversity conservation Study also found a number ofbamboo shrub herb and climber species which were largelyused by the households also they give shelter to animaldiversity
38 Perceived Importance for Conservation of HomesteadGarden Species To determine the perceived importance ofhomestead species conservation farmers were interviewedusing a questionnaire asked to evaluate the importance ofmentioned eight functions of trees The results are presentedin Table 5 Likewise farmersrsquo perceived most importancefor homestead plant species conservation was related tofruit and food (85) followed by buildingmaterials (7875)subsistence family income (7375) and source of firewood(6875) The surveyed rural area is affected by monsoonflood every year as a result soil erosion is a serious problem inthis regionTherefore in order to keep houses above thewaterlevel it is mandatory to raise houses at the highest elevationsor fill the land by soil in the dry season especially throughoutthe floodplain regions As a consequence people are usuallyconcerned about the trees role to protect their homesteadland against water-induced soil erosion by binding the soilHowever they were not concerned about ecological impor-tance of forest Yet the majority of the respondents gradedthe homestead garden as being ldquoless importantrdquo as a meansof maintaining ecological balance and soil erosion control(375) followed by a source of medicinal plants (35)So it seems that there is still a lack of knowledge in these
8 ISRN Biodiversity
two categories and institutional and government and NGOstraining and learning programs are necessary to facilitateknowledge
4 Discussion
Analysis of the existing tree composition structure andrichness revealed that homestead forest in the study area hasmoderately high biodiversity and species richness Howeverthe number of plant species was higher than those foundin other homesteads of Bangladesh by Abedin and Quddus[53] cited from Alam and Masum [35] found in Tangail (52species) Ishurdi (34 species) Jessore (28 species) Patuakhali(20 species) Rajshahi (28 species) and Rangpur (21 species)districts respectively Motiur et al [31] found 60 species inSylhet Sadar Motiur et al [34] found 58 species in SouthwestBangladesh Kabir andWebb [3] recorded a total of 419 plantspecies from southwestern Bangladesh Alam and Masum[35] recorded a total of 101 species and Masum et al [8] 142species in an offshore island (Sandwip Island) of BangladeshMillat-E-Mustafa [54] identified 92 perennial plant species inone study conducted in different parts of the country
The traditional production system of homestead gar-den in the study area is moderate in terms of level ofcultural practices for absence of improved managementpractices and high-quality variety Farmers depend usuallyon naturally growing plants on their homestead boundaryBesides analysis of existing management regime indicatedthat the growers lack of scientific information almost allthe household owners still followed traditional homesteadforest management systems whereas a little owner adoptedmodern practices Increased tree planting in the homesteadsand their appropriate management including intercroppingpractices should be the strategy for enhancing tree coverof the homesteads of study area in order to meet basicneeds of its people and maintain environmental balanceHomestead gardens are playing a potential role in biodiversityconservation as well as uplifting the socioeconomic conditionby contributing families or householdrsquos annual income andproviding nutritional diet to families Variable homesteadgarden products such as seasonal fruits firewood medicinalplants timber and vegetables and spices were mostly usedby the small and medium household owners for their dailyneeds but large owners get their products into the market forsaleThese findings are also supported by the study of Millat-E-Mustafa [54] for the homestead garden of four regions inBangladesh Most of the households were found to prefermostly food or fruit species (45) because of the incomeincentives and family needs and this was also supported byseveral researchers [8 21 54] across the country
In the present study homesteads gardens were largelyuser oriented and market access was not fully developedHowever market access for homestead products is essentialas they sell their products easily into the market as wellas other forest products It was shown that most of theproducers were selling to their neighbours or local tradersTherefore they do not get proper price for their productsIf they get their products to the market or sell products via
retailers they will get proper prices also which is very muchimportant for the small household owners therefore creatinga scope for income Many studies of tropical homesteadgarden have reported reduced species diversity and stemdensity in homestead garden with closer proximity to marketfor example [55] So market access condition has greateffect on homestead forest management thus further studyis needed to directly test the influence of market accesson the homestead gardens structure of both commercialand subsistence-oriented homestead garden in BangladeshHowever the homestead gardens of the study area presentan excellent example of all embracing multipurpose land-usesystem and biodiversity conservation
41 Species Diversity and Biodiversity Conservation in Tra-ditional Homestead Garden Farming System Biodiversityconservation has become a growing concern for all over theworld and it is linked up highly with long-term health andvigour of the biosphere as an indicator of global environmentand also as a regulator of ecosystem functioning [56] Thebiological diversity indices revealed that homestead gardencould play an important role for carbon sequestration inthe future since plant growth is directly proportional tothe carbon sequestration capacity of the forest [57 58]By studying different literatures of homestead gardens allover Bangladesh we have developed in our mind that anumber of opportunities and drawbacks are influencing theselection of species of homestead garden Considering allthese we have developed a model of species diversity andbiodiversity conservation for both urban and rural surveyedhomestead gardens represented in Figure 1 We classified theopportunities and drawbacks of a typical homestead gardenfor both rural and urban areas separately Among the oppor-tunities the most prominent according to our observationwere generating income food security soil erosion controltimber demand market access beautification cattle foddermedicinal purposes and fuel wood species The drawbacksthat are influencing the selection of species were croplandexpansion fast growing species demand natural calamitiesland scarcity domestic animal low crown canopy infrastruc-ture and so forth The economical condition of the ruralpeople is not as like as urban people For this they usuallyprefer species that will provide them necessary fuel wood andfodder for their cattle Plantation of medicinal plant speciescan help to get remedy from diseases also regular supply ofrawmaterials to the industry could be an important source ofearning money to the farmers Urban people usually preferto plant various flowering and ornamental plants such asTagetes erectaGomphrena globosa andCodiaeumvariegatumfor ornamental beauty of their houses because they occupy asmaller space in their garden premises and they do not likesuch condition that will decrease the beautification view oftheir house The trend in gradual replacement of functionalplants to ornamentals has also been observed in cases wherepeople became richer [59] Side-by-side grazing of domesticanimals disturbs the diversity of homestead forest species Inthis circumstance introduction of grasses sedges and smallbushes could be a solution to get remedy to this problem
ISRN Biodiversity 9
Generating income
Food security Soil erosion Timber demand
Market access
Fuel wood species
Cattle fodder
Medicinal purposes
Urban Rural
Opportunities
Species diversity and choice of species
Biodiversity conservation
Threats
Rural Urban
Domestic animal Fast growingspecies
Naturalcalamities
Land scarcity Croplandexpansion
Low crowncanopy
Infrastructure
Beautification
Figure 1 Conceptual model of species diversity and biodiversity conservation in homestead garden farming system
This type of management could help villagers in getting fuelwood without disturbing the main vegetation Whatsoever itis now clear that homestead garden is a storehouse of largespecies diversity and sustainable resource management andthis large species diversity can play an important role inbiodiversity conservation
5 Conclusion
For aesthetic environmental and economic perspectivesspecies planting in homestead garden is desirableHomesteadgardening plays a significant role in both rural and urbanlandscape planning and management In this study we haveobserved that the homestead plant composition diversityand species richness were moderate in Kishoregang Sadararea Moreover there was a lack of scientific knowledgeof the gardeners an absence of proper planning and nospecific objectives and goals Present study did not discussany economic contribution andmarket access for homesteadthus further study is highly recommended and neededto directly test the economic significance and influence ofmarket access on the vegetation structure of both commercialand subsistence-oriented homestead gardens in northernBangladesh The moderate domination of fruit species overtimber species may be attributed to the gardenersrsquo generalperception that fruit species would bring early return aswell as the multipurpose nature of fruit species Homesteadgarden could provide employment opportunities for bothmale and female members resulting in increased familyincome for better livelihood to a large population in northernBangladesh Till now there is no specific management planof homestead gardens all over the country although it hastremendous contribution to greening the nature Considering
the present state of the homestead garden of the study areathis paper suggests that there is a need to establish properplanning and management mechanisms from governmentfor homestead garden This can be done by providing someincentives andor training to the owners to be more carefulabout conserving garden species to improve both ruraland urban plant species coverage It is also recommendedthat experimentation with new and diversified tree speciescan play an important role in enhancing the diversity anddistribution of homestead garden in the Kishoreganj Sadararea
Acknowledgments
The authors are highly grateful to each and every respondentwho participated in this study for giving their valuable timeand information regarding their homestead gardensThey areverymuch grateful toMr AvikKumar Roy for his consistencesupport during data collection as well as for giving overallidea about the study area
References
[1] M S UddinM J Rahman andMAMannan ldquoPlant biodiver-sity in the homesteads of saline area of Southern Bangladeshrdquoin Proceedings of National Workshop on Agroforestry ResearchDevelopment of Agroforestry Research in Bangladesh M F HaqMKHasan SMAsaduzzaman andMY Ali Eds pp 45ndash54Gazipur Bangladesh 2001
[2] M Zashimuddin Community Forestry for Poverty Reduction inBangladesh in Forests for Poverty Reduction Can CommunityForestry Make Money FAO Regional Office for Asia and thePacific Bangkok Thailand 2004
10 ISRN Biodiversity
[3] M E Kabir and E L Webb ldquoCan homegardens conserve bi-odiversity in Bangladeshrdquo Biotropica vol 40 no 1 pp 95ndash1032008
[4] A J Southern Acquisition of indigenous ecological knowledgeabout forest gardens in Kandy district Sri Lanka [M PhilDissertation] University of Wales Bangor UK 1994
[5] M B Uddin and S A Mukul ldquoImproving forest dependentlivelihoods through NTFPs and home gardens a case studyfrom satchari national parkrdquo in Making Conservation WorkLinking Rural Livelihoods amp Protected Area Management inBangladesh J Fox B Bushley S Dutt and S A QuaziEds pp 13ndash35 Nishorgo Program of the Bangladesh ForestDepartment and East-West Center of University of HawaiiDhaka Bangladesh 2007
[6] FAO ldquoGlobal forest resource assessment 2010 main reportrdquoFAO Forestry Paper 163 Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO) of the United Nations Rome Italy 2010
[7] M D Millat-E-Mustafa J B Hall and Z TeklehaimanotldquoStructure and floristics of Bangladesh homegardensrdquo Agro-forestry Systems vol 33 no 3 pp 263ndash280 1996
[8] K M Masum M S Alam and M M Abdullah-Al-MamunldquoEcological and economical significance of homestead forest tothe household of the offshore island in Bangladeshrdquo Journal ofForestry Research vol 19 no 4 pp 307ndash310 2008
[9] M F U Ahmed and S M L Rahman ldquoProfile and use of multi-species tree crops in the homesteads of Gazipur district centralBangladeshrdquo Journal of Sustainable Agriculture vol 24 no 1 pp81ndash93 2004
[10] O T Coomes and N Ban ldquoCultivated plant species diversity inhome gardens of an amazonian peasant village in northeasternPerurdquo Economic Botany vol 58 no 3 pp 420ndash434 2004
[11] B A Withrow-Robinson and D E Hibbs ldquoTesting an ecolog-ically based classification tool on fruit-based agroforestry innorthernThailandrdquoAgroforestry Systems vol 65 no 2 pp 123ndash135 2005
[12] O S Abdoellah H Y Hadikusumah K Takeuchi S Okuboand P Parikesit ldquoCommercialization of homegardens in anIndonesian village vegetation composition and functionalchangesrdquo Agroforestry Systems vol 68 no 1 pp 1ndash13 2006
[13] V E Mendez R Lok and E Somarriba ldquoInterdisciplinaryanalysis of homegardens in Nicaragua micro-zonation plantuse and socioeconomic importancerdquo Agroforestry Systems vol51 no 2 pp 85ndash96 2001
[14] C R Vogl and B Vogl-Lukasser ldquoTradition dynamics andsustainability of plant species composition and managementin homegardens on organic and non-organic small scale farmsin Alpine Eastern Tyrol Austriardquo Biological Agriculture andHorticulture vol 21 no 4 pp 349ndash366 2003
[15] A Hemp ldquoThe banana forests of Kilimanjaro biodiversity andconservation of the Chagga homegardensrdquo Biodiversity andConservation vol 15 no 4 pp 1193ndash1217 2006
[16] D K Das List of Bangladesh Village Tree Species ForestResearch Institute Chittagong Bangladesh 1990
[17] M M Hassan and A H Mazumdar ldquoAn exploratory surveyof trees on homestead and waste land of Bangladeshrdquo ADABNews pp 26ndash32 1990
[18] M K Alam and M Mohiuddin Some Potential MultipurposeTrees For Homesteads in Bangladesh vol 2 of AgroforestryInformation Series Winrock International Dhaka Bangladesh1992 Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC)
[19] M K Alam M Mohiuddin and S R Basak ldquoVillage treesin Bangladesh diversity and economic aspectsrdquo BangladeshJournal of Forest Science vol 25 no 1ndash2 pp 21ndash36 1996
[20] S A Khan and M K Alam Homestead Flora of BangladeshBangaldesh Agricultural Research Council InternationalDevelopment Research Cenbtre Village and Farm ForestryProject (SDC) Dhaka Bangladesh 1996
[21] M S Siddiqi and N A Khan ldquoFloristic composition and socio-economic aspects of rural homestead garden in Chittagong acase studyrdquo Journal of Forest Science vol 28 no 2 pp 94ndash1011999
[22] A M Shajaat Ali ldquoHomegardens in smallholder farmingsystems examples from Bangladeshrdquo Human Ecology vol 33no 2 pp 245ndash270 2005
[23] M E Kabir and E L Webb ldquoFloristics and structure of south-western Bangladesh homegardensrdquoThe International Journal ofBiodiversity Science and Management vol 4 no 1 pp 54ndash642008
[24] K U Ahmad ldquoMinor fruits in homestead agro forestryrdquo inAgroforestry Bangladesh Perspective M K Alam F U Ahmedand S M R Amin Eds pp 165ndash169 APAAN NAWG andBARC Dhaka Bangladesh 1997
[25] N M Islam Homestead garden agroforestry in Bangladesha case study in Rangpur district [MS thesis] AgriculturalUniversity of Norway As Norway 1998
[26] M A Bashar Homestead garden Agroforestry impact on Bi-odiversity conservation and household food security a casestudy of Gajipur district Bangladesh [MS thesis] AgriculturalUniversity of Norway As Norway 1999
[27] M S Alam M F Haque M Z Abedin and S AkterldquoHomestead trees and household fuel uses in and around thefarming systems research site Jessorerdquo inHomestead Plantationand Agroforestry in Bangladesh M Z Abedin C K Lai andM O Ali Eds pp 106ndash119 BARI RWEDP and WINROCKDhaka Bangladesh 1990
[28] G Miah M Z Abedin A B M A Khair M Shahidullah andA J M A Baki ldquoHomestead Plantation and household fuelsituation in Ganges floodplain of Bangladeshrdquo in HomesteadPlantation and Agroforestry in Bangladesh M Z Abedin CK Lai and M O Ali Eds pp 120ndash135 BARI JoydebpurBangladesh 1990
[29] M A Momin M Z Abedin M R Amin Q M S Islam andM M Haque ldquoExisting homestead plantation and householdfuel use pattern in the flood prone tangail region of Bangladeshrdquoin Homestead Plantation and Agroforestry in Bangladesh MZ Abedin C K Lai and M O Ali Eds pp 136ndash145 BARIJoydebpur Bangladesh 1990
[30] M Millat-E-Mustafa Z Teklehaimanot and A K O HarunildquoTraditional uses of perennial homestead garden plants inBangladeshrdquoForests Trees and Livelihoods vol 12 no 4 pp 235ndash256 2002
[31] R M Motiur J Tsukamoto Y Furukawa Z Shibayama and IKawata ldquoQuantitative stand structure of woody components ofhomestead forests and its implications on silvicultural manage-ment a case study in Sylhet Sadar Bangladeshrdquo Journal of ForestResearch vol 10 no 4 pp 285ndash294 2005
[32] W A Leuschner and K Khaleque ldquoHomestead agroforestry inBangladeshrdquoAgroforestry Systems vol 5 no 2 pp 139ndash151 1987
[33] N A Khan ldquoSocial forestry versus social reality patronage andcommunity-based forestry in Bangladeshrdquo Gatekeeper Series99 International Institute for Environment and Development(IIED) London UK 2001
ISRN Biodiversity 11
[34] R M Motiur Y Furukawa I Kawata M M Rahman and MAlam ldquoRole of homestead forests in household economy andfactors affecting forest production a case study in southwestBangladeshrdquo Journal of Forest Research vol 11 no 2 pp 89ndash972006
[35] M S Alam andKMMasum ldquoStatus of homestead biodiversityin the offshore Island of Bangladeshrdquo Research Journal ofAgriculture and Biological Sciences vol 1 no 3 pp 246ndash2532005
[36] S Akhter M Alamgir M S I Sohel M P Rana S J MonjurulAhmed and M S H Chowdhury ldquoThe role of women intraditional farming systems as practiced in homegardens a casestudy in Sylhet Sadar Upazila Bangladeshrdquo Tropical Conserva-tion Science vol 3 no 1 pp 17ndash30 2010
[37] H M F Rahman ldquoKishoreganj Sadar Upozilardquo in Banglape-dia National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh httpwwwbanglap-ediaorg
[38] K U Siddique M A Islam Z U Ahmed et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 11 AngiospermsMonocotyledons (Agavaceae-Najadaceae) Asiatic Society ofBangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2007
[39] K U Siddique M A Islam Z U Ahmed et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 5 BryophytesPteridophytes Gymnosperm Asiatic Society of BangladeshDhaka Bangladesh 2008
[40] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al EdsEncyclopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 6Angiosperms Dicotyledons (Acanthaceae-Asteraceae) AsiaticSociety of Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
[41] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 7 AngiospermsDicotyledons (Balsaminaceae-Euphorbiaceae) Asiatic Society ofBangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
[42] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al EdsEncyclopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 12Angiosperms Monocotyledons (Orchidaceae-Zingiberaceae)Asiatic Society of Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
[43] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 8 AngiospermsDicotyledons (Fabaceae-Lythraceae) Asiatic Society of Bang-ladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2009
[44] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 9 AngiospermsDicotyledons (Magnoliaceae-Ponicaceae) Asiatic Society ofBangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2009
[45] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al EdsEncyclopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 10Angiosperms Dicotyledons (Ranunculaceae-Zygophyllaceae)Asiatic Society of Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2010
[46] E P Odum Fundamentals of Ecology WB Saunders Philadel-phia Pa USA 1971
[47] R Margalef ldquoInformation theory in ecologyrdquo General SystemsYearbook vol 3 pp 36ndash71 1958
[48] P Michael Ecological Methods For Field and Laboratory Investi-gation McGraw-Hill New Delhi India 1990
[49] M Kent and P Coker Vegetation Description and Analysis APractical Approach WB Saunders Philadelphia Pa USA 1992
[50] E C Pielou ldquoSpecies-diversity and pattern-diversity in thestudy of ecological successionrdquo Journal of Theoretical Biologyvol 10 no 2 pp 370ndash383 1966
[51] A E Magurran Ecological Diversity and Measurement Prince-ton University Press Princeton NJ USA 1988
[52] S A Mori B M Boom A M Carvalino and D Santos ldquoTheecological importance of Myrtaceae in eastern Brazilian wetforestrdquo Biotropica vol 15 pp 68ndash70 1983
[53] M Z Abedin and M A Quddus ldquoHousehold fuel situationhomestead gardens and agroforestry practice at six agro-ecologically different locations of Bangladeshrdquo in HomesteadPlantation and Agroforestry in Bangladesh M Z Abedin CK Lai and M O Ali Eds pp 19ndash53 Bangladesh AgricultureResearch Institute (BARI) Joydebpur Bangladesh 1990
[54] M Millat-E-Mustafa ldquoTropical Homestead gardens anoverviewrdquo in Agroforestry Bangladesh Perspective M K AlamF U Ahmed and S M Amin Eds pp 18ndash133 APAN NAWGBAEC Dhaka Bangladesh 1997
[55] T Abebe Diversity in homegarden agroforestry systems ofsouthern Ethiopia [PhD Dissertation] Wageningen UniversityWageningen The Netherlands 2005
[56] O T Solbrig ldquoThe origin and function of biodiversityrdquo Environ-ment vol 33 no 5 pp 16ndash38 1991
[57] P Kumar ldquoCarbon sequestration strategy of Nubra Valleywith special reference to agroforestryrdquo DRDO TechnologySpectrum pp 187ndash192 2008
[58] P Kumar S Gupta and S Prakash ldquoCarbon pool of orchardsin siachen sector socio-economic Carbon sequestrationrdquo inAdvances in Agriculture Environment and Health S B SinghO P Charassia and S Yadav Eds pp 225ndash233 2008
[59] L Christanty O S Abdoellah G G Marten and J IskanderldquoTraditional agroforestry in West Java the pekarangan (Home-stead garden) and kebun-talun (annual-perennial rotation)cropping systemsrdquo in Traditional Agriculture in Southeast AsiaA Human Ecology Perspective G G Marten Ed pp 132ndash158Westview Press Boulder Colo USA 1986
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Environmental Chemistry
Atmospheric SciencesInternational Journal of
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ScientificaHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
OceanographyInternational Journal of
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Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ClimatologyJournal of
2 ISRN Biodiversity
homestead garden are related to conservation of soil waternutrients and biodiversity [8]
Several studies showed that species diversity in a home-stead garden can range from less than five [9ndash12] to morethan 100 [13ndash15] In Bangladesh various studies for example[3 7 9 16ndash23] explore the floristic composition (mainly trees)in the homestead gardens homestead agroforestry systemby [24ndash26] homestead plantation and traditional uses by[27 28] quantitative structure and silvicultural managementby [29ndash31] production and services by [32 33] MoreoverMotiur et al [34] studied the role of homestead gardens inrural economy Alam and Masum [35] and Masum et al[8] studied the status of homestead garden in an offshoreisland of Bangladesh and Akhter et al [36] studied therole of women in homestead gardens management in thenortheastern Bangladesh
Since the natural forest of Bangladesh is shrinking atan alarming rate due to unprecedented anthropogenic pres-sure researchers from across the world have demonstratedhomestead gardensrsquo dynamic role in the conservation ofbiodiversity and provision of necessary daily needs to ruralpeople by turn for urban people Researchers from acrossthe country and world have explored the quantitative statusof homestead garden but not the driving factors which leadpeople to plant trees in their house premises Therefore thisstudy was conducted to evaluate and quantitatively assessthe total botanical diversity and the status of homesteadgarden ecosystem (both rural and urban) and choice ofpeople spatial arrangement of different species in both urbanand rural homestead areas of Kishoreganj Sadar Upazila(subdistrict) of Bangladesh The study also tried to findout the reasons towards differences in species diversity andbiodiversity conservation for both areas and then representedschematically so that we can understand what are the drivingfactors behind the differences in both areas (rural andurban) In the study areas homestead gardens are substantialenterprises and play a significant role in household income
2 Materials and Method
21 Study Area Profile Kishoreganj Sadar Upazila with anarea of 19373 km2 is bounded by Nandail Upazila on thenorth Pakundia and Katiadi upazilas on the south Karim-ganj and Tarail upazilas on the east and Hossainpur andNandail upazilas on the west The Main River is Narsunda[37] Table 1 represents the main features of the study area
22 Research Methods The study was based on the primarydata collected directly from the field during September2011 to January 2012 through physical measurement Duringstudy multistage random sampling method was adoptedfor data collection From 12 upazilas of Kishoreganj district(administrative unit) Kishoreganj SadarUpazila was selectedpurposively Out of 11 unions in Sadar Upazila two unionsfrom rural area and only one existing municipality in thestudy area were firstly selected randomly Then two villagesfrom municipality area and one from rest of the unions wererandomly selected
Table 1 Description of the study area (Kishoreganj Sadar Upazila)
Items Description
Location
Kishoreganj Sadar Upazila is an Upazila ofKishoreganj District in the Division of Dhakawith 205 villages Kishoreganj Municipality wasestablished in 1869 with an area of 1957 km2 Ithas a population of 77165 males 5251 females4749 Literacy rate among the municipalitypeople is 59
GPS locationIt is located between 24∘281015840 and 24∘241015840 northlatitudes and between 90∘461015840 and 90∘501015840 eastlongitudes
Population 500208 (density 1550km2) males 5152females 4848
Number ofvillages 205
Number ofhouseholds 71178
Averagehousehold size 421 persons
Literacy 2830 where the national average was 324
Land use
Total cultivable land 13766 ha single crop1765 double crop 60 and treble crop land2235 land under irrigation 3239 ha Maincrops are paddy jute wheat mustard seedonion potato brinjal betel leaf and vegetablesMain exports products are jute and leather
Mainoccupations
Agriculture 3577 agricultural labourer1756 wage labourer 341 industry 122business 1522 transport 497 construction157 service 872 and others 1156
23 Data Collection from Respondents Interviews were con-ducted targeting primarily old-aged or local experiencedpersons (usually aged between 30 to 70 years) A total of 80households that is 20 households (PSU primary samplingunit) with a confidence interval of 33 from each villagewere selected for interviewing (Table 2) A semistructuredquestionnaire was used for data collection based on the infor-mation collected through reconnaissance and pilot surveyAll the species found in each household had been accountedfor botanical survey The final survey and eight focusedgroup discussions (two in each PSU for crosschecked) werecompleted with the participation and informed consentfrom the members of the households Responses to openquestions were collected on a variety of demographic andsocioeconomic indicators household species compositionchoice of species cultural activities practices in homesteadgarden perceived importance for conservation of speciesmarket access of homestead garden products and so forth Inorder to explore spatial arrangement and respondentsrsquo choiceto plant trees in their homestead garden we have divided thegardens into five different habitats namely (front yard backyard homestead boundary that is adjacent to the dwellinghouse pond bank and road side) for both rural and urbanhomesteads On each topic the respondents were free toexpress their views
ISRN Biodiversity 3
Table 2 Description of the sample villages
Items Urban RuralPSUlowast 1(Solakia)
PSU 2(Mohinanda)
PSU 3(Maijkapon)
PSU 4(Joshodol)
Location Municipality area Municipality area Maijkapon union Joshodol unionNumber of households 160 124 92 110Household size 708 803 920 657Sampled households 20 20 20 20
Major homestead forestproducts
Fruits timberand ornamental
species
Fruits timberfirewood andornamentalspecies
Fruits timberbamboo
firewood andornamentalspecies
Fruits timberbamboo
firewood andornamentalspecies
Main occupationBusiness
services andforeign services
Businessservices and
foreign services
Agriculturefisheries smallbusiness and
services
Agriculturefisheries smallbusiness and
serviceslowastPSU primary sampling unit
24 Plot Survey All species present in each sampled home-stead garden (average size of 005 hectare to 025 hectare)were identified and recorded by the botanical name or bylocal name All individuals of trees herbs and shrubs werecounted and recorded except the individuals in hedgerowsNo climbers were counted due to the difficulty in differenti-ating stems A botanical inventory was conducted only oncein each selected home gardenThus the seasonal variation infloristic and structurewas not assessed Each species recordedwas classified by family habit (tree shrub and herb) andtheir origin that is exotic or indigenous and conservationstatus as followed by [38ndash45]
25 Data Analysis For the present study nine ecologicalindices were used to analyze and to get a clear picture of thespecies diversity of the study areas which are listed below
(1) Species diversity index was calculated according toOdum [46] SDI = 119878119873
(2) Species richness index was measured by Margalef[47] 119877 = (119878 minus 1)Ln(119873)
(3) The Shannon-Winner diversity index was calculatedfollowing Michael [48]119867 = minussum119875
119894Ln119875119894
(4) Shannonrsquos maximum diversity index was followed byKent and Coker [49]119867max = Ln(119878)
(5) Shannonrsquos equitability index according to Kent andCoker [49] 119864
119867= 119867119867max
(6) Species evenness index was estimated followingPielou [50] 119864 = 119867Log(119878)
(7) Simpsons index was estimated according to Magur-ran [51]119863 = sum1198752
119894
(8) As biodiversity increases the Simpson indexdecreases Therefore to get a clear picture of speciesdominance1198631015840 = 1 minus 119863 is used
(9) Family importance value (FIV) index (the FIV indexis used to evaluate floristic composition at the species
family level and it combines richness density anddominance) according to the formulae of Mori et al[52]
(i) Family relative density () = (no of individualsin a familytotal no of individuals) times 100
(ii) Family relative diversity () = (no of species ina familytotal number of species) times 100
(iii) FIV is the sum of family relative diversity andrelative density
Where 119878 is the total number of species119873 is the total numberof individuals of all the species119875
119894is the number of individuals
of one speciestotal number of individuals in the samples
3 Results
31 Status of Homestead Garden Plants The study surveyrecorded 62 plant species belonging to 36 families fromthe set of 80 surveyed homesteads (Table 3) Among thetotal species 5323 trees 2258 shrub and 2419 herbsAmongst the recorded species 31 trees 11 herbs and shrubsspecies were found common both in urban and ruralhomesteads Except this shrub species was higher in urbanhomestead tree species was found higher in rural homesteadand in case of herb species was found the same in both areasThereafter out of the recorded species based on conservationstatus two species namely Alocasia indica and Terminaliachebula are vulnerable Pteris cretica is near threatenedBoehmeria nivea Cinnamomum tamala are not evaluatedand the rest of the species are of least concern in the contextof Bangladesh
Floristic composition of the homestead flora consists ofboth native and exotic species About 18 species were iden-tified as exotic and some of them have been domesticatedRecently fruit-bearing species were gradually being replacedby some exotic timber species such as Bauhinia acuminateAlbizia saman Swietenia mahagoni Tectona grandis and
4 ISRN Biodiversity
Table3Listof
homestead
garden
plantspecies
with
conservatio
nstatus
anduses
inKishoreganjSadar
Upazila
Family
Scientificn
ame
Localn
ame
English
name
Individu
als
Lifeform
Orig
inFIV
CS
Uses
Rural
Urban
(Referenceslowast)
Acanthaceae
Adhatoda
vasicaNees
Bashok
Malabar
nut
1612
ShI
284
LC(6)
6
Amaranthaceae
Alternantheraphiloxeroides(M
art)
Gris
bHele
ncha
Dwarfcop
perle
af21
8H
I512
LC(6)
16
Gom
phrena
globosa
LTimep
hol
Globe
amaranth
mdash13
ELC(6)
Anacardiaceae
Mangifer
aindica
LAam
Mango
3848
TrI
853
LC(6)
1235
Spondias
pinn
ataKu
rz
Amra
Wild
mango
2319
TrI
LCbu
tgradually
disapp
earin
g(6)
123
Ann
onaceae
Annona
squa
mosaL
Shorifa
Sugara
pple
1411
TrI
272
LC(6)
13
Apiaceae
Centellaasiatica(L)Urban
Thanku
niIndian
penn
ywort
3117
HI
363
LC(6)
16
Apocyn
aceae
Carissa
carand
asLinn
Ko
romcha
Blackcherry
119
STI
252
LC(6)
1
Araceae
Colocasia
esculen
taScho
ttKa
chu
Elephantrsquosear
267
ShI
134
LC(11)
16
Alocasia
indica
Scho
ttMan-kachu
Great-le
aved
caladium
218
ShI
V(11)
16
Cocosn
ucifera
LNarikel
Cocon
ut27
23Tr
ILC(11)
128
ArecacatechuL
Supari
Beteln
ut30
21Tr
ILC(11)
1278
Asteraceae
Eupatoriu
modoratum
LAs
sampata
Com
mon
flossflo
wer
2919
ShE
647
LC(6)
6Tagetese
rectaL
Gadap
hol
African
marigold
mdash28
ELC(6)
6
Caesalpiniaceae
Bauh
inia
acum
inataL
Kanchan
Butte
rflytre
e7
21Tr
I898
LC(7)
23
Delo
nixregia(Boj)Ra
fKr
ishno
chura
Flam
etree
1416
TrI
LC(7)
28
Tamarindu
sind
icaL
Tetul
Tamarindtre
e19
19Tr
ELC(7)
13
Caric
aceae
Caric
apapaya
Linn
Pepe
Papaya
6337
ShI
569
LC(7)
1
Com
bretaceae
Term
inalia
belliric
aRo
xbBo
hera
Belliric
myrob
alan
817
TrI
527
LC(7)
16
Term
inalia
chebula(G
aerth)Re
tz
Harita
kiCh
ebulicmyrob
alan
615
TrI
V(7)
16
Crassulaceae
Kalanchoepinn
ata(Lam
)Pers
Patharku
chi
American
lifep
lant
2228
HI
371
LC(7)
6Cy
peraceae
Mauric
esmicrocephalusP
resl
Boro
gothori
Perenn
ialsun
flower
2316
HI
327
LC(11)
6Dilleniaceae
Dillenia
indica
LCh
alta
Elephant
apple
3631
TrI
438
LC(7)
13
Elaeocarpaceae
Elaeocarpu
sfloribun
dusB
lume
Jalpai
Indian
olive
2037
TrI
399
LC( 7)
123
Euph
orbiaceae
Phyllanthus
emblica
LAmalaki
Indian
gooseberry
1128
TrI
882
LC(7)
16
Phyllanthu
sacid
us(L)Skeels
Arbori
2119
TrI
LC(7)
18
Codiaeum
varie
gatum(Linn)AJuss
Patabahar
Gardencroton
mdash13
ELC(7)
Fabaceae
Erythrinavarie
gata
Linn
Mandar
Indian
coraltree
1713
TrI
292
LC(8)
2357
Labiatae
Leucas
indica(L)R
BrE
xVa
tkeinOesterr
Don
dokolos
Dronp
ushp
i24
11H
E311
LC(8)
6Lamiaceae
Ocim
umsanctum
LTu
lsiSacred
basil
1923
HI
339
LC(8)
6Lauraceae
Cinn
amom
umtamalaNees
Tejpata
Bayleaf
47
TrI
216
NE(8)
48
Lythraceae
Laws
oniainermisL
Mehnd
iHenna
1027
ShE
319
LC(8)
8Malvaceae
Hibiscus
rosa-sinensisL
Joba
ful
Chinar
ose
2317
ShI
331
LC(9)
78
ISRN Biodiversity 5
Table3Con
tinued
Family
Scientificn
ame
Localn
ame
English
name
Individu
als
Lifeform
Orig
inFIV
CS
Uses
Rural
Urban
(Referenceslowast)
Meliaceae
Swieteniamahogany(
L)Jacq
Mahagon
iMahagon
i21
31Tr
E69
LC(9)
23
Azadira
ctaindica
AJuss
Neem
Indian
lilac
1421
TrI
LC(9)
236
Mim
osaceae
Albiziaspp
Koroi
Whitesir
is23
21Tr
E
126
LC(9)
23
Albiziasaman(Ja
q)Merr
Raintre
eRa
intre
e26
26Tr
ELC(9)
23
Mim
osapu
dica
LLazzabati
Bashfulm
imosasensitive
plant
1316
HI
LC(9)
6Streblus
asperL
our
Shew
raSiam
eser
oughbu
sh9
9Tr
ILC(9)
67
Moraceae
Artocarpus
heterophyllusL
amk
Kathal
Jackfruit
3141
TrI
458
LC(9)
1235
Musaceae
Musaspp
Kola
Banana
5113
ShE
426
LC(11)
157
Myrtaceae
Syzygium
cumini(L)Skeel
Jam
Blackberry
1626
TrI
754
LC(9)
123
Psidium
guajava(L)Ba
tPayera
Com
mon
guava
2833
STI
LC(9)
12
Oxalid
aceae
Averrhoa
carambolaL
Kamrang
aStar
fruit
2327
TrI
604
LC(9)
13
Oxalis
cornicu
lata
LAmrul
Indian
zorale
16mdash
HI
LC(9)
6
Poaceae
Bambu
sabalco
oaRo
xb
Barakbans
Bambo
o13
mdashTr
I91
LC(12)
235
78
Melo
cann
abaccifera(Roxb)Ku
rz
Mulib
ans
Bambo
o14
17Tr
ILC(12)
235
78
Cynodondactylon(L)Pers
Durbagh
ass
Grass
3619
HI
LC(12)
6Po
lypo
diaceae
Pteriscretica
Wilson
iiFern
Cretan
fern
2920
HE
367
NT(5)
16
Rham
naceae
Zizyphus
mauritiana
Lamk
Boroi
Indian
date
1823
TrI
335
LC(10)
15
Rutaceae
Aegle
marmelo
s(L)Correa
Bel
Goldenapplesto
neapple
16mdash
TrI
982
LC(10)
13
Citru
sgrand
is(L)Osb
Jambu
raPu
mmelo
1919
TrI
LC(10)
13
Citru
slim
on(L)Bu
rmF
Lebu
Lemon
3231
ShE
LC(10)
16
Solanaceae
Solanu
mviolaceum
OrtegaHortMart
Bon-begun
Lemon
29mdash
ShI
531
LC(10)
6Ce
strum
nocturnu
mL
Hasnahena
Poiso
nberry
mdash18
ShE
LC(10)
8Urticaceae
Boehmerianivea(L)Gaudich
Artika
Night
jasm
ine
17H
E24
NE(10)
6
Verbenaceae
Nyctanthesarbortristis
LSh
iuliph
ool
Chinag
rass
1311
ShI
116
LC(10)
8La
ntanacamaraL
Lantana
Night
queen
336
ShE
LC(10)
6TectonagrandisL
f
Shegun
Lantana
1013
TrE
LC(10)
23
Lippia
alba(M
ill)Brito
netWilson
Voiu
khra
Bushymatgrass
275
ShE
LC(10)
6
Zing
iberaceae
Zingiber
officin
aleR
oscoe
Ada
Ginger
618
HI
889
LC(12)
46
Curcum
alongaL
Holud
Turm
eric
5810
HI
LC(12)
46
Lifeform
Trtre
eHherbandSh
shrub
Orig
inE
exotic
speciesIindigeno
usspeciesFIV
family
impo
rtance
valueCScon
servationstatusLC
leastcon
cernN
Tnear
threatenedN
Eno
tevaluatedand
Vvulnerable
Uses1food
fruit2tim
ber3fuelwoo
d4spice5fodd
er6m
edicine7fenceand8otherslowastRe
ferencesvaluesinthep
arentheses
indicatethev
olum
enum
bero
fthe
book
entitledEn
cyclo
paedia
ofFloraandFaun
aofBa
ngladesh
[38ndash45]
6 ISRN Biodiversity
Albizia spp because of the peoplersquos attitude towards earningmoremoney through timber production However Swieteniamahagoni Albizia saman Delonix regia and Tectona grandishave been domesticated and have a long heritage of introduc-tion
32 Species Family Composition Araceae Mimosaceae andVerbenaceae families represented the highest numbers of fourspecies followed byCaesalpiniaceae Euphorbiaceae Poaceaeand Rutaceae representing three species AmaranthaceaeAsteraceae Anacardiaceae Combretaceae Meliaceae Myr-taceae Oxalidaceae Solanaceae and Zingiberaceae denotedtwo species and the rest of the families comprised onlyone species (Table 3) Among them 20 families (5556)represented only one species followed by two species wererepresented by nine families (25) three and more thanthree species are represented by four families (1111) and3 species (833) respectively The family importance value(FIV) was recorded highest for Araceae (163 individualsFIV 134) followed by Mimosaceae (143 individuals FIV126) Verbenaceae (118 individuals FIV 116) Rutaceae (117individuals FIV 982) Poaceae (99 individuals FIV 91)Caesalpiniaceae (96 individuals FIV 898) Zingiberaceae(137 individuals FIV 889) and lowest for Lauraceae (11 indi-viduals FIV 216) followed by Urtiaceae (17 individuals FIV240) Apocynaceae (20 individuals FIV 252) Annonaceae(25 individuals FIV 272) and Acanthaceae (28 individualsFIV 284)
33 Ecological Diversity Indices of Homestead Species Theresult of Shannon-Winner diversity index value was cal-culated highest for rural homestead garden both of tree(339) and of shrub (236) species where for herb speciesthe highest value (25) was found for the urban homesteadgarden Shannonrsquos maximum diversity index value (35) wasobserved highest for rural homestead tree species In case ofherb (256) and shrub (248) species the values were similarfor both types of the gardens Shannonrsquos equitability index(097) Simpsonrsquos index (004) and dominance of Simpsonrsquosindex (096) values were found similar for both the rural andurban homestead tree species For herb species Shannonrsquosequitability index value was highest for urban gardens (097)where dominance of Simpsonrsquos index (091) was found similarfor both rural and urban gardens However in case of shrubspecies Shannonrsquos equitability index value was highest forrural gardens (095) Simpsonrsquos index value (093) for urbangardens and dominance of Simpsonrsquos index value (089) forrural gardens However in case of tree and herb speciesspecies evenness index value was highest (224) for urbanhomestead garden where for shrub the value (219) washighest in rural homestead Species richness index valuesfor tree (498) and herb (226) species were highest in ruralhomestead but for shrub species the value (214) was highestin urban homestead (Table 4)
34 Spatial Arrangement of Homestead Garden Species In thestudy area it was observed that homestead gardeners do notfollow any specific spatial arrangement pattern and scientific
Table 4 Ecological diversity indices of homestead plant species inrural and urban areas of the study area
Ecologicaldiversity indexlowast
Tree Herb ShrubUrban Rural Urban Rural Urban Rural
SDI 004 005 007 004 007 004R 459 498 226 203 214 189E 224 223 224 22 213 219H 335 339 25 245 23 236Hmax 343 35 256 256 248 248EH 097 097 097 096 093 095D 004 004 009 009 012 011D1015840 096 096 091 091 088 089lowastH Shannon-Winner diversity index Hmax Shannonrsquos maximum diversityindex EH Shannonrsquos equitability index SDI species diversity index Rspecies richness index E species evenness indexD Simpsons index andD1015840dominance of Simpsons index
considerations for raising plants Plants were usually plantedin the front back and surroundings of the houses Resultsrevealed that 475 of rural gardeners preferred mostly thefront yard for species plantation followed by back yard325 homestead boundary (adjacent to the dwelling house)by 125 and 75 household owners preferred both pondbanks and road side simultaneously In case of urban area35 gardeners preferred balcony and veranda for plantingspecies followed by 30 in front yard 225 in homesteadboundary and 125 in rooftopThe reason for this variationwas that rural people depend more on homestead forest fortheir livelihood security as well as certain amount of familyincome than that of urban households Except these otherfactors those influence the species planting in different sitesare beautification of household area low canopy coverageland scarcity and so forth Ornamental plants for exampleGomphrena globosa Tagetes erecta Codiaeum variegatumOcimum sanctum and Nyctanthes arbortristis and majorfruit crop species for example Mangifera indica ArtocarpusheterophyllusCitrus limon Psidium guajava Zizyphusmauri-tiana Citrus grandis and Carica papayawere usually plantedin the front yard of the house (rural and urban) so that thegardeners can keep eye on them Trees in the homestead-boundary acted as a live fence and windbreak Tall woodyspecies such as are planted in the back yard for buildingmaterials and firewood
35 Choice of Species Grown for Different Usages The reasonsfor growing a variety of fruit species in the homesteadgardens are more or less complex A number of factorsdetermined the farmersrsquo decisions for growing particularspecies or groups of species The farmers were keen to growtimber trees for cash income if they already had a successfulstrategy for deriving income from off-farm labour or fromcrops Farmers with large families tend to grow fruit treesIn the surveyed area homestead plant species generally usedfor fruit and food medicines firewood timber and orna-mental and beautification purposes were identified Amongthem 45 were fruit and food providing species 3871
ISRN Biodiversity 7
medicinal plant species 3226 firewood species 2903timber species 1613 ornamental beautification and spir-itual species 1129 species are used as both for fodder andfence and 483 species used as spice and vegetables
36 Cultural Practices of Homestead Garden Farmers gen-erally collect planting materials from homesteads wildings(species that are growncollected from outside homesteadpremises) friends and families relatives government andNGO nurseries No specific spacing is followed in plantingof species in homestead garden Sometimes it was also foundto plant herbaceous species like Zingiber officinale Curcumalonga under the layer of shrub like Carica papaya Citruslimon and so forth in order to make the optimum use oftheir land Study figured out the analysis of respondentsanswers regarding different aspects of the existing manage-ment systems of homestead gardens in the study area Duringsurvey it was found that some households are not engagedin any managementcultural operations in their homesteadgardens whereas other households are more or less engagedwith the management of homestead gardens Species wereplanted usually during the morning andor afternoon ofthe day mostly in the monsoon season Generally fastgrowing and species having low crown coverage are selectedfor the plantation The results revealed that almost all thehouseholds carried out watering (100) and soil ploughing(94) Weeding was done out by 85 of respondents as wellas fencing (5375) and 675 respondents did mulchingConsequently about 62 respondents practice thinning orpruning in their homestead garden Large farmers generallyhired labour for doing thinning and pruning operations Butthey do very much little care for manuring (4625) andapplying pesticide (35) in their homesteads
37 Role of Homestead Gardens in Local Biodiversity Conser-vation Homestead gardens have long been themost effectiveand widespread measure for biodiversity conservation inBangladesh as due to anthropogenic pressure and land usechange the natural forest has been decreasing day by dayboth in explicit and implicit ways leading to threats tofuture productivity Generally rural communities preferredcultivated and planted multipurpose species that can beserved as fruits vegetables and spices also used as tim-ber Such kind of choice is the most important factor tohomestead gardens conservation in Bangladesh and playsa significant role in forest conservation since all the woodand other non-timber forest products that are harvested inthe homestead gardens do not need to be collected fromforests Respondents said that homestead gardens attract anumber of bird species like Streptopelia chinensis Psittac-ula krameri Eudynamys scolopaceus Micropternus brachyu-rus Dinopium benghalense Oriolus xanthornus Dicrurusmacrocercus Acridotheres tristis Corvus splendens Turduscafer Orthotomus sutorius Copsychus saularis Nectariniazeylonica Anthus campestris Passer domesticus and Plo-ceus philippinus to collect their food and making nestMoreover some animal species like squirrel take shelter
Table 5 Perceived importance of homestead garden conservationin the study area
Items Veryimportant
Lessimportant
Notimportant
Food and fruit 85 15 0Firewood 6875 2375 75Building materials 7875 20 125Subsistence familyincome 7375 20 625
Medicinal plants 2875 35 3625Ecological balance 2875 375 3375Soil erosion control 5125 375 1125Otherslowast 3625 175 4625lowastBoundary ornamental and spiritual purposes and so forth
and collect their food especially fruit like Aegle marme-los Annona squamosa Areca catechu Averrhoa carambolaCarica papaya Carissa carandas Cocos nucifera Dilleniaindica Elaeocarpus floribundus Mangifera indica Phyllan-thus acidus Phyllanthus emblica Psidium guajava Spondiaspinnata Syzygium cumini Tamarindus indica and Zizyphusmauritiana from the urban and rural homestead gardensThey also mentioned that some birds play a significant roleas pollinators or in the control of insect pests At this timedispersal of seeds also occurs by the animal birds andhelps in natural regeneration of homestead plants speciessince natural regeneration is the most important factor fortree diversity conservation Study also found a number ofbamboo shrub herb and climber species which were largelyused by the households also they give shelter to animaldiversity
38 Perceived Importance for Conservation of HomesteadGarden Species To determine the perceived importance ofhomestead species conservation farmers were interviewedusing a questionnaire asked to evaluate the importance ofmentioned eight functions of trees The results are presentedin Table 5 Likewise farmersrsquo perceived most importancefor homestead plant species conservation was related tofruit and food (85) followed by buildingmaterials (7875)subsistence family income (7375) and source of firewood(6875) The surveyed rural area is affected by monsoonflood every year as a result soil erosion is a serious problem inthis regionTherefore in order to keep houses above thewaterlevel it is mandatory to raise houses at the highest elevationsor fill the land by soil in the dry season especially throughoutthe floodplain regions As a consequence people are usuallyconcerned about the trees role to protect their homesteadland against water-induced soil erosion by binding the soilHowever they were not concerned about ecological impor-tance of forest Yet the majority of the respondents gradedthe homestead garden as being ldquoless importantrdquo as a meansof maintaining ecological balance and soil erosion control(375) followed by a source of medicinal plants (35)So it seems that there is still a lack of knowledge in these
8 ISRN Biodiversity
two categories and institutional and government and NGOstraining and learning programs are necessary to facilitateknowledge
4 Discussion
Analysis of the existing tree composition structure andrichness revealed that homestead forest in the study area hasmoderately high biodiversity and species richness Howeverthe number of plant species was higher than those foundin other homesteads of Bangladesh by Abedin and Quddus[53] cited from Alam and Masum [35] found in Tangail (52species) Ishurdi (34 species) Jessore (28 species) Patuakhali(20 species) Rajshahi (28 species) and Rangpur (21 species)districts respectively Motiur et al [31] found 60 species inSylhet Sadar Motiur et al [34] found 58 species in SouthwestBangladesh Kabir andWebb [3] recorded a total of 419 plantspecies from southwestern Bangladesh Alam and Masum[35] recorded a total of 101 species and Masum et al [8] 142species in an offshore island (Sandwip Island) of BangladeshMillat-E-Mustafa [54] identified 92 perennial plant species inone study conducted in different parts of the country
The traditional production system of homestead gar-den in the study area is moderate in terms of level ofcultural practices for absence of improved managementpractices and high-quality variety Farmers depend usuallyon naturally growing plants on their homestead boundaryBesides analysis of existing management regime indicatedthat the growers lack of scientific information almost allthe household owners still followed traditional homesteadforest management systems whereas a little owner adoptedmodern practices Increased tree planting in the homesteadsand their appropriate management including intercroppingpractices should be the strategy for enhancing tree coverof the homesteads of study area in order to meet basicneeds of its people and maintain environmental balanceHomestead gardens are playing a potential role in biodiversityconservation as well as uplifting the socioeconomic conditionby contributing families or householdrsquos annual income andproviding nutritional diet to families Variable homesteadgarden products such as seasonal fruits firewood medicinalplants timber and vegetables and spices were mostly usedby the small and medium household owners for their dailyneeds but large owners get their products into the market forsaleThese findings are also supported by the study of Millat-E-Mustafa [54] for the homestead garden of four regions inBangladesh Most of the households were found to prefermostly food or fruit species (45) because of the incomeincentives and family needs and this was also supported byseveral researchers [8 21 54] across the country
In the present study homesteads gardens were largelyuser oriented and market access was not fully developedHowever market access for homestead products is essentialas they sell their products easily into the market as wellas other forest products It was shown that most of theproducers were selling to their neighbours or local tradersTherefore they do not get proper price for their productsIf they get their products to the market or sell products via
retailers they will get proper prices also which is very muchimportant for the small household owners therefore creatinga scope for income Many studies of tropical homesteadgarden have reported reduced species diversity and stemdensity in homestead garden with closer proximity to marketfor example [55] So market access condition has greateffect on homestead forest management thus further studyis needed to directly test the influence of market accesson the homestead gardens structure of both commercialand subsistence-oriented homestead garden in BangladeshHowever the homestead gardens of the study area presentan excellent example of all embracing multipurpose land-usesystem and biodiversity conservation
41 Species Diversity and Biodiversity Conservation in Tra-ditional Homestead Garden Farming System Biodiversityconservation has become a growing concern for all over theworld and it is linked up highly with long-term health andvigour of the biosphere as an indicator of global environmentand also as a regulator of ecosystem functioning [56] Thebiological diversity indices revealed that homestead gardencould play an important role for carbon sequestration inthe future since plant growth is directly proportional tothe carbon sequestration capacity of the forest [57 58]By studying different literatures of homestead gardens allover Bangladesh we have developed in our mind that anumber of opportunities and drawbacks are influencing theselection of species of homestead garden Considering allthese we have developed a model of species diversity andbiodiversity conservation for both urban and rural surveyedhomestead gardens represented in Figure 1 We classified theopportunities and drawbacks of a typical homestead gardenfor both rural and urban areas separately Among the oppor-tunities the most prominent according to our observationwere generating income food security soil erosion controltimber demand market access beautification cattle foddermedicinal purposes and fuel wood species The drawbacksthat are influencing the selection of species were croplandexpansion fast growing species demand natural calamitiesland scarcity domestic animal low crown canopy infrastruc-ture and so forth The economical condition of the ruralpeople is not as like as urban people For this they usuallyprefer species that will provide them necessary fuel wood andfodder for their cattle Plantation of medicinal plant speciescan help to get remedy from diseases also regular supply ofrawmaterials to the industry could be an important source ofearning money to the farmers Urban people usually preferto plant various flowering and ornamental plants such asTagetes erectaGomphrena globosa andCodiaeumvariegatumfor ornamental beauty of their houses because they occupy asmaller space in their garden premises and they do not likesuch condition that will decrease the beautification view oftheir house The trend in gradual replacement of functionalplants to ornamentals has also been observed in cases wherepeople became richer [59] Side-by-side grazing of domesticanimals disturbs the diversity of homestead forest species Inthis circumstance introduction of grasses sedges and smallbushes could be a solution to get remedy to this problem
ISRN Biodiversity 9
Generating income
Food security Soil erosion Timber demand
Market access
Fuel wood species
Cattle fodder
Medicinal purposes
Urban Rural
Opportunities
Species diversity and choice of species
Biodiversity conservation
Threats
Rural Urban
Domestic animal Fast growingspecies
Naturalcalamities
Land scarcity Croplandexpansion
Low crowncanopy
Infrastructure
Beautification
Figure 1 Conceptual model of species diversity and biodiversity conservation in homestead garden farming system
This type of management could help villagers in getting fuelwood without disturbing the main vegetation Whatsoever itis now clear that homestead garden is a storehouse of largespecies diversity and sustainable resource management andthis large species diversity can play an important role inbiodiversity conservation
5 Conclusion
For aesthetic environmental and economic perspectivesspecies planting in homestead garden is desirableHomesteadgardening plays a significant role in both rural and urbanlandscape planning and management In this study we haveobserved that the homestead plant composition diversityand species richness were moderate in Kishoregang Sadararea Moreover there was a lack of scientific knowledgeof the gardeners an absence of proper planning and nospecific objectives and goals Present study did not discussany economic contribution andmarket access for homesteadthus further study is highly recommended and neededto directly test the economic significance and influence ofmarket access on the vegetation structure of both commercialand subsistence-oriented homestead gardens in northernBangladesh The moderate domination of fruit species overtimber species may be attributed to the gardenersrsquo generalperception that fruit species would bring early return aswell as the multipurpose nature of fruit species Homesteadgarden could provide employment opportunities for bothmale and female members resulting in increased familyincome for better livelihood to a large population in northernBangladesh Till now there is no specific management planof homestead gardens all over the country although it hastremendous contribution to greening the nature Considering
the present state of the homestead garden of the study areathis paper suggests that there is a need to establish properplanning and management mechanisms from governmentfor homestead garden This can be done by providing someincentives andor training to the owners to be more carefulabout conserving garden species to improve both ruraland urban plant species coverage It is also recommendedthat experimentation with new and diversified tree speciescan play an important role in enhancing the diversity anddistribution of homestead garden in the Kishoreganj Sadararea
Acknowledgments
The authors are highly grateful to each and every respondentwho participated in this study for giving their valuable timeand information regarding their homestead gardensThey areverymuch grateful toMr AvikKumar Roy for his consistencesupport during data collection as well as for giving overallidea about the study area
References
[1] M S UddinM J Rahman andMAMannan ldquoPlant biodiver-sity in the homesteads of saline area of Southern Bangladeshrdquoin Proceedings of National Workshop on Agroforestry ResearchDevelopment of Agroforestry Research in Bangladesh M F HaqMKHasan SMAsaduzzaman andMY Ali Eds pp 45ndash54Gazipur Bangladesh 2001
[2] M Zashimuddin Community Forestry for Poverty Reduction inBangladesh in Forests for Poverty Reduction Can CommunityForestry Make Money FAO Regional Office for Asia and thePacific Bangkok Thailand 2004
10 ISRN Biodiversity
[3] M E Kabir and E L Webb ldquoCan homegardens conserve bi-odiversity in Bangladeshrdquo Biotropica vol 40 no 1 pp 95ndash1032008
[4] A J Southern Acquisition of indigenous ecological knowledgeabout forest gardens in Kandy district Sri Lanka [M PhilDissertation] University of Wales Bangor UK 1994
[5] M B Uddin and S A Mukul ldquoImproving forest dependentlivelihoods through NTFPs and home gardens a case studyfrom satchari national parkrdquo in Making Conservation WorkLinking Rural Livelihoods amp Protected Area Management inBangladesh J Fox B Bushley S Dutt and S A QuaziEds pp 13ndash35 Nishorgo Program of the Bangladesh ForestDepartment and East-West Center of University of HawaiiDhaka Bangladesh 2007
[6] FAO ldquoGlobal forest resource assessment 2010 main reportrdquoFAO Forestry Paper 163 Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO) of the United Nations Rome Italy 2010
[7] M D Millat-E-Mustafa J B Hall and Z TeklehaimanotldquoStructure and floristics of Bangladesh homegardensrdquo Agro-forestry Systems vol 33 no 3 pp 263ndash280 1996
[8] K M Masum M S Alam and M M Abdullah-Al-MamunldquoEcological and economical significance of homestead forest tothe household of the offshore island in Bangladeshrdquo Journal ofForestry Research vol 19 no 4 pp 307ndash310 2008
[9] M F U Ahmed and S M L Rahman ldquoProfile and use of multi-species tree crops in the homesteads of Gazipur district centralBangladeshrdquo Journal of Sustainable Agriculture vol 24 no 1 pp81ndash93 2004
[10] O T Coomes and N Ban ldquoCultivated plant species diversity inhome gardens of an amazonian peasant village in northeasternPerurdquo Economic Botany vol 58 no 3 pp 420ndash434 2004
[11] B A Withrow-Robinson and D E Hibbs ldquoTesting an ecolog-ically based classification tool on fruit-based agroforestry innorthernThailandrdquoAgroforestry Systems vol 65 no 2 pp 123ndash135 2005
[12] O S Abdoellah H Y Hadikusumah K Takeuchi S Okuboand P Parikesit ldquoCommercialization of homegardens in anIndonesian village vegetation composition and functionalchangesrdquo Agroforestry Systems vol 68 no 1 pp 1ndash13 2006
[13] V E Mendez R Lok and E Somarriba ldquoInterdisciplinaryanalysis of homegardens in Nicaragua micro-zonation plantuse and socioeconomic importancerdquo Agroforestry Systems vol51 no 2 pp 85ndash96 2001
[14] C R Vogl and B Vogl-Lukasser ldquoTradition dynamics andsustainability of plant species composition and managementin homegardens on organic and non-organic small scale farmsin Alpine Eastern Tyrol Austriardquo Biological Agriculture andHorticulture vol 21 no 4 pp 349ndash366 2003
[15] A Hemp ldquoThe banana forests of Kilimanjaro biodiversity andconservation of the Chagga homegardensrdquo Biodiversity andConservation vol 15 no 4 pp 1193ndash1217 2006
[16] D K Das List of Bangladesh Village Tree Species ForestResearch Institute Chittagong Bangladesh 1990
[17] M M Hassan and A H Mazumdar ldquoAn exploratory surveyof trees on homestead and waste land of Bangladeshrdquo ADABNews pp 26ndash32 1990
[18] M K Alam and M Mohiuddin Some Potential MultipurposeTrees For Homesteads in Bangladesh vol 2 of AgroforestryInformation Series Winrock International Dhaka Bangladesh1992 Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC)
[19] M K Alam M Mohiuddin and S R Basak ldquoVillage treesin Bangladesh diversity and economic aspectsrdquo BangladeshJournal of Forest Science vol 25 no 1ndash2 pp 21ndash36 1996
[20] S A Khan and M K Alam Homestead Flora of BangladeshBangaldesh Agricultural Research Council InternationalDevelopment Research Cenbtre Village and Farm ForestryProject (SDC) Dhaka Bangladesh 1996
[21] M S Siddiqi and N A Khan ldquoFloristic composition and socio-economic aspects of rural homestead garden in Chittagong acase studyrdquo Journal of Forest Science vol 28 no 2 pp 94ndash1011999
[22] A M Shajaat Ali ldquoHomegardens in smallholder farmingsystems examples from Bangladeshrdquo Human Ecology vol 33no 2 pp 245ndash270 2005
[23] M E Kabir and E L Webb ldquoFloristics and structure of south-western Bangladesh homegardensrdquoThe International Journal ofBiodiversity Science and Management vol 4 no 1 pp 54ndash642008
[24] K U Ahmad ldquoMinor fruits in homestead agro forestryrdquo inAgroforestry Bangladesh Perspective M K Alam F U Ahmedand S M R Amin Eds pp 165ndash169 APAAN NAWG andBARC Dhaka Bangladesh 1997
[25] N M Islam Homestead garden agroforestry in Bangladesha case study in Rangpur district [MS thesis] AgriculturalUniversity of Norway As Norway 1998
[26] M A Bashar Homestead garden Agroforestry impact on Bi-odiversity conservation and household food security a casestudy of Gajipur district Bangladesh [MS thesis] AgriculturalUniversity of Norway As Norway 1999
[27] M S Alam M F Haque M Z Abedin and S AkterldquoHomestead trees and household fuel uses in and around thefarming systems research site Jessorerdquo inHomestead Plantationand Agroforestry in Bangladesh M Z Abedin C K Lai andM O Ali Eds pp 106ndash119 BARI RWEDP and WINROCKDhaka Bangladesh 1990
[28] G Miah M Z Abedin A B M A Khair M Shahidullah andA J M A Baki ldquoHomestead Plantation and household fuelsituation in Ganges floodplain of Bangladeshrdquo in HomesteadPlantation and Agroforestry in Bangladesh M Z Abedin CK Lai and M O Ali Eds pp 120ndash135 BARI JoydebpurBangladesh 1990
[29] M A Momin M Z Abedin M R Amin Q M S Islam andM M Haque ldquoExisting homestead plantation and householdfuel use pattern in the flood prone tangail region of Bangladeshrdquoin Homestead Plantation and Agroforestry in Bangladesh MZ Abedin C K Lai and M O Ali Eds pp 136ndash145 BARIJoydebpur Bangladesh 1990
[30] M Millat-E-Mustafa Z Teklehaimanot and A K O HarunildquoTraditional uses of perennial homestead garden plants inBangladeshrdquoForests Trees and Livelihoods vol 12 no 4 pp 235ndash256 2002
[31] R M Motiur J Tsukamoto Y Furukawa Z Shibayama and IKawata ldquoQuantitative stand structure of woody components ofhomestead forests and its implications on silvicultural manage-ment a case study in Sylhet Sadar Bangladeshrdquo Journal of ForestResearch vol 10 no 4 pp 285ndash294 2005
[32] W A Leuschner and K Khaleque ldquoHomestead agroforestry inBangladeshrdquoAgroforestry Systems vol 5 no 2 pp 139ndash151 1987
[33] N A Khan ldquoSocial forestry versus social reality patronage andcommunity-based forestry in Bangladeshrdquo Gatekeeper Series99 International Institute for Environment and Development(IIED) London UK 2001
ISRN Biodiversity 11
[34] R M Motiur Y Furukawa I Kawata M M Rahman and MAlam ldquoRole of homestead forests in household economy andfactors affecting forest production a case study in southwestBangladeshrdquo Journal of Forest Research vol 11 no 2 pp 89ndash972006
[35] M S Alam andKMMasum ldquoStatus of homestead biodiversityin the offshore Island of Bangladeshrdquo Research Journal ofAgriculture and Biological Sciences vol 1 no 3 pp 246ndash2532005
[36] S Akhter M Alamgir M S I Sohel M P Rana S J MonjurulAhmed and M S H Chowdhury ldquoThe role of women intraditional farming systems as practiced in homegardens a casestudy in Sylhet Sadar Upazila Bangladeshrdquo Tropical Conserva-tion Science vol 3 no 1 pp 17ndash30 2010
[37] H M F Rahman ldquoKishoreganj Sadar Upozilardquo in Banglape-dia National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh httpwwwbanglap-ediaorg
[38] K U Siddique M A Islam Z U Ahmed et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 11 AngiospermsMonocotyledons (Agavaceae-Najadaceae) Asiatic Society ofBangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2007
[39] K U Siddique M A Islam Z U Ahmed et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 5 BryophytesPteridophytes Gymnosperm Asiatic Society of BangladeshDhaka Bangladesh 2008
[40] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al EdsEncyclopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 6Angiosperms Dicotyledons (Acanthaceae-Asteraceae) AsiaticSociety of Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
[41] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 7 AngiospermsDicotyledons (Balsaminaceae-Euphorbiaceae) Asiatic Society ofBangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
[42] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al EdsEncyclopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 12Angiosperms Monocotyledons (Orchidaceae-Zingiberaceae)Asiatic Society of Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
[43] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 8 AngiospermsDicotyledons (Fabaceae-Lythraceae) Asiatic Society of Bang-ladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2009
[44] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 9 AngiospermsDicotyledons (Magnoliaceae-Ponicaceae) Asiatic Society ofBangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2009
[45] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al EdsEncyclopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 10Angiosperms Dicotyledons (Ranunculaceae-Zygophyllaceae)Asiatic Society of Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2010
[46] E P Odum Fundamentals of Ecology WB Saunders Philadel-phia Pa USA 1971
[47] R Margalef ldquoInformation theory in ecologyrdquo General SystemsYearbook vol 3 pp 36ndash71 1958
[48] P Michael Ecological Methods For Field and Laboratory Investi-gation McGraw-Hill New Delhi India 1990
[49] M Kent and P Coker Vegetation Description and Analysis APractical Approach WB Saunders Philadelphia Pa USA 1992
[50] E C Pielou ldquoSpecies-diversity and pattern-diversity in thestudy of ecological successionrdquo Journal of Theoretical Biologyvol 10 no 2 pp 370ndash383 1966
[51] A E Magurran Ecological Diversity and Measurement Prince-ton University Press Princeton NJ USA 1988
[52] S A Mori B M Boom A M Carvalino and D Santos ldquoTheecological importance of Myrtaceae in eastern Brazilian wetforestrdquo Biotropica vol 15 pp 68ndash70 1983
[53] M Z Abedin and M A Quddus ldquoHousehold fuel situationhomestead gardens and agroforestry practice at six agro-ecologically different locations of Bangladeshrdquo in HomesteadPlantation and Agroforestry in Bangladesh M Z Abedin CK Lai and M O Ali Eds pp 19ndash53 Bangladesh AgricultureResearch Institute (BARI) Joydebpur Bangladesh 1990
[54] M Millat-E-Mustafa ldquoTropical Homestead gardens anoverviewrdquo in Agroforestry Bangladesh Perspective M K AlamF U Ahmed and S M Amin Eds pp 18ndash133 APAN NAWGBAEC Dhaka Bangladesh 1997
[55] T Abebe Diversity in homegarden agroforestry systems ofsouthern Ethiopia [PhD Dissertation] Wageningen UniversityWageningen The Netherlands 2005
[56] O T Solbrig ldquoThe origin and function of biodiversityrdquo Environ-ment vol 33 no 5 pp 16ndash38 1991
[57] P Kumar ldquoCarbon sequestration strategy of Nubra Valleywith special reference to agroforestryrdquo DRDO TechnologySpectrum pp 187ndash192 2008
[58] P Kumar S Gupta and S Prakash ldquoCarbon pool of orchardsin siachen sector socio-economic Carbon sequestrationrdquo inAdvances in Agriculture Environment and Health S B SinghO P Charassia and S Yadav Eds pp 225ndash233 2008
[59] L Christanty O S Abdoellah G G Marten and J IskanderldquoTraditional agroforestry in West Java the pekarangan (Home-stead garden) and kebun-talun (annual-perennial rotation)cropping systemsrdquo in Traditional Agriculture in Southeast AsiaA Human Ecology Perspective G G Marten Ed pp 132ndash158Westview Press Boulder Colo USA 1986
Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom
Forestry ResearchInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental and Public Health
Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
EcosystemsJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
MeteorologyAdvances in
EcologyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Marine BiologyJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom
Applied ampEnvironmentalSoil Science
Volume 2014
Advances in
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental Chemistry
Atmospheric SciencesInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Waste ManagementJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
International Journal of
Geophysics
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Geological ResearchJournal of
EarthquakesJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
BiodiversityInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ScientificaHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
OceanographyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Journal of Computational Environmental SciencesHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ClimatologyJournal of
ISRN Biodiversity 3
Table 2 Description of the sample villages
Items Urban RuralPSUlowast 1(Solakia)
PSU 2(Mohinanda)
PSU 3(Maijkapon)
PSU 4(Joshodol)
Location Municipality area Municipality area Maijkapon union Joshodol unionNumber of households 160 124 92 110Household size 708 803 920 657Sampled households 20 20 20 20
Major homestead forestproducts
Fruits timberand ornamental
species
Fruits timberfirewood andornamentalspecies
Fruits timberbamboo
firewood andornamentalspecies
Fruits timberbamboo
firewood andornamentalspecies
Main occupationBusiness
services andforeign services
Businessservices and
foreign services
Agriculturefisheries smallbusiness and
services
Agriculturefisheries smallbusiness and
serviceslowastPSU primary sampling unit
24 Plot Survey All species present in each sampled home-stead garden (average size of 005 hectare to 025 hectare)were identified and recorded by the botanical name or bylocal name All individuals of trees herbs and shrubs werecounted and recorded except the individuals in hedgerowsNo climbers were counted due to the difficulty in differenti-ating stems A botanical inventory was conducted only oncein each selected home gardenThus the seasonal variation infloristic and structurewas not assessed Each species recordedwas classified by family habit (tree shrub and herb) andtheir origin that is exotic or indigenous and conservationstatus as followed by [38ndash45]
25 Data Analysis For the present study nine ecologicalindices were used to analyze and to get a clear picture of thespecies diversity of the study areas which are listed below
(1) Species diversity index was calculated according toOdum [46] SDI = 119878119873
(2) Species richness index was measured by Margalef[47] 119877 = (119878 minus 1)Ln(119873)
(3) The Shannon-Winner diversity index was calculatedfollowing Michael [48]119867 = minussum119875
119894Ln119875119894
(4) Shannonrsquos maximum diversity index was followed byKent and Coker [49]119867max = Ln(119878)
(5) Shannonrsquos equitability index according to Kent andCoker [49] 119864
119867= 119867119867max
(6) Species evenness index was estimated followingPielou [50] 119864 = 119867Log(119878)
(7) Simpsons index was estimated according to Magur-ran [51]119863 = sum1198752
119894
(8) As biodiversity increases the Simpson indexdecreases Therefore to get a clear picture of speciesdominance1198631015840 = 1 minus 119863 is used
(9) Family importance value (FIV) index (the FIV indexis used to evaluate floristic composition at the species
family level and it combines richness density anddominance) according to the formulae of Mori et al[52]
(i) Family relative density () = (no of individualsin a familytotal no of individuals) times 100
(ii) Family relative diversity () = (no of species ina familytotal number of species) times 100
(iii) FIV is the sum of family relative diversity andrelative density
Where 119878 is the total number of species119873 is the total numberof individuals of all the species119875
119894is the number of individuals
of one speciestotal number of individuals in the samples
3 Results
31 Status of Homestead Garden Plants The study surveyrecorded 62 plant species belonging to 36 families fromthe set of 80 surveyed homesteads (Table 3) Among thetotal species 5323 trees 2258 shrub and 2419 herbsAmongst the recorded species 31 trees 11 herbs and shrubsspecies were found common both in urban and ruralhomesteads Except this shrub species was higher in urbanhomestead tree species was found higher in rural homesteadand in case of herb species was found the same in both areasThereafter out of the recorded species based on conservationstatus two species namely Alocasia indica and Terminaliachebula are vulnerable Pteris cretica is near threatenedBoehmeria nivea Cinnamomum tamala are not evaluatedand the rest of the species are of least concern in the contextof Bangladesh
Floristic composition of the homestead flora consists ofboth native and exotic species About 18 species were iden-tified as exotic and some of them have been domesticatedRecently fruit-bearing species were gradually being replacedby some exotic timber species such as Bauhinia acuminateAlbizia saman Swietenia mahagoni Tectona grandis and
4 ISRN Biodiversity
Table3Listof
homestead
garden
plantspecies
with
conservatio
nstatus
anduses
inKishoreganjSadar
Upazila
Family
Scientificn
ame
Localn
ame
English
name
Individu
als
Lifeform
Orig
inFIV
CS
Uses
Rural
Urban
(Referenceslowast)
Acanthaceae
Adhatoda
vasicaNees
Bashok
Malabar
nut
1612
ShI
284
LC(6)
6
Amaranthaceae
Alternantheraphiloxeroides(M
art)
Gris
bHele
ncha
Dwarfcop
perle
af21
8H
I512
LC(6)
16
Gom
phrena
globosa
LTimep
hol
Globe
amaranth
mdash13
ELC(6)
Anacardiaceae
Mangifer
aindica
LAam
Mango
3848
TrI
853
LC(6)
1235
Spondias
pinn
ataKu
rz
Amra
Wild
mango
2319
TrI
LCbu
tgradually
disapp
earin
g(6)
123
Ann
onaceae
Annona
squa
mosaL
Shorifa
Sugara
pple
1411
TrI
272
LC(6)
13
Apiaceae
Centellaasiatica(L)Urban
Thanku
niIndian
penn
ywort
3117
HI
363
LC(6)
16
Apocyn
aceae
Carissa
carand
asLinn
Ko
romcha
Blackcherry
119
STI
252
LC(6)
1
Araceae
Colocasia
esculen
taScho
ttKa
chu
Elephantrsquosear
267
ShI
134
LC(11)
16
Alocasia
indica
Scho
ttMan-kachu
Great-le
aved
caladium
218
ShI
V(11)
16
Cocosn
ucifera
LNarikel
Cocon
ut27
23Tr
ILC(11)
128
ArecacatechuL
Supari
Beteln
ut30
21Tr
ILC(11)
1278
Asteraceae
Eupatoriu
modoratum
LAs
sampata
Com
mon
flossflo
wer
2919
ShE
647
LC(6)
6Tagetese
rectaL
Gadap
hol
African
marigold
mdash28
ELC(6)
6
Caesalpiniaceae
Bauh
inia
acum
inataL
Kanchan
Butte
rflytre
e7
21Tr
I898
LC(7)
23
Delo
nixregia(Boj)Ra
fKr
ishno
chura
Flam
etree
1416
TrI
LC(7)
28
Tamarindu
sind
icaL
Tetul
Tamarindtre
e19
19Tr
ELC(7)
13
Caric
aceae
Caric
apapaya
Linn
Pepe
Papaya
6337
ShI
569
LC(7)
1
Com
bretaceae
Term
inalia
belliric
aRo
xbBo
hera
Belliric
myrob
alan
817
TrI
527
LC(7)
16
Term
inalia
chebula(G
aerth)Re
tz
Harita
kiCh
ebulicmyrob
alan
615
TrI
V(7)
16
Crassulaceae
Kalanchoepinn
ata(Lam
)Pers
Patharku
chi
American
lifep
lant
2228
HI
371
LC(7)
6Cy
peraceae
Mauric
esmicrocephalusP
resl
Boro
gothori
Perenn
ialsun
flower
2316
HI
327
LC(11)
6Dilleniaceae
Dillenia
indica
LCh
alta
Elephant
apple
3631
TrI
438
LC(7)
13
Elaeocarpaceae
Elaeocarpu
sfloribun
dusB
lume
Jalpai
Indian
olive
2037
TrI
399
LC( 7)
123
Euph
orbiaceae
Phyllanthus
emblica
LAmalaki
Indian
gooseberry
1128
TrI
882
LC(7)
16
Phyllanthu
sacid
us(L)Skeels
Arbori
2119
TrI
LC(7)
18
Codiaeum
varie
gatum(Linn)AJuss
Patabahar
Gardencroton
mdash13
ELC(7)
Fabaceae
Erythrinavarie
gata
Linn
Mandar
Indian
coraltree
1713
TrI
292
LC(8)
2357
Labiatae
Leucas
indica(L)R
BrE
xVa
tkeinOesterr
Don
dokolos
Dronp
ushp
i24
11H
E311
LC(8)
6Lamiaceae
Ocim
umsanctum
LTu
lsiSacred
basil
1923
HI
339
LC(8)
6Lauraceae
Cinn
amom
umtamalaNees
Tejpata
Bayleaf
47
TrI
216
NE(8)
48
Lythraceae
Laws
oniainermisL
Mehnd
iHenna
1027
ShE
319
LC(8)
8Malvaceae
Hibiscus
rosa-sinensisL
Joba
ful
Chinar
ose
2317
ShI
331
LC(9)
78
ISRN Biodiversity 5
Table3Con
tinued
Family
Scientificn
ame
Localn
ame
English
name
Individu
als
Lifeform
Orig
inFIV
CS
Uses
Rural
Urban
(Referenceslowast)
Meliaceae
Swieteniamahogany(
L)Jacq
Mahagon
iMahagon
i21
31Tr
E69
LC(9)
23
Azadira
ctaindica
AJuss
Neem
Indian
lilac
1421
TrI
LC(9)
236
Mim
osaceae
Albiziaspp
Koroi
Whitesir
is23
21Tr
E
126
LC(9)
23
Albiziasaman(Ja
q)Merr
Raintre
eRa
intre
e26
26Tr
ELC(9)
23
Mim
osapu
dica
LLazzabati
Bashfulm
imosasensitive
plant
1316
HI
LC(9)
6Streblus
asperL
our
Shew
raSiam
eser
oughbu
sh9
9Tr
ILC(9)
67
Moraceae
Artocarpus
heterophyllusL
amk
Kathal
Jackfruit
3141
TrI
458
LC(9)
1235
Musaceae
Musaspp
Kola
Banana
5113
ShE
426
LC(11)
157
Myrtaceae
Syzygium
cumini(L)Skeel
Jam
Blackberry
1626
TrI
754
LC(9)
123
Psidium
guajava(L)Ba
tPayera
Com
mon
guava
2833
STI
LC(9)
12
Oxalid
aceae
Averrhoa
carambolaL
Kamrang
aStar
fruit
2327
TrI
604
LC(9)
13
Oxalis
cornicu
lata
LAmrul
Indian
zorale
16mdash
HI
LC(9)
6
Poaceae
Bambu
sabalco
oaRo
xb
Barakbans
Bambo
o13
mdashTr
I91
LC(12)
235
78
Melo
cann
abaccifera(Roxb)Ku
rz
Mulib
ans
Bambo
o14
17Tr
ILC(12)
235
78
Cynodondactylon(L)Pers
Durbagh
ass
Grass
3619
HI
LC(12)
6Po
lypo
diaceae
Pteriscretica
Wilson
iiFern
Cretan
fern
2920
HE
367
NT(5)
16
Rham
naceae
Zizyphus
mauritiana
Lamk
Boroi
Indian
date
1823
TrI
335
LC(10)
15
Rutaceae
Aegle
marmelo
s(L)Correa
Bel
Goldenapplesto
neapple
16mdash
TrI
982
LC(10)
13
Citru
sgrand
is(L)Osb
Jambu
raPu
mmelo
1919
TrI
LC(10)
13
Citru
slim
on(L)Bu
rmF
Lebu
Lemon
3231
ShE
LC(10)
16
Solanaceae
Solanu
mviolaceum
OrtegaHortMart
Bon-begun
Lemon
29mdash
ShI
531
LC(10)
6Ce
strum
nocturnu
mL
Hasnahena
Poiso
nberry
mdash18
ShE
LC(10)
8Urticaceae
Boehmerianivea(L)Gaudich
Artika
Night
jasm
ine
17H
E24
NE(10)
6
Verbenaceae
Nyctanthesarbortristis
LSh
iuliph
ool
Chinag
rass
1311
ShI
116
LC(10)
8La
ntanacamaraL
Lantana
Night
queen
336
ShE
LC(10)
6TectonagrandisL
f
Shegun
Lantana
1013
TrE
LC(10)
23
Lippia
alba(M
ill)Brito
netWilson
Voiu
khra
Bushymatgrass
275
ShE
LC(10)
6
Zing
iberaceae
Zingiber
officin
aleR
oscoe
Ada
Ginger
618
HI
889
LC(12)
46
Curcum
alongaL
Holud
Turm
eric
5810
HI
LC(12)
46
Lifeform
Trtre
eHherbandSh
shrub
Orig
inE
exotic
speciesIindigeno
usspeciesFIV
family
impo
rtance
valueCScon
servationstatusLC
leastcon
cernN
Tnear
threatenedN
Eno
tevaluatedand
Vvulnerable
Uses1food
fruit2tim
ber3fuelwoo
d4spice5fodd
er6m
edicine7fenceand8otherslowastRe
ferencesvaluesinthep
arentheses
indicatethev
olum
enum
bero
fthe
book
entitledEn
cyclo
paedia
ofFloraandFaun
aofBa
ngladesh
[38ndash45]
6 ISRN Biodiversity
Albizia spp because of the peoplersquos attitude towards earningmoremoney through timber production However Swieteniamahagoni Albizia saman Delonix regia and Tectona grandishave been domesticated and have a long heritage of introduc-tion
32 Species Family Composition Araceae Mimosaceae andVerbenaceae families represented the highest numbers of fourspecies followed byCaesalpiniaceae Euphorbiaceae Poaceaeand Rutaceae representing three species AmaranthaceaeAsteraceae Anacardiaceae Combretaceae Meliaceae Myr-taceae Oxalidaceae Solanaceae and Zingiberaceae denotedtwo species and the rest of the families comprised onlyone species (Table 3) Among them 20 families (5556)represented only one species followed by two species wererepresented by nine families (25) three and more thanthree species are represented by four families (1111) and3 species (833) respectively The family importance value(FIV) was recorded highest for Araceae (163 individualsFIV 134) followed by Mimosaceae (143 individuals FIV126) Verbenaceae (118 individuals FIV 116) Rutaceae (117individuals FIV 982) Poaceae (99 individuals FIV 91)Caesalpiniaceae (96 individuals FIV 898) Zingiberaceae(137 individuals FIV 889) and lowest for Lauraceae (11 indi-viduals FIV 216) followed by Urtiaceae (17 individuals FIV240) Apocynaceae (20 individuals FIV 252) Annonaceae(25 individuals FIV 272) and Acanthaceae (28 individualsFIV 284)
33 Ecological Diversity Indices of Homestead Species Theresult of Shannon-Winner diversity index value was cal-culated highest for rural homestead garden both of tree(339) and of shrub (236) species where for herb speciesthe highest value (25) was found for the urban homesteadgarden Shannonrsquos maximum diversity index value (35) wasobserved highest for rural homestead tree species In case ofherb (256) and shrub (248) species the values were similarfor both types of the gardens Shannonrsquos equitability index(097) Simpsonrsquos index (004) and dominance of Simpsonrsquosindex (096) values were found similar for both the rural andurban homestead tree species For herb species Shannonrsquosequitability index value was highest for urban gardens (097)where dominance of Simpsonrsquos index (091) was found similarfor both rural and urban gardens However in case of shrubspecies Shannonrsquos equitability index value was highest forrural gardens (095) Simpsonrsquos index value (093) for urbangardens and dominance of Simpsonrsquos index value (089) forrural gardens However in case of tree and herb speciesspecies evenness index value was highest (224) for urbanhomestead garden where for shrub the value (219) washighest in rural homestead Species richness index valuesfor tree (498) and herb (226) species were highest in ruralhomestead but for shrub species the value (214) was highestin urban homestead (Table 4)
34 Spatial Arrangement of Homestead Garden Species In thestudy area it was observed that homestead gardeners do notfollow any specific spatial arrangement pattern and scientific
Table 4 Ecological diversity indices of homestead plant species inrural and urban areas of the study area
Ecologicaldiversity indexlowast
Tree Herb ShrubUrban Rural Urban Rural Urban Rural
SDI 004 005 007 004 007 004R 459 498 226 203 214 189E 224 223 224 22 213 219H 335 339 25 245 23 236Hmax 343 35 256 256 248 248EH 097 097 097 096 093 095D 004 004 009 009 012 011D1015840 096 096 091 091 088 089lowastH Shannon-Winner diversity index Hmax Shannonrsquos maximum diversityindex EH Shannonrsquos equitability index SDI species diversity index Rspecies richness index E species evenness indexD Simpsons index andD1015840dominance of Simpsons index
considerations for raising plants Plants were usually plantedin the front back and surroundings of the houses Resultsrevealed that 475 of rural gardeners preferred mostly thefront yard for species plantation followed by back yard325 homestead boundary (adjacent to the dwelling house)by 125 and 75 household owners preferred both pondbanks and road side simultaneously In case of urban area35 gardeners preferred balcony and veranda for plantingspecies followed by 30 in front yard 225 in homesteadboundary and 125 in rooftopThe reason for this variationwas that rural people depend more on homestead forest fortheir livelihood security as well as certain amount of familyincome than that of urban households Except these otherfactors those influence the species planting in different sitesare beautification of household area low canopy coverageland scarcity and so forth Ornamental plants for exampleGomphrena globosa Tagetes erecta Codiaeum variegatumOcimum sanctum and Nyctanthes arbortristis and majorfruit crop species for example Mangifera indica ArtocarpusheterophyllusCitrus limon Psidium guajava Zizyphusmauri-tiana Citrus grandis and Carica papayawere usually plantedin the front yard of the house (rural and urban) so that thegardeners can keep eye on them Trees in the homestead-boundary acted as a live fence and windbreak Tall woodyspecies such as are planted in the back yard for buildingmaterials and firewood
35 Choice of Species Grown for Different Usages The reasonsfor growing a variety of fruit species in the homesteadgardens are more or less complex A number of factorsdetermined the farmersrsquo decisions for growing particularspecies or groups of species The farmers were keen to growtimber trees for cash income if they already had a successfulstrategy for deriving income from off-farm labour or fromcrops Farmers with large families tend to grow fruit treesIn the surveyed area homestead plant species generally usedfor fruit and food medicines firewood timber and orna-mental and beautification purposes were identified Amongthem 45 were fruit and food providing species 3871
ISRN Biodiversity 7
medicinal plant species 3226 firewood species 2903timber species 1613 ornamental beautification and spir-itual species 1129 species are used as both for fodder andfence and 483 species used as spice and vegetables
36 Cultural Practices of Homestead Garden Farmers gen-erally collect planting materials from homesteads wildings(species that are growncollected from outside homesteadpremises) friends and families relatives government andNGO nurseries No specific spacing is followed in plantingof species in homestead garden Sometimes it was also foundto plant herbaceous species like Zingiber officinale Curcumalonga under the layer of shrub like Carica papaya Citruslimon and so forth in order to make the optimum use oftheir land Study figured out the analysis of respondentsanswers regarding different aspects of the existing manage-ment systems of homestead gardens in the study area Duringsurvey it was found that some households are not engagedin any managementcultural operations in their homesteadgardens whereas other households are more or less engagedwith the management of homestead gardens Species wereplanted usually during the morning andor afternoon ofthe day mostly in the monsoon season Generally fastgrowing and species having low crown coverage are selectedfor the plantation The results revealed that almost all thehouseholds carried out watering (100) and soil ploughing(94) Weeding was done out by 85 of respondents as wellas fencing (5375) and 675 respondents did mulchingConsequently about 62 respondents practice thinning orpruning in their homestead garden Large farmers generallyhired labour for doing thinning and pruning operations Butthey do very much little care for manuring (4625) andapplying pesticide (35) in their homesteads
37 Role of Homestead Gardens in Local Biodiversity Conser-vation Homestead gardens have long been themost effectiveand widespread measure for biodiversity conservation inBangladesh as due to anthropogenic pressure and land usechange the natural forest has been decreasing day by dayboth in explicit and implicit ways leading to threats tofuture productivity Generally rural communities preferredcultivated and planted multipurpose species that can beserved as fruits vegetables and spices also used as tim-ber Such kind of choice is the most important factor tohomestead gardens conservation in Bangladesh and playsa significant role in forest conservation since all the woodand other non-timber forest products that are harvested inthe homestead gardens do not need to be collected fromforests Respondents said that homestead gardens attract anumber of bird species like Streptopelia chinensis Psittac-ula krameri Eudynamys scolopaceus Micropternus brachyu-rus Dinopium benghalense Oriolus xanthornus Dicrurusmacrocercus Acridotheres tristis Corvus splendens Turduscafer Orthotomus sutorius Copsychus saularis Nectariniazeylonica Anthus campestris Passer domesticus and Plo-ceus philippinus to collect their food and making nestMoreover some animal species like squirrel take shelter
Table 5 Perceived importance of homestead garden conservationin the study area
Items Veryimportant
Lessimportant
Notimportant
Food and fruit 85 15 0Firewood 6875 2375 75Building materials 7875 20 125Subsistence familyincome 7375 20 625
Medicinal plants 2875 35 3625Ecological balance 2875 375 3375Soil erosion control 5125 375 1125Otherslowast 3625 175 4625lowastBoundary ornamental and spiritual purposes and so forth
and collect their food especially fruit like Aegle marme-los Annona squamosa Areca catechu Averrhoa carambolaCarica papaya Carissa carandas Cocos nucifera Dilleniaindica Elaeocarpus floribundus Mangifera indica Phyllan-thus acidus Phyllanthus emblica Psidium guajava Spondiaspinnata Syzygium cumini Tamarindus indica and Zizyphusmauritiana from the urban and rural homestead gardensThey also mentioned that some birds play a significant roleas pollinators or in the control of insect pests At this timedispersal of seeds also occurs by the animal birds andhelps in natural regeneration of homestead plants speciessince natural regeneration is the most important factor fortree diversity conservation Study also found a number ofbamboo shrub herb and climber species which were largelyused by the households also they give shelter to animaldiversity
38 Perceived Importance for Conservation of HomesteadGarden Species To determine the perceived importance ofhomestead species conservation farmers were interviewedusing a questionnaire asked to evaluate the importance ofmentioned eight functions of trees The results are presentedin Table 5 Likewise farmersrsquo perceived most importancefor homestead plant species conservation was related tofruit and food (85) followed by buildingmaterials (7875)subsistence family income (7375) and source of firewood(6875) The surveyed rural area is affected by monsoonflood every year as a result soil erosion is a serious problem inthis regionTherefore in order to keep houses above thewaterlevel it is mandatory to raise houses at the highest elevationsor fill the land by soil in the dry season especially throughoutthe floodplain regions As a consequence people are usuallyconcerned about the trees role to protect their homesteadland against water-induced soil erosion by binding the soilHowever they were not concerned about ecological impor-tance of forest Yet the majority of the respondents gradedthe homestead garden as being ldquoless importantrdquo as a meansof maintaining ecological balance and soil erosion control(375) followed by a source of medicinal plants (35)So it seems that there is still a lack of knowledge in these
8 ISRN Biodiversity
two categories and institutional and government and NGOstraining and learning programs are necessary to facilitateknowledge
4 Discussion
Analysis of the existing tree composition structure andrichness revealed that homestead forest in the study area hasmoderately high biodiversity and species richness Howeverthe number of plant species was higher than those foundin other homesteads of Bangladesh by Abedin and Quddus[53] cited from Alam and Masum [35] found in Tangail (52species) Ishurdi (34 species) Jessore (28 species) Patuakhali(20 species) Rajshahi (28 species) and Rangpur (21 species)districts respectively Motiur et al [31] found 60 species inSylhet Sadar Motiur et al [34] found 58 species in SouthwestBangladesh Kabir andWebb [3] recorded a total of 419 plantspecies from southwestern Bangladesh Alam and Masum[35] recorded a total of 101 species and Masum et al [8] 142species in an offshore island (Sandwip Island) of BangladeshMillat-E-Mustafa [54] identified 92 perennial plant species inone study conducted in different parts of the country
The traditional production system of homestead gar-den in the study area is moderate in terms of level ofcultural practices for absence of improved managementpractices and high-quality variety Farmers depend usuallyon naturally growing plants on their homestead boundaryBesides analysis of existing management regime indicatedthat the growers lack of scientific information almost allthe household owners still followed traditional homesteadforest management systems whereas a little owner adoptedmodern practices Increased tree planting in the homesteadsand their appropriate management including intercroppingpractices should be the strategy for enhancing tree coverof the homesteads of study area in order to meet basicneeds of its people and maintain environmental balanceHomestead gardens are playing a potential role in biodiversityconservation as well as uplifting the socioeconomic conditionby contributing families or householdrsquos annual income andproviding nutritional diet to families Variable homesteadgarden products such as seasonal fruits firewood medicinalplants timber and vegetables and spices were mostly usedby the small and medium household owners for their dailyneeds but large owners get their products into the market forsaleThese findings are also supported by the study of Millat-E-Mustafa [54] for the homestead garden of four regions inBangladesh Most of the households were found to prefermostly food or fruit species (45) because of the incomeincentives and family needs and this was also supported byseveral researchers [8 21 54] across the country
In the present study homesteads gardens were largelyuser oriented and market access was not fully developedHowever market access for homestead products is essentialas they sell their products easily into the market as wellas other forest products It was shown that most of theproducers were selling to their neighbours or local tradersTherefore they do not get proper price for their productsIf they get their products to the market or sell products via
retailers they will get proper prices also which is very muchimportant for the small household owners therefore creatinga scope for income Many studies of tropical homesteadgarden have reported reduced species diversity and stemdensity in homestead garden with closer proximity to marketfor example [55] So market access condition has greateffect on homestead forest management thus further studyis needed to directly test the influence of market accesson the homestead gardens structure of both commercialand subsistence-oriented homestead garden in BangladeshHowever the homestead gardens of the study area presentan excellent example of all embracing multipurpose land-usesystem and biodiversity conservation
41 Species Diversity and Biodiversity Conservation in Tra-ditional Homestead Garden Farming System Biodiversityconservation has become a growing concern for all over theworld and it is linked up highly with long-term health andvigour of the biosphere as an indicator of global environmentand also as a regulator of ecosystem functioning [56] Thebiological diversity indices revealed that homestead gardencould play an important role for carbon sequestration inthe future since plant growth is directly proportional tothe carbon sequestration capacity of the forest [57 58]By studying different literatures of homestead gardens allover Bangladesh we have developed in our mind that anumber of opportunities and drawbacks are influencing theselection of species of homestead garden Considering allthese we have developed a model of species diversity andbiodiversity conservation for both urban and rural surveyedhomestead gardens represented in Figure 1 We classified theopportunities and drawbacks of a typical homestead gardenfor both rural and urban areas separately Among the oppor-tunities the most prominent according to our observationwere generating income food security soil erosion controltimber demand market access beautification cattle foddermedicinal purposes and fuel wood species The drawbacksthat are influencing the selection of species were croplandexpansion fast growing species demand natural calamitiesland scarcity domestic animal low crown canopy infrastruc-ture and so forth The economical condition of the ruralpeople is not as like as urban people For this they usuallyprefer species that will provide them necessary fuel wood andfodder for their cattle Plantation of medicinal plant speciescan help to get remedy from diseases also regular supply ofrawmaterials to the industry could be an important source ofearning money to the farmers Urban people usually preferto plant various flowering and ornamental plants such asTagetes erectaGomphrena globosa andCodiaeumvariegatumfor ornamental beauty of their houses because they occupy asmaller space in their garden premises and they do not likesuch condition that will decrease the beautification view oftheir house The trend in gradual replacement of functionalplants to ornamentals has also been observed in cases wherepeople became richer [59] Side-by-side grazing of domesticanimals disturbs the diversity of homestead forest species Inthis circumstance introduction of grasses sedges and smallbushes could be a solution to get remedy to this problem
ISRN Biodiversity 9
Generating income
Food security Soil erosion Timber demand
Market access
Fuel wood species
Cattle fodder
Medicinal purposes
Urban Rural
Opportunities
Species diversity and choice of species
Biodiversity conservation
Threats
Rural Urban
Domestic animal Fast growingspecies
Naturalcalamities
Land scarcity Croplandexpansion
Low crowncanopy
Infrastructure
Beautification
Figure 1 Conceptual model of species diversity and biodiversity conservation in homestead garden farming system
This type of management could help villagers in getting fuelwood without disturbing the main vegetation Whatsoever itis now clear that homestead garden is a storehouse of largespecies diversity and sustainable resource management andthis large species diversity can play an important role inbiodiversity conservation
5 Conclusion
For aesthetic environmental and economic perspectivesspecies planting in homestead garden is desirableHomesteadgardening plays a significant role in both rural and urbanlandscape planning and management In this study we haveobserved that the homestead plant composition diversityand species richness were moderate in Kishoregang Sadararea Moreover there was a lack of scientific knowledgeof the gardeners an absence of proper planning and nospecific objectives and goals Present study did not discussany economic contribution andmarket access for homesteadthus further study is highly recommended and neededto directly test the economic significance and influence ofmarket access on the vegetation structure of both commercialand subsistence-oriented homestead gardens in northernBangladesh The moderate domination of fruit species overtimber species may be attributed to the gardenersrsquo generalperception that fruit species would bring early return aswell as the multipurpose nature of fruit species Homesteadgarden could provide employment opportunities for bothmale and female members resulting in increased familyincome for better livelihood to a large population in northernBangladesh Till now there is no specific management planof homestead gardens all over the country although it hastremendous contribution to greening the nature Considering
the present state of the homestead garden of the study areathis paper suggests that there is a need to establish properplanning and management mechanisms from governmentfor homestead garden This can be done by providing someincentives andor training to the owners to be more carefulabout conserving garden species to improve both ruraland urban plant species coverage It is also recommendedthat experimentation with new and diversified tree speciescan play an important role in enhancing the diversity anddistribution of homestead garden in the Kishoreganj Sadararea
Acknowledgments
The authors are highly grateful to each and every respondentwho participated in this study for giving their valuable timeand information regarding their homestead gardensThey areverymuch grateful toMr AvikKumar Roy for his consistencesupport during data collection as well as for giving overallidea about the study area
References
[1] M S UddinM J Rahman andMAMannan ldquoPlant biodiver-sity in the homesteads of saline area of Southern Bangladeshrdquoin Proceedings of National Workshop on Agroforestry ResearchDevelopment of Agroforestry Research in Bangladesh M F HaqMKHasan SMAsaduzzaman andMY Ali Eds pp 45ndash54Gazipur Bangladesh 2001
[2] M Zashimuddin Community Forestry for Poverty Reduction inBangladesh in Forests for Poverty Reduction Can CommunityForestry Make Money FAO Regional Office for Asia and thePacific Bangkok Thailand 2004
10 ISRN Biodiversity
[3] M E Kabir and E L Webb ldquoCan homegardens conserve bi-odiversity in Bangladeshrdquo Biotropica vol 40 no 1 pp 95ndash1032008
[4] A J Southern Acquisition of indigenous ecological knowledgeabout forest gardens in Kandy district Sri Lanka [M PhilDissertation] University of Wales Bangor UK 1994
[5] M B Uddin and S A Mukul ldquoImproving forest dependentlivelihoods through NTFPs and home gardens a case studyfrom satchari national parkrdquo in Making Conservation WorkLinking Rural Livelihoods amp Protected Area Management inBangladesh J Fox B Bushley S Dutt and S A QuaziEds pp 13ndash35 Nishorgo Program of the Bangladesh ForestDepartment and East-West Center of University of HawaiiDhaka Bangladesh 2007
[6] FAO ldquoGlobal forest resource assessment 2010 main reportrdquoFAO Forestry Paper 163 Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO) of the United Nations Rome Italy 2010
[7] M D Millat-E-Mustafa J B Hall and Z TeklehaimanotldquoStructure and floristics of Bangladesh homegardensrdquo Agro-forestry Systems vol 33 no 3 pp 263ndash280 1996
[8] K M Masum M S Alam and M M Abdullah-Al-MamunldquoEcological and economical significance of homestead forest tothe household of the offshore island in Bangladeshrdquo Journal ofForestry Research vol 19 no 4 pp 307ndash310 2008
[9] M F U Ahmed and S M L Rahman ldquoProfile and use of multi-species tree crops in the homesteads of Gazipur district centralBangladeshrdquo Journal of Sustainable Agriculture vol 24 no 1 pp81ndash93 2004
[10] O T Coomes and N Ban ldquoCultivated plant species diversity inhome gardens of an amazonian peasant village in northeasternPerurdquo Economic Botany vol 58 no 3 pp 420ndash434 2004
[11] B A Withrow-Robinson and D E Hibbs ldquoTesting an ecolog-ically based classification tool on fruit-based agroforestry innorthernThailandrdquoAgroforestry Systems vol 65 no 2 pp 123ndash135 2005
[12] O S Abdoellah H Y Hadikusumah K Takeuchi S Okuboand P Parikesit ldquoCommercialization of homegardens in anIndonesian village vegetation composition and functionalchangesrdquo Agroforestry Systems vol 68 no 1 pp 1ndash13 2006
[13] V E Mendez R Lok and E Somarriba ldquoInterdisciplinaryanalysis of homegardens in Nicaragua micro-zonation plantuse and socioeconomic importancerdquo Agroforestry Systems vol51 no 2 pp 85ndash96 2001
[14] C R Vogl and B Vogl-Lukasser ldquoTradition dynamics andsustainability of plant species composition and managementin homegardens on organic and non-organic small scale farmsin Alpine Eastern Tyrol Austriardquo Biological Agriculture andHorticulture vol 21 no 4 pp 349ndash366 2003
[15] A Hemp ldquoThe banana forests of Kilimanjaro biodiversity andconservation of the Chagga homegardensrdquo Biodiversity andConservation vol 15 no 4 pp 1193ndash1217 2006
[16] D K Das List of Bangladesh Village Tree Species ForestResearch Institute Chittagong Bangladesh 1990
[17] M M Hassan and A H Mazumdar ldquoAn exploratory surveyof trees on homestead and waste land of Bangladeshrdquo ADABNews pp 26ndash32 1990
[18] M K Alam and M Mohiuddin Some Potential MultipurposeTrees For Homesteads in Bangladesh vol 2 of AgroforestryInformation Series Winrock International Dhaka Bangladesh1992 Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC)
[19] M K Alam M Mohiuddin and S R Basak ldquoVillage treesin Bangladesh diversity and economic aspectsrdquo BangladeshJournal of Forest Science vol 25 no 1ndash2 pp 21ndash36 1996
[20] S A Khan and M K Alam Homestead Flora of BangladeshBangaldesh Agricultural Research Council InternationalDevelopment Research Cenbtre Village and Farm ForestryProject (SDC) Dhaka Bangladesh 1996
[21] M S Siddiqi and N A Khan ldquoFloristic composition and socio-economic aspects of rural homestead garden in Chittagong acase studyrdquo Journal of Forest Science vol 28 no 2 pp 94ndash1011999
[22] A M Shajaat Ali ldquoHomegardens in smallholder farmingsystems examples from Bangladeshrdquo Human Ecology vol 33no 2 pp 245ndash270 2005
[23] M E Kabir and E L Webb ldquoFloristics and structure of south-western Bangladesh homegardensrdquoThe International Journal ofBiodiversity Science and Management vol 4 no 1 pp 54ndash642008
[24] K U Ahmad ldquoMinor fruits in homestead agro forestryrdquo inAgroforestry Bangladesh Perspective M K Alam F U Ahmedand S M R Amin Eds pp 165ndash169 APAAN NAWG andBARC Dhaka Bangladesh 1997
[25] N M Islam Homestead garden agroforestry in Bangladesha case study in Rangpur district [MS thesis] AgriculturalUniversity of Norway As Norway 1998
[26] M A Bashar Homestead garden Agroforestry impact on Bi-odiversity conservation and household food security a casestudy of Gajipur district Bangladesh [MS thesis] AgriculturalUniversity of Norway As Norway 1999
[27] M S Alam M F Haque M Z Abedin and S AkterldquoHomestead trees and household fuel uses in and around thefarming systems research site Jessorerdquo inHomestead Plantationand Agroforestry in Bangladesh M Z Abedin C K Lai andM O Ali Eds pp 106ndash119 BARI RWEDP and WINROCKDhaka Bangladesh 1990
[28] G Miah M Z Abedin A B M A Khair M Shahidullah andA J M A Baki ldquoHomestead Plantation and household fuelsituation in Ganges floodplain of Bangladeshrdquo in HomesteadPlantation and Agroforestry in Bangladesh M Z Abedin CK Lai and M O Ali Eds pp 120ndash135 BARI JoydebpurBangladesh 1990
[29] M A Momin M Z Abedin M R Amin Q M S Islam andM M Haque ldquoExisting homestead plantation and householdfuel use pattern in the flood prone tangail region of Bangladeshrdquoin Homestead Plantation and Agroforestry in Bangladesh MZ Abedin C K Lai and M O Ali Eds pp 136ndash145 BARIJoydebpur Bangladesh 1990
[30] M Millat-E-Mustafa Z Teklehaimanot and A K O HarunildquoTraditional uses of perennial homestead garden plants inBangladeshrdquoForests Trees and Livelihoods vol 12 no 4 pp 235ndash256 2002
[31] R M Motiur J Tsukamoto Y Furukawa Z Shibayama and IKawata ldquoQuantitative stand structure of woody components ofhomestead forests and its implications on silvicultural manage-ment a case study in Sylhet Sadar Bangladeshrdquo Journal of ForestResearch vol 10 no 4 pp 285ndash294 2005
[32] W A Leuschner and K Khaleque ldquoHomestead agroforestry inBangladeshrdquoAgroforestry Systems vol 5 no 2 pp 139ndash151 1987
[33] N A Khan ldquoSocial forestry versus social reality patronage andcommunity-based forestry in Bangladeshrdquo Gatekeeper Series99 International Institute for Environment and Development(IIED) London UK 2001
ISRN Biodiversity 11
[34] R M Motiur Y Furukawa I Kawata M M Rahman and MAlam ldquoRole of homestead forests in household economy andfactors affecting forest production a case study in southwestBangladeshrdquo Journal of Forest Research vol 11 no 2 pp 89ndash972006
[35] M S Alam andKMMasum ldquoStatus of homestead biodiversityin the offshore Island of Bangladeshrdquo Research Journal ofAgriculture and Biological Sciences vol 1 no 3 pp 246ndash2532005
[36] S Akhter M Alamgir M S I Sohel M P Rana S J MonjurulAhmed and M S H Chowdhury ldquoThe role of women intraditional farming systems as practiced in homegardens a casestudy in Sylhet Sadar Upazila Bangladeshrdquo Tropical Conserva-tion Science vol 3 no 1 pp 17ndash30 2010
[37] H M F Rahman ldquoKishoreganj Sadar Upozilardquo in Banglape-dia National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh httpwwwbanglap-ediaorg
[38] K U Siddique M A Islam Z U Ahmed et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 11 AngiospermsMonocotyledons (Agavaceae-Najadaceae) Asiatic Society ofBangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2007
[39] K U Siddique M A Islam Z U Ahmed et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 5 BryophytesPteridophytes Gymnosperm Asiatic Society of BangladeshDhaka Bangladesh 2008
[40] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al EdsEncyclopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 6Angiosperms Dicotyledons (Acanthaceae-Asteraceae) AsiaticSociety of Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
[41] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 7 AngiospermsDicotyledons (Balsaminaceae-Euphorbiaceae) Asiatic Society ofBangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
[42] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al EdsEncyclopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 12Angiosperms Monocotyledons (Orchidaceae-Zingiberaceae)Asiatic Society of Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
[43] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 8 AngiospermsDicotyledons (Fabaceae-Lythraceae) Asiatic Society of Bang-ladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2009
[44] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 9 AngiospermsDicotyledons (Magnoliaceae-Ponicaceae) Asiatic Society ofBangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2009
[45] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al EdsEncyclopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 10Angiosperms Dicotyledons (Ranunculaceae-Zygophyllaceae)Asiatic Society of Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2010
[46] E P Odum Fundamentals of Ecology WB Saunders Philadel-phia Pa USA 1971
[47] R Margalef ldquoInformation theory in ecologyrdquo General SystemsYearbook vol 3 pp 36ndash71 1958
[48] P Michael Ecological Methods For Field and Laboratory Investi-gation McGraw-Hill New Delhi India 1990
[49] M Kent and P Coker Vegetation Description and Analysis APractical Approach WB Saunders Philadelphia Pa USA 1992
[50] E C Pielou ldquoSpecies-diversity and pattern-diversity in thestudy of ecological successionrdquo Journal of Theoretical Biologyvol 10 no 2 pp 370ndash383 1966
[51] A E Magurran Ecological Diversity and Measurement Prince-ton University Press Princeton NJ USA 1988
[52] S A Mori B M Boom A M Carvalino and D Santos ldquoTheecological importance of Myrtaceae in eastern Brazilian wetforestrdquo Biotropica vol 15 pp 68ndash70 1983
[53] M Z Abedin and M A Quddus ldquoHousehold fuel situationhomestead gardens and agroforestry practice at six agro-ecologically different locations of Bangladeshrdquo in HomesteadPlantation and Agroforestry in Bangladesh M Z Abedin CK Lai and M O Ali Eds pp 19ndash53 Bangladesh AgricultureResearch Institute (BARI) Joydebpur Bangladesh 1990
[54] M Millat-E-Mustafa ldquoTropical Homestead gardens anoverviewrdquo in Agroforestry Bangladesh Perspective M K AlamF U Ahmed and S M Amin Eds pp 18ndash133 APAN NAWGBAEC Dhaka Bangladesh 1997
[55] T Abebe Diversity in homegarden agroforestry systems ofsouthern Ethiopia [PhD Dissertation] Wageningen UniversityWageningen The Netherlands 2005
[56] O T Solbrig ldquoThe origin and function of biodiversityrdquo Environ-ment vol 33 no 5 pp 16ndash38 1991
[57] P Kumar ldquoCarbon sequestration strategy of Nubra Valleywith special reference to agroforestryrdquo DRDO TechnologySpectrum pp 187ndash192 2008
[58] P Kumar S Gupta and S Prakash ldquoCarbon pool of orchardsin siachen sector socio-economic Carbon sequestrationrdquo inAdvances in Agriculture Environment and Health S B SinghO P Charassia and S Yadav Eds pp 225ndash233 2008
[59] L Christanty O S Abdoellah G G Marten and J IskanderldquoTraditional agroforestry in West Java the pekarangan (Home-stead garden) and kebun-talun (annual-perennial rotation)cropping systemsrdquo in Traditional Agriculture in Southeast AsiaA Human Ecology Perspective G G Marten Ed pp 132ndash158Westview Press Boulder Colo USA 1986
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Advances in
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ClimatologyJournal of
4 ISRN Biodiversity
Table3Listof
homestead
garden
plantspecies
with
conservatio
nstatus
anduses
inKishoreganjSadar
Upazila
Family
Scientificn
ame
Localn
ame
English
name
Individu
als
Lifeform
Orig
inFIV
CS
Uses
Rural
Urban
(Referenceslowast)
Acanthaceae
Adhatoda
vasicaNees
Bashok
Malabar
nut
1612
ShI
284
LC(6)
6
Amaranthaceae
Alternantheraphiloxeroides(M
art)
Gris
bHele
ncha
Dwarfcop
perle
af21
8H
I512
LC(6)
16
Gom
phrena
globosa
LTimep
hol
Globe
amaranth
mdash13
ELC(6)
Anacardiaceae
Mangifer
aindica
LAam
Mango
3848
TrI
853
LC(6)
1235
Spondias
pinn
ataKu
rz
Amra
Wild
mango
2319
TrI
LCbu
tgradually
disapp
earin
g(6)
123
Ann
onaceae
Annona
squa
mosaL
Shorifa
Sugara
pple
1411
TrI
272
LC(6)
13
Apiaceae
Centellaasiatica(L)Urban
Thanku
niIndian
penn
ywort
3117
HI
363
LC(6)
16
Apocyn
aceae
Carissa
carand
asLinn
Ko
romcha
Blackcherry
119
STI
252
LC(6)
1
Araceae
Colocasia
esculen
taScho
ttKa
chu
Elephantrsquosear
267
ShI
134
LC(11)
16
Alocasia
indica
Scho
ttMan-kachu
Great-le
aved
caladium
218
ShI
V(11)
16
Cocosn
ucifera
LNarikel
Cocon
ut27
23Tr
ILC(11)
128
ArecacatechuL
Supari
Beteln
ut30
21Tr
ILC(11)
1278
Asteraceae
Eupatoriu
modoratum
LAs
sampata
Com
mon
flossflo
wer
2919
ShE
647
LC(6)
6Tagetese
rectaL
Gadap
hol
African
marigold
mdash28
ELC(6)
6
Caesalpiniaceae
Bauh
inia
acum
inataL
Kanchan
Butte
rflytre
e7
21Tr
I898
LC(7)
23
Delo
nixregia(Boj)Ra
fKr
ishno
chura
Flam
etree
1416
TrI
LC(7)
28
Tamarindu
sind
icaL
Tetul
Tamarindtre
e19
19Tr
ELC(7)
13
Caric
aceae
Caric
apapaya
Linn
Pepe
Papaya
6337
ShI
569
LC(7)
1
Com
bretaceae
Term
inalia
belliric
aRo
xbBo
hera
Belliric
myrob
alan
817
TrI
527
LC(7)
16
Term
inalia
chebula(G
aerth)Re
tz
Harita
kiCh
ebulicmyrob
alan
615
TrI
V(7)
16
Crassulaceae
Kalanchoepinn
ata(Lam
)Pers
Patharku
chi
American
lifep
lant
2228
HI
371
LC(7)
6Cy
peraceae
Mauric
esmicrocephalusP
resl
Boro
gothori
Perenn
ialsun
flower
2316
HI
327
LC(11)
6Dilleniaceae
Dillenia
indica
LCh
alta
Elephant
apple
3631
TrI
438
LC(7)
13
Elaeocarpaceae
Elaeocarpu
sfloribun
dusB
lume
Jalpai
Indian
olive
2037
TrI
399
LC( 7)
123
Euph
orbiaceae
Phyllanthus
emblica
LAmalaki
Indian
gooseberry
1128
TrI
882
LC(7)
16
Phyllanthu
sacid
us(L)Skeels
Arbori
2119
TrI
LC(7)
18
Codiaeum
varie
gatum(Linn)AJuss
Patabahar
Gardencroton
mdash13
ELC(7)
Fabaceae
Erythrinavarie
gata
Linn
Mandar
Indian
coraltree
1713
TrI
292
LC(8)
2357
Labiatae
Leucas
indica(L)R
BrE
xVa
tkeinOesterr
Don
dokolos
Dronp
ushp
i24
11H
E311
LC(8)
6Lamiaceae
Ocim
umsanctum
LTu
lsiSacred
basil
1923
HI
339
LC(8)
6Lauraceae
Cinn
amom
umtamalaNees
Tejpata
Bayleaf
47
TrI
216
NE(8)
48
Lythraceae
Laws
oniainermisL
Mehnd
iHenna
1027
ShE
319
LC(8)
8Malvaceae
Hibiscus
rosa-sinensisL
Joba
ful
Chinar
ose
2317
ShI
331
LC(9)
78
ISRN Biodiversity 5
Table3Con
tinued
Family
Scientificn
ame
Localn
ame
English
name
Individu
als
Lifeform
Orig
inFIV
CS
Uses
Rural
Urban
(Referenceslowast)
Meliaceae
Swieteniamahogany(
L)Jacq
Mahagon
iMahagon
i21
31Tr
E69
LC(9)
23
Azadira
ctaindica
AJuss
Neem
Indian
lilac
1421
TrI
LC(9)
236
Mim
osaceae
Albiziaspp
Koroi
Whitesir
is23
21Tr
E
126
LC(9)
23
Albiziasaman(Ja
q)Merr
Raintre
eRa
intre
e26
26Tr
ELC(9)
23
Mim
osapu
dica
LLazzabati
Bashfulm
imosasensitive
plant
1316
HI
LC(9)
6Streblus
asperL
our
Shew
raSiam
eser
oughbu
sh9
9Tr
ILC(9)
67
Moraceae
Artocarpus
heterophyllusL
amk
Kathal
Jackfruit
3141
TrI
458
LC(9)
1235
Musaceae
Musaspp
Kola
Banana
5113
ShE
426
LC(11)
157
Myrtaceae
Syzygium
cumini(L)Skeel
Jam
Blackberry
1626
TrI
754
LC(9)
123
Psidium
guajava(L)Ba
tPayera
Com
mon
guava
2833
STI
LC(9)
12
Oxalid
aceae
Averrhoa
carambolaL
Kamrang
aStar
fruit
2327
TrI
604
LC(9)
13
Oxalis
cornicu
lata
LAmrul
Indian
zorale
16mdash
HI
LC(9)
6
Poaceae
Bambu
sabalco
oaRo
xb
Barakbans
Bambo
o13
mdashTr
I91
LC(12)
235
78
Melo
cann
abaccifera(Roxb)Ku
rz
Mulib
ans
Bambo
o14
17Tr
ILC(12)
235
78
Cynodondactylon(L)Pers
Durbagh
ass
Grass
3619
HI
LC(12)
6Po
lypo
diaceae
Pteriscretica
Wilson
iiFern
Cretan
fern
2920
HE
367
NT(5)
16
Rham
naceae
Zizyphus
mauritiana
Lamk
Boroi
Indian
date
1823
TrI
335
LC(10)
15
Rutaceae
Aegle
marmelo
s(L)Correa
Bel
Goldenapplesto
neapple
16mdash
TrI
982
LC(10)
13
Citru
sgrand
is(L)Osb
Jambu
raPu
mmelo
1919
TrI
LC(10)
13
Citru
slim
on(L)Bu
rmF
Lebu
Lemon
3231
ShE
LC(10)
16
Solanaceae
Solanu
mviolaceum
OrtegaHortMart
Bon-begun
Lemon
29mdash
ShI
531
LC(10)
6Ce
strum
nocturnu
mL
Hasnahena
Poiso
nberry
mdash18
ShE
LC(10)
8Urticaceae
Boehmerianivea(L)Gaudich
Artika
Night
jasm
ine
17H
E24
NE(10)
6
Verbenaceae
Nyctanthesarbortristis
LSh
iuliph
ool
Chinag
rass
1311
ShI
116
LC(10)
8La
ntanacamaraL
Lantana
Night
queen
336
ShE
LC(10)
6TectonagrandisL
f
Shegun
Lantana
1013
TrE
LC(10)
23
Lippia
alba(M
ill)Brito
netWilson
Voiu
khra
Bushymatgrass
275
ShE
LC(10)
6
Zing
iberaceae
Zingiber
officin
aleR
oscoe
Ada
Ginger
618
HI
889
LC(12)
46
Curcum
alongaL
Holud
Turm
eric
5810
HI
LC(12)
46
Lifeform
Trtre
eHherbandSh
shrub
Orig
inE
exotic
speciesIindigeno
usspeciesFIV
family
impo
rtance
valueCScon
servationstatusLC
leastcon
cernN
Tnear
threatenedN
Eno
tevaluatedand
Vvulnerable
Uses1food
fruit2tim
ber3fuelwoo
d4spice5fodd
er6m
edicine7fenceand8otherslowastRe
ferencesvaluesinthep
arentheses
indicatethev
olum
enum
bero
fthe
book
entitledEn
cyclo
paedia
ofFloraandFaun
aofBa
ngladesh
[38ndash45]
6 ISRN Biodiversity
Albizia spp because of the peoplersquos attitude towards earningmoremoney through timber production However Swieteniamahagoni Albizia saman Delonix regia and Tectona grandishave been domesticated and have a long heritage of introduc-tion
32 Species Family Composition Araceae Mimosaceae andVerbenaceae families represented the highest numbers of fourspecies followed byCaesalpiniaceae Euphorbiaceae Poaceaeand Rutaceae representing three species AmaranthaceaeAsteraceae Anacardiaceae Combretaceae Meliaceae Myr-taceae Oxalidaceae Solanaceae and Zingiberaceae denotedtwo species and the rest of the families comprised onlyone species (Table 3) Among them 20 families (5556)represented only one species followed by two species wererepresented by nine families (25) three and more thanthree species are represented by four families (1111) and3 species (833) respectively The family importance value(FIV) was recorded highest for Araceae (163 individualsFIV 134) followed by Mimosaceae (143 individuals FIV126) Verbenaceae (118 individuals FIV 116) Rutaceae (117individuals FIV 982) Poaceae (99 individuals FIV 91)Caesalpiniaceae (96 individuals FIV 898) Zingiberaceae(137 individuals FIV 889) and lowest for Lauraceae (11 indi-viduals FIV 216) followed by Urtiaceae (17 individuals FIV240) Apocynaceae (20 individuals FIV 252) Annonaceae(25 individuals FIV 272) and Acanthaceae (28 individualsFIV 284)
33 Ecological Diversity Indices of Homestead Species Theresult of Shannon-Winner diversity index value was cal-culated highest for rural homestead garden both of tree(339) and of shrub (236) species where for herb speciesthe highest value (25) was found for the urban homesteadgarden Shannonrsquos maximum diversity index value (35) wasobserved highest for rural homestead tree species In case ofherb (256) and shrub (248) species the values were similarfor both types of the gardens Shannonrsquos equitability index(097) Simpsonrsquos index (004) and dominance of Simpsonrsquosindex (096) values were found similar for both the rural andurban homestead tree species For herb species Shannonrsquosequitability index value was highest for urban gardens (097)where dominance of Simpsonrsquos index (091) was found similarfor both rural and urban gardens However in case of shrubspecies Shannonrsquos equitability index value was highest forrural gardens (095) Simpsonrsquos index value (093) for urbangardens and dominance of Simpsonrsquos index value (089) forrural gardens However in case of tree and herb speciesspecies evenness index value was highest (224) for urbanhomestead garden where for shrub the value (219) washighest in rural homestead Species richness index valuesfor tree (498) and herb (226) species were highest in ruralhomestead but for shrub species the value (214) was highestin urban homestead (Table 4)
34 Spatial Arrangement of Homestead Garden Species In thestudy area it was observed that homestead gardeners do notfollow any specific spatial arrangement pattern and scientific
Table 4 Ecological diversity indices of homestead plant species inrural and urban areas of the study area
Ecologicaldiversity indexlowast
Tree Herb ShrubUrban Rural Urban Rural Urban Rural
SDI 004 005 007 004 007 004R 459 498 226 203 214 189E 224 223 224 22 213 219H 335 339 25 245 23 236Hmax 343 35 256 256 248 248EH 097 097 097 096 093 095D 004 004 009 009 012 011D1015840 096 096 091 091 088 089lowastH Shannon-Winner diversity index Hmax Shannonrsquos maximum diversityindex EH Shannonrsquos equitability index SDI species diversity index Rspecies richness index E species evenness indexD Simpsons index andD1015840dominance of Simpsons index
considerations for raising plants Plants were usually plantedin the front back and surroundings of the houses Resultsrevealed that 475 of rural gardeners preferred mostly thefront yard for species plantation followed by back yard325 homestead boundary (adjacent to the dwelling house)by 125 and 75 household owners preferred both pondbanks and road side simultaneously In case of urban area35 gardeners preferred balcony and veranda for plantingspecies followed by 30 in front yard 225 in homesteadboundary and 125 in rooftopThe reason for this variationwas that rural people depend more on homestead forest fortheir livelihood security as well as certain amount of familyincome than that of urban households Except these otherfactors those influence the species planting in different sitesare beautification of household area low canopy coverageland scarcity and so forth Ornamental plants for exampleGomphrena globosa Tagetes erecta Codiaeum variegatumOcimum sanctum and Nyctanthes arbortristis and majorfruit crop species for example Mangifera indica ArtocarpusheterophyllusCitrus limon Psidium guajava Zizyphusmauri-tiana Citrus grandis and Carica papayawere usually plantedin the front yard of the house (rural and urban) so that thegardeners can keep eye on them Trees in the homestead-boundary acted as a live fence and windbreak Tall woodyspecies such as are planted in the back yard for buildingmaterials and firewood
35 Choice of Species Grown for Different Usages The reasonsfor growing a variety of fruit species in the homesteadgardens are more or less complex A number of factorsdetermined the farmersrsquo decisions for growing particularspecies or groups of species The farmers were keen to growtimber trees for cash income if they already had a successfulstrategy for deriving income from off-farm labour or fromcrops Farmers with large families tend to grow fruit treesIn the surveyed area homestead plant species generally usedfor fruit and food medicines firewood timber and orna-mental and beautification purposes were identified Amongthem 45 were fruit and food providing species 3871
ISRN Biodiversity 7
medicinal plant species 3226 firewood species 2903timber species 1613 ornamental beautification and spir-itual species 1129 species are used as both for fodder andfence and 483 species used as spice and vegetables
36 Cultural Practices of Homestead Garden Farmers gen-erally collect planting materials from homesteads wildings(species that are growncollected from outside homesteadpremises) friends and families relatives government andNGO nurseries No specific spacing is followed in plantingof species in homestead garden Sometimes it was also foundto plant herbaceous species like Zingiber officinale Curcumalonga under the layer of shrub like Carica papaya Citruslimon and so forth in order to make the optimum use oftheir land Study figured out the analysis of respondentsanswers regarding different aspects of the existing manage-ment systems of homestead gardens in the study area Duringsurvey it was found that some households are not engagedin any managementcultural operations in their homesteadgardens whereas other households are more or less engagedwith the management of homestead gardens Species wereplanted usually during the morning andor afternoon ofthe day mostly in the monsoon season Generally fastgrowing and species having low crown coverage are selectedfor the plantation The results revealed that almost all thehouseholds carried out watering (100) and soil ploughing(94) Weeding was done out by 85 of respondents as wellas fencing (5375) and 675 respondents did mulchingConsequently about 62 respondents practice thinning orpruning in their homestead garden Large farmers generallyhired labour for doing thinning and pruning operations Butthey do very much little care for manuring (4625) andapplying pesticide (35) in their homesteads
37 Role of Homestead Gardens in Local Biodiversity Conser-vation Homestead gardens have long been themost effectiveand widespread measure for biodiversity conservation inBangladesh as due to anthropogenic pressure and land usechange the natural forest has been decreasing day by dayboth in explicit and implicit ways leading to threats tofuture productivity Generally rural communities preferredcultivated and planted multipurpose species that can beserved as fruits vegetables and spices also used as tim-ber Such kind of choice is the most important factor tohomestead gardens conservation in Bangladesh and playsa significant role in forest conservation since all the woodand other non-timber forest products that are harvested inthe homestead gardens do not need to be collected fromforests Respondents said that homestead gardens attract anumber of bird species like Streptopelia chinensis Psittac-ula krameri Eudynamys scolopaceus Micropternus brachyu-rus Dinopium benghalense Oriolus xanthornus Dicrurusmacrocercus Acridotheres tristis Corvus splendens Turduscafer Orthotomus sutorius Copsychus saularis Nectariniazeylonica Anthus campestris Passer domesticus and Plo-ceus philippinus to collect their food and making nestMoreover some animal species like squirrel take shelter
Table 5 Perceived importance of homestead garden conservationin the study area
Items Veryimportant
Lessimportant
Notimportant
Food and fruit 85 15 0Firewood 6875 2375 75Building materials 7875 20 125Subsistence familyincome 7375 20 625
Medicinal plants 2875 35 3625Ecological balance 2875 375 3375Soil erosion control 5125 375 1125Otherslowast 3625 175 4625lowastBoundary ornamental and spiritual purposes and so forth
and collect their food especially fruit like Aegle marme-los Annona squamosa Areca catechu Averrhoa carambolaCarica papaya Carissa carandas Cocos nucifera Dilleniaindica Elaeocarpus floribundus Mangifera indica Phyllan-thus acidus Phyllanthus emblica Psidium guajava Spondiaspinnata Syzygium cumini Tamarindus indica and Zizyphusmauritiana from the urban and rural homestead gardensThey also mentioned that some birds play a significant roleas pollinators or in the control of insect pests At this timedispersal of seeds also occurs by the animal birds andhelps in natural regeneration of homestead plants speciessince natural regeneration is the most important factor fortree diversity conservation Study also found a number ofbamboo shrub herb and climber species which were largelyused by the households also they give shelter to animaldiversity
38 Perceived Importance for Conservation of HomesteadGarden Species To determine the perceived importance ofhomestead species conservation farmers were interviewedusing a questionnaire asked to evaluate the importance ofmentioned eight functions of trees The results are presentedin Table 5 Likewise farmersrsquo perceived most importancefor homestead plant species conservation was related tofruit and food (85) followed by buildingmaterials (7875)subsistence family income (7375) and source of firewood(6875) The surveyed rural area is affected by monsoonflood every year as a result soil erosion is a serious problem inthis regionTherefore in order to keep houses above thewaterlevel it is mandatory to raise houses at the highest elevationsor fill the land by soil in the dry season especially throughoutthe floodplain regions As a consequence people are usuallyconcerned about the trees role to protect their homesteadland against water-induced soil erosion by binding the soilHowever they were not concerned about ecological impor-tance of forest Yet the majority of the respondents gradedthe homestead garden as being ldquoless importantrdquo as a meansof maintaining ecological balance and soil erosion control(375) followed by a source of medicinal plants (35)So it seems that there is still a lack of knowledge in these
8 ISRN Biodiversity
two categories and institutional and government and NGOstraining and learning programs are necessary to facilitateknowledge
4 Discussion
Analysis of the existing tree composition structure andrichness revealed that homestead forest in the study area hasmoderately high biodiversity and species richness Howeverthe number of plant species was higher than those foundin other homesteads of Bangladesh by Abedin and Quddus[53] cited from Alam and Masum [35] found in Tangail (52species) Ishurdi (34 species) Jessore (28 species) Patuakhali(20 species) Rajshahi (28 species) and Rangpur (21 species)districts respectively Motiur et al [31] found 60 species inSylhet Sadar Motiur et al [34] found 58 species in SouthwestBangladesh Kabir andWebb [3] recorded a total of 419 plantspecies from southwestern Bangladesh Alam and Masum[35] recorded a total of 101 species and Masum et al [8] 142species in an offshore island (Sandwip Island) of BangladeshMillat-E-Mustafa [54] identified 92 perennial plant species inone study conducted in different parts of the country
The traditional production system of homestead gar-den in the study area is moderate in terms of level ofcultural practices for absence of improved managementpractices and high-quality variety Farmers depend usuallyon naturally growing plants on their homestead boundaryBesides analysis of existing management regime indicatedthat the growers lack of scientific information almost allthe household owners still followed traditional homesteadforest management systems whereas a little owner adoptedmodern practices Increased tree planting in the homesteadsand their appropriate management including intercroppingpractices should be the strategy for enhancing tree coverof the homesteads of study area in order to meet basicneeds of its people and maintain environmental balanceHomestead gardens are playing a potential role in biodiversityconservation as well as uplifting the socioeconomic conditionby contributing families or householdrsquos annual income andproviding nutritional diet to families Variable homesteadgarden products such as seasonal fruits firewood medicinalplants timber and vegetables and spices were mostly usedby the small and medium household owners for their dailyneeds but large owners get their products into the market forsaleThese findings are also supported by the study of Millat-E-Mustafa [54] for the homestead garden of four regions inBangladesh Most of the households were found to prefermostly food or fruit species (45) because of the incomeincentives and family needs and this was also supported byseveral researchers [8 21 54] across the country
In the present study homesteads gardens were largelyuser oriented and market access was not fully developedHowever market access for homestead products is essentialas they sell their products easily into the market as wellas other forest products It was shown that most of theproducers were selling to their neighbours or local tradersTherefore they do not get proper price for their productsIf they get their products to the market or sell products via
retailers they will get proper prices also which is very muchimportant for the small household owners therefore creatinga scope for income Many studies of tropical homesteadgarden have reported reduced species diversity and stemdensity in homestead garden with closer proximity to marketfor example [55] So market access condition has greateffect on homestead forest management thus further studyis needed to directly test the influence of market accesson the homestead gardens structure of both commercialand subsistence-oriented homestead garden in BangladeshHowever the homestead gardens of the study area presentan excellent example of all embracing multipurpose land-usesystem and biodiversity conservation
41 Species Diversity and Biodiversity Conservation in Tra-ditional Homestead Garden Farming System Biodiversityconservation has become a growing concern for all over theworld and it is linked up highly with long-term health andvigour of the biosphere as an indicator of global environmentand also as a regulator of ecosystem functioning [56] Thebiological diversity indices revealed that homestead gardencould play an important role for carbon sequestration inthe future since plant growth is directly proportional tothe carbon sequestration capacity of the forest [57 58]By studying different literatures of homestead gardens allover Bangladesh we have developed in our mind that anumber of opportunities and drawbacks are influencing theselection of species of homestead garden Considering allthese we have developed a model of species diversity andbiodiversity conservation for both urban and rural surveyedhomestead gardens represented in Figure 1 We classified theopportunities and drawbacks of a typical homestead gardenfor both rural and urban areas separately Among the oppor-tunities the most prominent according to our observationwere generating income food security soil erosion controltimber demand market access beautification cattle foddermedicinal purposes and fuel wood species The drawbacksthat are influencing the selection of species were croplandexpansion fast growing species demand natural calamitiesland scarcity domestic animal low crown canopy infrastruc-ture and so forth The economical condition of the ruralpeople is not as like as urban people For this they usuallyprefer species that will provide them necessary fuel wood andfodder for their cattle Plantation of medicinal plant speciescan help to get remedy from diseases also regular supply ofrawmaterials to the industry could be an important source ofearning money to the farmers Urban people usually preferto plant various flowering and ornamental plants such asTagetes erectaGomphrena globosa andCodiaeumvariegatumfor ornamental beauty of their houses because they occupy asmaller space in their garden premises and they do not likesuch condition that will decrease the beautification view oftheir house The trend in gradual replacement of functionalplants to ornamentals has also been observed in cases wherepeople became richer [59] Side-by-side grazing of domesticanimals disturbs the diversity of homestead forest species Inthis circumstance introduction of grasses sedges and smallbushes could be a solution to get remedy to this problem
ISRN Biodiversity 9
Generating income
Food security Soil erosion Timber demand
Market access
Fuel wood species
Cattle fodder
Medicinal purposes
Urban Rural
Opportunities
Species diversity and choice of species
Biodiversity conservation
Threats
Rural Urban
Domestic animal Fast growingspecies
Naturalcalamities
Land scarcity Croplandexpansion
Low crowncanopy
Infrastructure
Beautification
Figure 1 Conceptual model of species diversity and biodiversity conservation in homestead garden farming system
This type of management could help villagers in getting fuelwood without disturbing the main vegetation Whatsoever itis now clear that homestead garden is a storehouse of largespecies diversity and sustainable resource management andthis large species diversity can play an important role inbiodiversity conservation
5 Conclusion
For aesthetic environmental and economic perspectivesspecies planting in homestead garden is desirableHomesteadgardening plays a significant role in both rural and urbanlandscape planning and management In this study we haveobserved that the homestead plant composition diversityand species richness were moderate in Kishoregang Sadararea Moreover there was a lack of scientific knowledgeof the gardeners an absence of proper planning and nospecific objectives and goals Present study did not discussany economic contribution andmarket access for homesteadthus further study is highly recommended and neededto directly test the economic significance and influence ofmarket access on the vegetation structure of both commercialand subsistence-oriented homestead gardens in northernBangladesh The moderate domination of fruit species overtimber species may be attributed to the gardenersrsquo generalperception that fruit species would bring early return aswell as the multipurpose nature of fruit species Homesteadgarden could provide employment opportunities for bothmale and female members resulting in increased familyincome for better livelihood to a large population in northernBangladesh Till now there is no specific management planof homestead gardens all over the country although it hastremendous contribution to greening the nature Considering
the present state of the homestead garden of the study areathis paper suggests that there is a need to establish properplanning and management mechanisms from governmentfor homestead garden This can be done by providing someincentives andor training to the owners to be more carefulabout conserving garden species to improve both ruraland urban plant species coverage It is also recommendedthat experimentation with new and diversified tree speciescan play an important role in enhancing the diversity anddistribution of homestead garden in the Kishoreganj Sadararea
Acknowledgments
The authors are highly grateful to each and every respondentwho participated in this study for giving their valuable timeand information regarding their homestead gardensThey areverymuch grateful toMr AvikKumar Roy for his consistencesupport during data collection as well as for giving overallidea about the study area
References
[1] M S UddinM J Rahman andMAMannan ldquoPlant biodiver-sity in the homesteads of saline area of Southern Bangladeshrdquoin Proceedings of National Workshop on Agroforestry ResearchDevelopment of Agroforestry Research in Bangladesh M F HaqMKHasan SMAsaduzzaman andMY Ali Eds pp 45ndash54Gazipur Bangladesh 2001
[2] M Zashimuddin Community Forestry for Poverty Reduction inBangladesh in Forests for Poverty Reduction Can CommunityForestry Make Money FAO Regional Office for Asia and thePacific Bangkok Thailand 2004
10 ISRN Biodiversity
[3] M E Kabir and E L Webb ldquoCan homegardens conserve bi-odiversity in Bangladeshrdquo Biotropica vol 40 no 1 pp 95ndash1032008
[4] A J Southern Acquisition of indigenous ecological knowledgeabout forest gardens in Kandy district Sri Lanka [M PhilDissertation] University of Wales Bangor UK 1994
[5] M B Uddin and S A Mukul ldquoImproving forest dependentlivelihoods through NTFPs and home gardens a case studyfrom satchari national parkrdquo in Making Conservation WorkLinking Rural Livelihoods amp Protected Area Management inBangladesh J Fox B Bushley S Dutt and S A QuaziEds pp 13ndash35 Nishorgo Program of the Bangladesh ForestDepartment and East-West Center of University of HawaiiDhaka Bangladesh 2007
[6] FAO ldquoGlobal forest resource assessment 2010 main reportrdquoFAO Forestry Paper 163 Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO) of the United Nations Rome Italy 2010
[7] M D Millat-E-Mustafa J B Hall and Z TeklehaimanotldquoStructure and floristics of Bangladesh homegardensrdquo Agro-forestry Systems vol 33 no 3 pp 263ndash280 1996
[8] K M Masum M S Alam and M M Abdullah-Al-MamunldquoEcological and economical significance of homestead forest tothe household of the offshore island in Bangladeshrdquo Journal ofForestry Research vol 19 no 4 pp 307ndash310 2008
[9] M F U Ahmed and S M L Rahman ldquoProfile and use of multi-species tree crops in the homesteads of Gazipur district centralBangladeshrdquo Journal of Sustainable Agriculture vol 24 no 1 pp81ndash93 2004
[10] O T Coomes and N Ban ldquoCultivated plant species diversity inhome gardens of an amazonian peasant village in northeasternPerurdquo Economic Botany vol 58 no 3 pp 420ndash434 2004
[11] B A Withrow-Robinson and D E Hibbs ldquoTesting an ecolog-ically based classification tool on fruit-based agroforestry innorthernThailandrdquoAgroforestry Systems vol 65 no 2 pp 123ndash135 2005
[12] O S Abdoellah H Y Hadikusumah K Takeuchi S Okuboand P Parikesit ldquoCommercialization of homegardens in anIndonesian village vegetation composition and functionalchangesrdquo Agroforestry Systems vol 68 no 1 pp 1ndash13 2006
[13] V E Mendez R Lok and E Somarriba ldquoInterdisciplinaryanalysis of homegardens in Nicaragua micro-zonation plantuse and socioeconomic importancerdquo Agroforestry Systems vol51 no 2 pp 85ndash96 2001
[14] C R Vogl and B Vogl-Lukasser ldquoTradition dynamics andsustainability of plant species composition and managementin homegardens on organic and non-organic small scale farmsin Alpine Eastern Tyrol Austriardquo Biological Agriculture andHorticulture vol 21 no 4 pp 349ndash366 2003
[15] A Hemp ldquoThe banana forests of Kilimanjaro biodiversity andconservation of the Chagga homegardensrdquo Biodiversity andConservation vol 15 no 4 pp 1193ndash1217 2006
[16] D K Das List of Bangladesh Village Tree Species ForestResearch Institute Chittagong Bangladesh 1990
[17] M M Hassan and A H Mazumdar ldquoAn exploratory surveyof trees on homestead and waste land of Bangladeshrdquo ADABNews pp 26ndash32 1990
[18] M K Alam and M Mohiuddin Some Potential MultipurposeTrees For Homesteads in Bangladesh vol 2 of AgroforestryInformation Series Winrock International Dhaka Bangladesh1992 Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC)
[19] M K Alam M Mohiuddin and S R Basak ldquoVillage treesin Bangladesh diversity and economic aspectsrdquo BangladeshJournal of Forest Science vol 25 no 1ndash2 pp 21ndash36 1996
[20] S A Khan and M K Alam Homestead Flora of BangladeshBangaldesh Agricultural Research Council InternationalDevelopment Research Cenbtre Village and Farm ForestryProject (SDC) Dhaka Bangladesh 1996
[21] M S Siddiqi and N A Khan ldquoFloristic composition and socio-economic aspects of rural homestead garden in Chittagong acase studyrdquo Journal of Forest Science vol 28 no 2 pp 94ndash1011999
[22] A M Shajaat Ali ldquoHomegardens in smallholder farmingsystems examples from Bangladeshrdquo Human Ecology vol 33no 2 pp 245ndash270 2005
[23] M E Kabir and E L Webb ldquoFloristics and structure of south-western Bangladesh homegardensrdquoThe International Journal ofBiodiversity Science and Management vol 4 no 1 pp 54ndash642008
[24] K U Ahmad ldquoMinor fruits in homestead agro forestryrdquo inAgroforestry Bangladesh Perspective M K Alam F U Ahmedand S M R Amin Eds pp 165ndash169 APAAN NAWG andBARC Dhaka Bangladesh 1997
[25] N M Islam Homestead garden agroforestry in Bangladesha case study in Rangpur district [MS thesis] AgriculturalUniversity of Norway As Norway 1998
[26] M A Bashar Homestead garden Agroforestry impact on Bi-odiversity conservation and household food security a casestudy of Gajipur district Bangladesh [MS thesis] AgriculturalUniversity of Norway As Norway 1999
[27] M S Alam M F Haque M Z Abedin and S AkterldquoHomestead trees and household fuel uses in and around thefarming systems research site Jessorerdquo inHomestead Plantationand Agroforestry in Bangladesh M Z Abedin C K Lai andM O Ali Eds pp 106ndash119 BARI RWEDP and WINROCKDhaka Bangladesh 1990
[28] G Miah M Z Abedin A B M A Khair M Shahidullah andA J M A Baki ldquoHomestead Plantation and household fuelsituation in Ganges floodplain of Bangladeshrdquo in HomesteadPlantation and Agroforestry in Bangladesh M Z Abedin CK Lai and M O Ali Eds pp 120ndash135 BARI JoydebpurBangladesh 1990
[29] M A Momin M Z Abedin M R Amin Q M S Islam andM M Haque ldquoExisting homestead plantation and householdfuel use pattern in the flood prone tangail region of Bangladeshrdquoin Homestead Plantation and Agroforestry in Bangladesh MZ Abedin C K Lai and M O Ali Eds pp 136ndash145 BARIJoydebpur Bangladesh 1990
[30] M Millat-E-Mustafa Z Teklehaimanot and A K O HarunildquoTraditional uses of perennial homestead garden plants inBangladeshrdquoForests Trees and Livelihoods vol 12 no 4 pp 235ndash256 2002
[31] R M Motiur J Tsukamoto Y Furukawa Z Shibayama and IKawata ldquoQuantitative stand structure of woody components ofhomestead forests and its implications on silvicultural manage-ment a case study in Sylhet Sadar Bangladeshrdquo Journal of ForestResearch vol 10 no 4 pp 285ndash294 2005
[32] W A Leuschner and K Khaleque ldquoHomestead agroforestry inBangladeshrdquoAgroforestry Systems vol 5 no 2 pp 139ndash151 1987
[33] N A Khan ldquoSocial forestry versus social reality patronage andcommunity-based forestry in Bangladeshrdquo Gatekeeper Series99 International Institute for Environment and Development(IIED) London UK 2001
ISRN Biodiversity 11
[34] R M Motiur Y Furukawa I Kawata M M Rahman and MAlam ldquoRole of homestead forests in household economy andfactors affecting forest production a case study in southwestBangladeshrdquo Journal of Forest Research vol 11 no 2 pp 89ndash972006
[35] M S Alam andKMMasum ldquoStatus of homestead biodiversityin the offshore Island of Bangladeshrdquo Research Journal ofAgriculture and Biological Sciences vol 1 no 3 pp 246ndash2532005
[36] S Akhter M Alamgir M S I Sohel M P Rana S J MonjurulAhmed and M S H Chowdhury ldquoThe role of women intraditional farming systems as practiced in homegardens a casestudy in Sylhet Sadar Upazila Bangladeshrdquo Tropical Conserva-tion Science vol 3 no 1 pp 17ndash30 2010
[37] H M F Rahman ldquoKishoreganj Sadar Upozilardquo in Banglape-dia National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh httpwwwbanglap-ediaorg
[38] K U Siddique M A Islam Z U Ahmed et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 11 AngiospermsMonocotyledons (Agavaceae-Najadaceae) Asiatic Society ofBangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2007
[39] K U Siddique M A Islam Z U Ahmed et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 5 BryophytesPteridophytes Gymnosperm Asiatic Society of BangladeshDhaka Bangladesh 2008
[40] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al EdsEncyclopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 6Angiosperms Dicotyledons (Acanthaceae-Asteraceae) AsiaticSociety of Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
[41] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 7 AngiospermsDicotyledons (Balsaminaceae-Euphorbiaceae) Asiatic Society ofBangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
[42] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al EdsEncyclopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 12Angiosperms Monocotyledons (Orchidaceae-Zingiberaceae)Asiatic Society of Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
[43] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 8 AngiospermsDicotyledons (Fabaceae-Lythraceae) Asiatic Society of Bang-ladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2009
[44] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 9 AngiospermsDicotyledons (Magnoliaceae-Ponicaceae) Asiatic Society ofBangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2009
[45] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al EdsEncyclopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 10Angiosperms Dicotyledons (Ranunculaceae-Zygophyllaceae)Asiatic Society of Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2010
[46] E P Odum Fundamentals of Ecology WB Saunders Philadel-phia Pa USA 1971
[47] R Margalef ldquoInformation theory in ecologyrdquo General SystemsYearbook vol 3 pp 36ndash71 1958
[48] P Michael Ecological Methods For Field and Laboratory Investi-gation McGraw-Hill New Delhi India 1990
[49] M Kent and P Coker Vegetation Description and Analysis APractical Approach WB Saunders Philadelphia Pa USA 1992
[50] E C Pielou ldquoSpecies-diversity and pattern-diversity in thestudy of ecological successionrdquo Journal of Theoretical Biologyvol 10 no 2 pp 370ndash383 1966
[51] A E Magurran Ecological Diversity and Measurement Prince-ton University Press Princeton NJ USA 1988
[52] S A Mori B M Boom A M Carvalino and D Santos ldquoTheecological importance of Myrtaceae in eastern Brazilian wetforestrdquo Biotropica vol 15 pp 68ndash70 1983
[53] M Z Abedin and M A Quddus ldquoHousehold fuel situationhomestead gardens and agroforestry practice at six agro-ecologically different locations of Bangladeshrdquo in HomesteadPlantation and Agroforestry in Bangladesh M Z Abedin CK Lai and M O Ali Eds pp 19ndash53 Bangladesh AgricultureResearch Institute (BARI) Joydebpur Bangladesh 1990
[54] M Millat-E-Mustafa ldquoTropical Homestead gardens anoverviewrdquo in Agroforestry Bangladesh Perspective M K AlamF U Ahmed and S M Amin Eds pp 18ndash133 APAN NAWGBAEC Dhaka Bangladesh 1997
[55] T Abebe Diversity in homegarden agroforestry systems ofsouthern Ethiopia [PhD Dissertation] Wageningen UniversityWageningen The Netherlands 2005
[56] O T Solbrig ldquoThe origin and function of biodiversityrdquo Environ-ment vol 33 no 5 pp 16ndash38 1991
[57] P Kumar ldquoCarbon sequestration strategy of Nubra Valleywith special reference to agroforestryrdquo DRDO TechnologySpectrum pp 187ndash192 2008
[58] P Kumar S Gupta and S Prakash ldquoCarbon pool of orchardsin siachen sector socio-economic Carbon sequestrationrdquo inAdvances in Agriculture Environment and Health S B SinghO P Charassia and S Yadav Eds pp 225ndash233 2008
[59] L Christanty O S Abdoellah G G Marten and J IskanderldquoTraditional agroforestry in West Java the pekarangan (Home-stead garden) and kebun-talun (annual-perennial rotation)cropping systemsrdquo in Traditional Agriculture in Southeast AsiaA Human Ecology Perspective G G Marten Ed pp 132ndash158Westview Press Boulder Colo USA 1986
Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom
Forestry ResearchInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental and Public Health
Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
EcosystemsJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
MeteorologyAdvances in
EcologyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Marine BiologyJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom
Applied ampEnvironmentalSoil Science
Volume 2014
Advances in
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental Chemistry
Atmospheric SciencesInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Waste ManagementJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
International Journal of
Geophysics
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Geological ResearchJournal of
EarthquakesJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
BiodiversityInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ScientificaHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
OceanographyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Journal of Computational Environmental SciencesHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ClimatologyJournal of
ISRN Biodiversity 5
Table3Con
tinued
Family
Scientificn
ame
Localn
ame
English
name
Individu
als
Lifeform
Orig
inFIV
CS
Uses
Rural
Urban
(Referenceslowast)
Meliaceae
Swieteniamahogany(
L)Jacq
Mahagon
iMahagon
i21
31Tr
E69
LC(9)
23
Azadira
ctaindica
AJuss
Neem
Indian
lilac
1421
TrI
LC(9)
236
Mim
osaceae
Albiziaspp
Koroi
Whitesir
is23
21Tr
E
126
LC(9)
23
Albiziasaman(Ja
q)Merr
Raintre
eRa
intre
e26
26Tr
ELC(9)
23
Mim
osapu
dica
LLazzabati
Bashfulm
imosasensitive
plant
1316
HI
LC(9)
6Streblus
asperL
our
Shew
raSiam
eser
oughbu
sh9
9Tr
ILC(9)
67
Moraceae
Artocarpus
heterophyllusL
amk
Kathal
Jackfruit
3141
TrI
458
LC(9)
1235
Musaceae
Musaspp
Kola
Banana
5113
ShE
426
LC(11)
157
Myrtaceae
Syzygium
cumini(L)Skeel
Jam
Blackberry
1626
TrI
754
LC(9)
123
Psidium
guajava(L)Ba
tPayera
Com
mon
guava
2833
STI
LC(9)
12
Oxalid
aceae
Averrhoa
carambolaL
Kamrang
aStar
fruit
2327
TrI
604
LC(9)
13
Oxalis
cornicu
lata
LAmrul
Indian
zorale
16mdash
HI
LC(9)
6
Poaceae
Bambu
sabalco
oaRo
xb
Barakbans
Bambo
o13
mdashTr
I91
LC(12)
235
78
Melo
cann
abaccifera(Roxb)Ku
rz
Mulib
ans
Bambo
o14
17Tr
ILC(12)
235
78
Cynodondactylon(L)Pers
Durbagh
ass
Grass
3619
HI
LC(12)
6Po
lypo
diaceae
Pteriscretica
Wilson
iiFern
Cretan
fern
2920
HE
367
NT(5)
16
Rham
naceae
Zizyphus
mauritiana
Lamk
Boroi
Indian
date
1823
TrI
335
LC(10)
15
Rutaceae
Aegle
marmelo
s(L)Correa
Bel
Goldenapplesto
neapple
16mdash
TrI
982
LC(10)
13
Citru
sgrand
is(L)Osb
Jambu
raPu
mmelo
1919
TrI
LC(10)
13
Citru
slim
on(L)Bu
rmF
Lebu
Lemon
3231
ShE
LC(10)
16
Solanaceae
Solanu
mviolaceum
OrtegaHortMart
Bon-begun
Lemon
29mdash
ShI
531
LC(10)
6Ce
strum
nocturnu
mL
Hasnahena
Poiso
nberry
mdash18
ShE
LC(10)
8Urticaceae
Boehmerianivea(L)Gaudich
Artika
Night
jasm
ine
17H
E24
NE(10)
6
Verbenaceae
Nyctanthesarbortristis
LSh
iuliph
ool
Chinag
rass
1311
ShI
116
LC(10)
8La
ntanacamaraL
Lantana
Night
queen
336
ShE
LC(10)
6TectonagrandisL
f
Shegun
Lantana
1013
TrE
LC(10)
23
Lippia
alba(M
ill)Brito
netWilson
Voiu
khra
Bushymatgrass
275
ShE
LC(10)
6
Zing
iberaceae
Zingiber
officin
aleR
oscoe
Ada
Ginger
618
HI
889
LC(12)
46
Curcum
alongaL
Holud
Turm
eric
5810
HI
LC(12)
46
Lifeform
Trtre
eHherbandSh
shrub
Orig
inE
exotic
speciesIindigeno
usspeciesFIV
family
impo
rtance
valueCScon
servationstatusLC
leastcon
cernN
Tnear
threatenedN
Eno
tevaluatedand
Vvulnerable
Uses1food
fruit2tim
ber3fuelwoo
d4spice5fodd
er6m
edicine7fenceand8otherslowastRe
ferencesvaluesinthep
arentheses
indicatethev
olum
enum
bero
fthe
book
entitledEn
cyclo
paedia
ofFloraandFaun
aofBa
ngladesh
[38ndash45]
6 ISRN Biodiversity
Albizia spp because of the peoplersquos attitude towards earningmoremoney through timber production However Swieteniamahagoni Albizia saman Delonix regia and Tectona grandishave been domesticated and have a long heritage of introduc-tion
32 Species Family Composition Araceae Mimosaceae andVerbenaceae families represented the highest numbers of fourspecies followed byCaesalpiniaceae Euphorbiaceae Poaceaeand Rutaceae representing three species AmaranthaceaeAsteraceae Anacardiaceae Combretaceae Meliaceae Myr-taceae Oxalidaceae Solanaceae and Zingiberaceae denotedtwo species and the rest of the families comprised onlyone species (Table 3) Among them 20 families (5556)represented only one species followed by two species wererepresented by nine families (25) three and more thanthree species are represented by four families (1111) and3 species (833) respectively The family importance value(FIV) was recorded highest for Araceae (163 individualsFIV 134) followed by Mimosaceae (143 individuals FIV126) Verbenaceae (118 individuals FIV 116) Rutaceae (117individuals FIV 982) Poaceae (99 individuals FIV 91)Caesalpiniaceae (96 individuals FIV 898) Zingiberaceae(137 individuals FIV 889) and lowest for Lauraceae (11 indi-viduals FIV 216) followed by Urtiaceae (17 individuals FIV240) Apocynaceae (20 individuals FIV 252) Annonaceae(25 individuals FIV 272) and Acanthaceae (28 individualsFIV 284)
33 Ecological Diversity Indices of Homestead Species Theresult of Shannon-Winner diversity index value was cal-culated highest for rural homestead garden both of tree(339) and of shrub (236) species where for herb speciesthe highest value (25) was found for the urban homesteadgarden Shannonrsquos maximum diversity index value (35) wasobserved highest for rural homestead tree species In case ofherb (256) and shrub (248) species the values were similarfor both types of the gardens Shannonrsquos equitability index(097) Simpsonrsquos index (004) and dominance of Simpsonrsquosindex (096) values were found similar for both the rural andurban homestead tree species For herb species Shannonrsquosequitability index value was highest for urban gardens (097)where dominance of Simpsonrsquos index (091) was found similarfor both rural and urban gardens However in case of shrubspecies Shannonrsquos equitability index value was highest forrural gardens (095) Simpsonrsquos index value (093) for urbangardens and dominance of Simpsonrsquos index value (089) forrural gardens However in case of tree and herb speciesspecies evenness index value was highest (224) for urbanhomestead garden where for shrub the value (219) washighest in rural homestead Species richness index valuesfor tree (498) and herb (226) species were highest in ruralhomestead but for shrub species the value (214) was highestin urban homestead (Table 4)
34 Spatial Arrangement of Homestead Garden Species In thestudy area it was observed that homestead gardeners do notfollow any specific spatial arrangement pattern and scientific
Table 4 Ecological diversity indices of homestead plant species inrural and urban areas of the study area
Ecologicaldiversity indexlowast
Tree Herb ShrubUrban Rural Urban Rural Urban Rural
SDI 004 005 007 004 007 004R 459 498 226 203 214 189E 224 223 224 22 213 219H 335 339 25 245 23 236Hmax 343 35 256 256 248 248EH 097 097 097 096 093 095D 004 004 009 009 012 011D1015840 096 096 091 091 088 089lowastH Shannon-Winner diversity index Hmax Shannonrsquos maximum diversityindex EH Shannonrsquos equitability index SDI species diversity index Rspecies richness index E species evenness indexD Simpsons index andD1015840dominance of Simpsons index
considerations for raising plants Plants were usually plantedin the front back and surroundings of the houses Resultsrevealed that 475 of rural gardeners preferred mostly thefront yard for species plantation followed by back yard325 homestead boundary (adjacent to the dwelling house)by 125 and 75 household owners preferred both pondbanks and road side simultaneously In case of urban area35 gardeners preferred balcony and veranda for plantingspecies followed by 30 in front yard 225 in homesteadboundary and 125 in rooftopThe reason for this variationwas that rural people depend more on homestead forest fortheir livelihood security as well as certain amount of familyincome than that of urban households Except these otherfactors those influence the species planting in different sitesare beautification of household area low canopy coverageland scarcity and so forth Ornamental plants for exampleGomphrena globosa Tagetes erecta Codiaeum variegatumOcimum sanctum and Nyctanthes arbortristis and majorfruit crop species for example Mangifera indica ArtocarpusheterophyllusCitrus limon Psidium guajava Zizyphusmauri-tiana Citrus grandis and Carica papayawere usually plantedin the front yard of the house (rural and urban) so that thegardeners can keep eye on them Trees in the homestead-boundary acted as a live fence and windbreak Tall woodyspecies such as are planted in the back yard for buildingmaterials and firewood
35 Choice of Species Grown for Different Usages The reasonsfor growing a variety of fruit species in the homesteadgardens are more or less complex A number of factorsdetermined the farmersrsquo decisions for growing particularspecies or groups of species The farmers were keen to growtimber trees for cash income if they already had a successfulstrategy for deriving income from off-farm labour or fromcrops Farmers with large families tend to grow fruit treesIn the surveyed area homestead plant species generally usedfor fruit and food medicines firewood timber and orna-mental and beautification purposes were identified Amongthem 45 were fruit and food providing species 3871
ISRN Biodiversity 7
medicinal plant species 3226 firewood species 2903timber species 1613 ornamental beautification and spir-itual species 1129 species are used as both for fodder andfence and 483 species used as spice and vegetables
36 Cultural Practices of Homestead Garden Farmers gen-erally collect planting materials from homesteads wildings(species that are growncollected from outside homesteadpremises) friends and families relatives government andNGO nurseries No specific spacing is followed in plantingof species in homestead garden Sometimes it was also foundto plant herbaceous species like Zingiber officinale Curcumalonga under the layer of shrub like Carica papaya Citruslimon and so forth in order to make the optimum use oftheir land Study figured out the analysis of respondentsanswers regarding different aspects of the existing manage-ment systems of homestead gardens in the study area Duringsurvey it was found that some households are not engagedin any managementcultural operations in their homesteadgardens whereas other households are more or less engagedwith the management of homestead gardens Species wereplanted usually during the morning andor afternoon ofthe day mostly in the monsoon season Generally fastgrowing and species having low crown coverage are selectedfor the plantation The results revealed that almost all thehouseholds carried out watering (100) and soil ploughing(94) Weeding was done out by 85 of respondents as wellas fencing (5375) and 675 respondents did mulchingConsequently about 62 respondents practice thinning orpruning in their homestead garden Large farmers generallyhired labour for doing thinning and pruning operations Butthey do very much little care for manuring (4625) andapplying pesticide (35) in their homesteads
37 Role of Homestead Gardens in Local Biodiversity Conser-vation Homestead gardens have long been themost effectiveand widespread measure for biodiversity conservation inBangladesh as due to anthropogenic pressure and land usechange the natural forest has been decreasing day by dayboth in explicit and implicit ways leading to threats tofuture productivity Generally rural communities preferredcultivated and planted multipurpose species that can beserved as fruits vegetables and spices also used as tim-ber Such kind of choice is the most important factor tohomestead gardens conservation in Bangladesh and playsa significant role in forest conservation since all the woodand other non-timber forest products that are harvested inthe homestead gardens do not need to be collected fromforests Respondents said that homestead gardens attract anumber of bird species like Streptopelia chinensis Psittac-ula krameri Eudynamys scolopaceus Micropternus brachyu-rus Dinopium benghalense Oriolus xanthornus Dicrurusmacrocercus Acridotheres tristis Corvus splendens Turduscafer Orthotomus sutorius Copsychus saularis Nectariniazeylonica Anthus campestris Passer domesticus and Plo-ceus philippinus to collect their food and making nestMoreover some animal species like squirrel take shelter
Table 5 Perceived importance of homestead garden conservationin the study area
Items Veryimportant
Lessimportant
Notimportant
Food and fruit 85 15 0Firewood 6875 2375 75Building materials 7875 20 125Subsistence familyincome 7375 20 625
Medicinal plants 2875 35 3625Ecological balance 2875 375 3375Soil erosion control 5125 375 1125Otherslowast 3625 175 4625lowastBoundary ornamental and spiritual purposes and so forth
and collect their food especially fruit like Aegle marme-los Annona squamosa Areca catechu Averrhoa carambolaCarica papaya Carissa carandas Cocos nucifera Dilleniaindica Elaeocarpus floribundus Mangifera indica Phyllan-thus acidus Phyllanthus emblica Psidium guajava Spondiaspinnata Syzygium cumini Tamarindus indica and Zizyphusmauritiana from the urban and rural homestead gardensThey also mentioned that some birds play a significant roleas pollinators or in the control of insect pests At this timedispersal of seeds also occurs by the animal birds andhelps in natural regeneration of homestead plants speciessince natural regeneration is the most important factor fortree diversity conservation Study also found a number ofbamboo shrub herb and climber species which were largelyused by the households also they give shelter to animaldiversity
38 Perceived Importance for Conservation of HomesteadGarden Species To determine the perceived importance ofhomestead species conservation farmers were interviewedusing a questionnaire asked to evaluate the importance ofmentioned eight functions of trees The results are presentedin Table 5 Likewise farmersrsquo perceived most importancefor homestead plant species conservation was related tofruit and food (85) followed by buildingmaterials (7875)subsistence family income (7375) and source of firewood(6875) The surveyed rural area is affected by monsoonflood every year as a result soil erosion is a serious problem inthis regionTherefore in order to keep houses above thewaterlevel it is mandatory to raise houses at the highest elevationsor fill the land by soil in the dry season especially throughoutthe floodplain regions As a consequence people are usuallyconcerned about the trees role to protect their homesteadland against water-induced soil erosion by binding the soilHowever they were not concerned about ecological impor-tance of forest Yet the majority of the respondents gradedthe homestead garden as being ldquoless importantrdquo as a meansof maintaining ecological balance and soil erosion control(375) followed by a source of medicinal plants (35)So it seems that there is still a lack of knowledge in these
8 ISRN Biodiversity
two categories and institutional and government and NGOstraining and learning programs are necessary to facilitateknowledge
4 Discussion
Analysis of the existing tree composition structure andrichness revealed that homestead forest in the study area hasmoderately high biodiversity and species richness Howeverthe number of plant species was higher than those foundin other homesteads of Bangladesh by Abedin and Quddus[53] cited from Alam and Masum [35] found in Tangail (52species) Ishurdi (34 species) Jessore (28 species) Patuakhali(20 species) Rajshahi (28 species) and Rangpur (21 species)districts respectively Motiur et al [31] found 60 species inSylhet Sadar Motiur et al [34] found 58 species in SouthwestBangladesh Kabir andWebb [3] recorded a total of 419 plantspecies from southwestern Bangladesh Alam and Masum[35] recorded a total of 101 species and Masum et al [8] 142species in an offshore island (Sandwip Island) of BangladeshMillat-E-Mustafa [54] identified 92 perennial plant species inone study conducted in different parts of the country
The traditional production system of homestead gar-den in the study area is moderate in terms of level ofcultural practices for absence of improved managementpractices and high-quality variety Farmers depend usuallyon naturally growing plants on their homestead boundaryBesides analysis of existing management regime indicatedthat the growers lack of scientific information almost allthe household owners still followed traditional homesteadforest management systems whereas a little owner adoptedmodern practices Increased tree planting in the homesteadsand their appropriate management including intercroppingpractices should be the strategy for enhancing tree coverof the homesteads of study area in order to meet basicneeds of its people and maintain environmental balanceHomestead gardens are playing a potential role in biodiversityconservation as well as uplifting the socioeconomic conditionby contributing families or householdrsquos annual income andproviding nutritional diet to families Variable homesteadgarden products such as seasonal fruits firewood medicinalplants timber and vegetables and spices were mostly usedby the small and medium household owners for their dailyneeds but large owners get their products into the market forsaleThese findings are also supported by the study of Millat-E-Mustafa [54] for the homestead garden of four regions inBangladesh Most of the households were found to prefermostly food or fruit species (45) because of the incomeincentives and family needs and this was also supported byseveral researchers [8 21 54] across the country
In the present study homesteads gardens were largelyuser oriented and market access was not fully developedHowever market access for homestead products is essentialas they sell their products easily into the market as wellas other forest products It was shown that most of theproducers were selling to their neighbours or local tradersTherefore they do not get proper price for their productsIf they get their products to the market or sell products via
retailers they will get proper prices also which is very muchimportant for the small household owners therefore creatinga scope for income Many studies of tropical homesteadgarden have reported reduced species diversity and stemdensity in homestead garden with closer proximity to marketfor example [55] So market access condition has greateffect on homestead forest management thus further studyis needed to directly test the influence of market accesson the homestead gardens structure of both commercialand subsistence-oriented homestead garden in BangladeshHowever the homestead gardens of the study area presentan excellent example of all embracing multipurpose land-usesystem and biodiversity conservation
41 Species Diversity and Biodiversity Conservation in Tra-ditional Homestead Garden Farming System Biodiversityconservation has become a growing concern for all over theworld and it is linked up highly with long-term health andvigour of the biosphere as an indicator of global environmentand also as a regulator of ecosystem functioning [56] Thebiological diversity indices revealed that homestead gardencould play an important role for carbon sequestration inthe future since plant growth is directly proportional tothe carbon sequestration capacity of the forest [57 58]By studying different literatures of homestead gardens allover Bangladesh we have developed in our mind that anumber of opportunities and drawbacks are influencing theselection of species of homestead garden Considering allthese we have developed a model of species diversity andbiodiversity conservation for both urban and rural surveyedhomestead gardens represented in Figure 1 We classified theopportunities and drawbacks of a typical homestead gardenfor both rural and urban areas separately Among the oppor-tunities the most prominent according to our observationwere generating income food security soil erosion controltimber demand market access beautification cattle foddermedicinal purposes and fuel wood species The drawbacksthat are influencing the selection of species were croplandexpansion fast growing species demand natural calamitiesland scarcity domestic animal low crown canopy infrastruc-ture and so forth The economical condition of the ruralpeople is not as like as urban people For this they usuallyprefer species that will provide them necessary fuel wood andfodder for their cattle Plantation of medicinal plant speciescan help to get remedy from diseases also regular supply ofrawmaterials to the industry could be an important source ofearning money to the farmers Urban people usually preferto plant various flowering and ornamental plants such asTagetes erectaGomphrena globosa andCodiaeumvariegatumfor ornamental beauty of their houses because they occupy asmaller space in their garden premises and they do not likesuch condition that will decrease the beautification view oftheir house The trend in gradual replacement of functionalplants to ornamentals has also been observed in cases wherepeople became richer [59] Side-by-side grazing of domesticanimals disturbs the diversity of homestead forest species Inthis circumstance introduction of grasses sedges and smallbushes could be a solution to get remedy to this problem
ISRN Biodiversity 9
Generating income
Food security Soil erosion Timber demand
Market access
Fuel wood species
Cattle fodder
Medicinal purposes
Urban Rural
Opportunities
Species diversity and choice of species
Biodiversity conservation
Threats
Rural Urban
Domestic animal Fast growingspecies
Naturalcalamities
Land scarcity Croplandexpansion
Low crowncanopy
Infrastructure
Beautification
Figure 1 Conceptual model of species diversity and biodiversity conservation in homestead garden farming system
This type of management could help villagers in getting fuelwood without disturbing the main vegetation Whatsoever itis now clear that homestead garden is a storehouse of largespecies diversity and sustainable resource management andthis large species diversity can play an important role inbiodiversity conservation
5 Conclusion
For aesthetic environmental and economic perspectivesspecies planting in homestead garden is desirableHomesteadgardening plays a significant role in both rural and urbanlandscape planning and management In this study we haveobserved that the homestead plant composition diversityand species richness were moderate in Kishoregang Sadararea Moreover there was a lack of scientific knowledgeof the gardeners an absence of proper planning and nospecific objectives and goals Present study did not discussany economic contribution andmarket access for homesteadthus further study is highly recommended and neededto directly test the economic significance and influence ofmarket access on the vegetation structure of both commercialand subsistence-oriented homestead gardens in northernBangladesh The moderate domination of fruit species overtimber species may be attributed to the gardenersrsquo generalperception that fruit species would bring early return aswell as the multipurpose nature of fruit species Homesteadgarden could provide employment opportunities for bothmale and female members resulting in increased familyincome for better livelihood to a large population in northernBangladesh Till now there is no specific management planof homestead gardens all over the country although it hastremendous contribution to greening the nature Considering
the present state of the homestead garden of the study areathis paper suggests that there is a need to establish properplanning and management mechanisms from governmentfor homestead garden This can be done by providing someincentives andor training to the owners to be more carefulabout conserving garden species to improve both ruraland urban plant species coverage It is also recommendedthat experimentation with new and diversified tree speciescan play an important role in enhancing the diversity anddistribution of homestead garden in the Kishoreganj Sadararea
Acknowledgments
The authors are highly grateful to each and every respondentwho participated in this study for giving their valuable timeand information regarding their homestead gardensThey areverymuch grateful toMr AvikKumar Roy for his consistencesupport during data collection as well as for giving overallidea about the study area
References
[1] M S UddinM J Rahman andMAMannan ldquoPlant biodiver-sity in the homesteads of saline area of Southern Bangladeshrdquoin Proceedings of National Workshop on Agroforestry ResearchDevelopment of Agroforestry Research in Bangladesh M F HaqMKHasan SMAsaduzzaman andMY Ali Eds pp 45ndash54Gazipur Bangladesh 2001
[2] M Zashimuddin Community Forestry for Poverty Reduction inBangladesh in Forests for Poverty Reduction Can CommunityForestry Make Money FAO Regional Office for Asia and thePacific Bangkok Thailand 2004
10 ISRN Biodiversity
[3] M E Kabir and E L Webb ldquoCan homegardens conserve bi-odiversity in Bangladeshrdquo Biotropica vol 40 no 1 pp 95ndash1032008
[4] A J Southern Acquisition of indigenous ecological knowledgeabout forest gardens in Kandy district Sri Lanka [M PhilDissertation] University of Wales Bangor UK 1994
[5] M B Uddin and S A Mukul ldquoImproving forest dependentlivelihoods through NTFPs and home gardens a case studyfrom satchari national parkrdquo in Making Conservation WorkLinking Rural Livelihoods amp Protected Area Management inBangladesh J Fox B Bushley S Dutt and S A QuaziEds pp 13ndash35 Nishorgo Program of the Bangladesh ForestDepartment and East-West Center of University of HawaiiDhaka Bangladesh 2007
[6] FAO ldquoGlobal forest resource assessment 2010 main reportrdquoFAO Forestry Paper 163 Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO) of the United Nations Rome Italy 2010
[7] M D Millat-E-Mustafa J B Hall and Z TeklehaimanotldquoStructure and floristics of Bangladesh homegardensrdquo Agro-forestry Systems vol 33 no 3 pp 263ndash280 1996
[8] K M Masum M S Alam and M M Abdullah-Al-MamunldquoEcological and economical significance of homestead forest tothe household of the offshore island in Bangladeshrdquo Journal ofForestry Research vol 19 no 4 pp 307ndash310 2008
[9] M F U Ahmed and S M L Rahman ldquoProfile and use of multi-species tree crops in the homesteads of Gazipur district centralBangladeshrdquo Journal of Sustainable Agriculture vol 24 no 1 pp81ndash93 2004
[10] O T Coomes and N Ban ldquoCultivated plant species diversity inhome gardens of an amazonian peasant village in northeasternPerurdquo Economic Botany vol 58 no 3 pp 420ndash434 2004
[11] B A Withrow-Robinson and D E Hibbs ldquoTesting an ecolog-ically based classification tool on fruit-based agroforestry innorthernThailandrdquoAgroforestry Systems vol 65 no 2 pp 123ndash135 2005
[12] O S Abdoellah H Y Hadikusumah K Takeuchi S Okuboand P Parikesit ldquoCommercialization of homegardens in anIndonesian village vegetation composition and functionalchangesrdquo Agroforestry Systems vol 68 no 1 pp 1ndash13 2006
[13] V E Mendez R Lok and E Somarriba ldquoInterdisciplinaryanalysis of homegardens in Nicaragua micro-zonation plantuse and socioeconomic importancerdquo Agroforestry Systems vol51 no 2 pp 85ndash96 2001
[14] C R Vogl and B Vogl-Lukasser ldquoTradition dynamics andsustainability of plant species composition and managementin homegardens on organic and non-organic small scale farmsin Alpine Eastern Tyrol Austriardquo Biological Agriculture andHorticulture vol 21 no 4 pp 349ndash366 2003
[15] A Hemp ldquoThe banana forests of Kilimanjaro biodiversity andconservation of the Chagga homegardensrdquo Biodiversity andConservation vol 15 no 4 pp 1193ndash1217 2006
[16] D K Das List of Bangladesh Village Tree Species ForestResearch Institute Chittagong Bangladesh 1990
[17] M M Hassan and A H Mazumdar ldquoAn exploratory surveyof trees on homestead and waste land of Bangladeshrdquo ADABNews pp 26ndash32 1990
[18] M K Alam and M Mohiuddin Some Potential MultipurposeTrees For Homesteads in Bangladesh vol 2 of AgroforestryInformation Series Winrock International Dhaka Bangladesh1992 Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC)
[19] M K Alam M Mohiuddin and S R Basak ldquoVillage treesin Bangladesh diversity and economic aspectsrdquo BangladeshJournal of Forest Science vol 25 no 1ndash2 pp 21ndash36 1996
[20] S A Khan and M K Alam Homestead Flora of BangladeshBangaldesh Agricultural Research Council InternationalDevelopment Research Cenbtre Village and Farm ForestryProject (SDC) Dhaka Bangladesh 1996
[21] M S Siddiqi and N A Khan ldquoFloristic composition and socio-economic aspects of rural homestead garden in Chittagong acase studyrdquo Journal of Forest Science vol 28 no 2 pp 94ndash1011999
[22] A M Shajaat Ali ldquoHomegardens in smallholder farmingsystems examples from Bangladeshrdquo Human Ecology vol 33no 2 pp 245ndash270 2005
[23] M E Kabir and E L Webb ldquoFloristics and structure of south-western Bangladesh homegardensrdquoThe International Journal ofBiodiversity Science and Management vol 4 no 1 pp 54ndash642008
[24] K U Ahmad ldquoMinor fruits in homestead agro forestryrdquo inAgroforestry Bangladesh Perspective M K Alam F U Ahmedand S M R Amin Eds pp 165ndash169 APAAN NAWG andBARC Dhaka Bangladesh 1997
[25] N M Islam Homestead garden agroforestry in Bangladesha case study in Rangpur district [MS thesis] AgriculturalUniversity of Norway As Norway 1998
[26] M A Bashar Homestead garden Agroforestry impact on Bi-odiversity conservation and household food security a casestudy of Gajipur district Bangladesh [MS thesis] AgriculturalUniversity of Norway As Norway 1999
[27] M S Alam M F Haque M Z Abedin and S AkterldquoHomestead trees and household fuel uses in and around thefarming systems research site Jessorerdquo inHomestead Plantationand Agroforestry in Bangladesh M Z Abedin C K Lai andM O Ali Eds pp 106ndash119 BARI RWEDP and WINROCKDhaka Bangladesh 1990
[28] G Miah M Z Abedin A B M A Khair M Shahidullah andA J M A Baki ldquoHomestead Plantation and household fuelsituation in Ganges floodplain of Bangladeshrdquo in HomesteadPlantation and Agroforestry in Bangladesh M Z Abedin CK Lai and M O Ali Eds pp 120ndash135 BARI JoydebpurBangladesh 1990
[29] M A Momin M Z Abedin M R Amin Q M S Islam andM M Haque ldquoExisting homestead plantation and householdfuel use pattern in the flood prone tangail region of Bangladeshrdquoin Homestead Plantation and Agroforestry in Bangladesh MZ Abedin C K Lai and M O Ali Eds pp 136ndash145 BARIJoydebpur Bangladesh 1990
[30] M Millat-E-Mustafa Z Teklehaimanot and A K O HarunildquoTraditional uses of perennial homestead garden plants inBangladeshrdquoForests Trees and Livelihoods vol 12 no 4 pp 235ndash256 2002
[31] R M Motiur J Tsukamoto Y Furukawa Z Shibayama and IKawata ldquoQuantitative stand structure of woody components ofhomestead forests and its implications on silvicultural manage-ment a case study in Sylhet Sadar Bangladeshrdquo Journal of ForestResearch vol 10 no 4 pp 285ndash294 2005
[32] W A Leuschner and K Khaleque ldquoHomestead agroforestry inBangladeshrdquoAgroforestry Systems vol 5 no 2 pp 139ndash151 1987
[33] N A Khan ldquoSocial forestry versus social reality patronage andcommunity-based forestry in Bangladeshrdquo Gatekeeper Series99 International Institute for Environment and Development(IIED) London UK 2001
ISRN Biodiversity 11
[34] R M Motiur Y Furukawa I Kawata M M Rahman and MAlam ldquoRole of homestead forests in household economy andfactors affecting forest production a case study in southwestBangladeshrdquo Journal of Forest Research vol 11 no 2 pp 89ndash972006
[35] M S Alam andKMMasum ldquoStatus of homestead biodiversityin the offshore Island of Bangladeshrdquo Research Journal ofAgriculture and Biological Sciences vol 1 no 3 pp 246ndash2532005
[36] S Akhter M Alamgir M S I Sohel M P Rana S J MonjurulAhmed and M S H Chowdhury ldquoThe role of women intraditional farming systems as practiced in homegardens a casestudy in Sylhet Sadar Upazila Bangladeshrdquo Tropical Conserva-tion Science vol 3 no 1 pp 17ndash30 2010
[37] H M F Rahman ldquoKishoreganj Sadar Upozilardquo in Banglape-dia National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh httpwwwbanglap-ediaorg
[38] K U Siddique M A Islam Z U Ahmed et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 11 AngiospermsMonocotyledons (Agavaceae-Najadaceae) Asiatic Society ofBangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2007
[39] K U Siddique M A Islam Z U Ahmed et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 5 BryophytesPteridophytes Gymnosperm Asiatic Society of BangladeshDhaka Bangladesh 2008
[40] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al EdsEncyclopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 6Angiosperms Dicotyledons (Acanthaceae-Asteraceae) AsiaticSociety of Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
[41] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 7 AngiospermsDicotyledons (Balsaminaceae-Euphorbiaceae) Asiatic Society ofBangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
[42] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al EdsEncyclopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 12Angiosperms Monocotyledons (Orchidaceae-Zingiberaceae)Asiatic Society of Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
[43] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 8 AngiospermsDicotyledons (Fabaceae-Lythraceae) Asiatic Society of Bang-ladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2009
[44] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 9 AngiospermsDicotyledons (Magnoliaceae-Ponicaceae) Asiatic Society ofBangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2009
[45] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al EdsEncyclopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 10Angiosperms Dicotyledons (Ranunculaceae-Zygophyllaceae)Asiatic Society of Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2010
[46] E P Odum Fundamentals of Ecology WB Saunders Philadel-phia Pa USA 1971
[47] R Margalef ldquoInformation theory in ecologyrdquo General SystemsYearbook vol 3 pp 36ndash71 1958
[48] P Michael Ecological Methods For Field and Laboratory Investi-gation McGraw-Hill New Delhi India 1990
[49] M Kent and P Coker Vegetation Description and Analysis APractical Approach WB Saunders Philadelphia Pa USA 1992
[50] E C Pielou ldquoSpecies-diversity and pattern-diversity in thestudy of ecological successionrdquo Journal of Theoretical Biologyvol 10 no 2 pp 370ndash383 1966
[51] A E Magurran Ecological Diversity and Measurement Prince-ton University Press Princeton NJ USA 1988
[52] S A Mori B M Boom A M Carvalino and D Santos ldquoTheecological importance of Myrtaceae in eastern Brazilian wetforestrdquo Biotropica vol 15 pp 68ndash70 1983
[53] M Z Abedin and M A Quddus ldquoHousehold fuel situationhomestead gardens and agroforestry practice at six agro-ecologically different locations of Bangladeshrdquo in HomesteadPlantation and Agroforestry in Bangladesh M Z Abedin CK Lai and M O Ali Eds pp 19ndash53 Bangladesh AgricultureResearch Institute (BARI) Joydebpur Bangladesh 1990
[54] M Millat-E-Mustafa ldquoTropical Homestead gardens anoverviewrdquo in Agroforestry Bangladesh Perspective M K AlamF U Ahmed and S M Amin Eds pp 18ndash133 APAN NAWGBAEC Dhaka Bangladesh 1997
[55] T Abebe Diversity in homegarden agroforestry systems ofsouthern Ethiopia [PhD Dissertation] Wageningen UniversityWageningen The Netherlands 2005
[56] O T Solbrig ldquoThe origin and function of biodiversityrdquo Environ-ment vol 33 no 5 pp 16ndash38 1991
[57] P Kumar ldquoCarbon sequestration strategy of Nubra Valleywith special reference to agroforestryrdquo DRDO TechnologySpectrum pp 187ndash192 2008
[58] P Kumar S Gupta and S Prakash ldquoCarbon pool of orchardsin siachen sector socio-economic Carbon sequestrationrdquo inAdvances in Agriculture Environment and Health S B SinghO P Charassia and S Yadav Eds pp 225ndash233 2008
[59] L Christanty O S Abdoellah G G Marten and J IskanderldquoTraditional agroforestry in West Java the pekarangan (Home-stead garden) and kebun-talun (annual-perennial rotation)cropping systemsrdquo in Traditional Agriculture in Southeast AsiaA Human Ecology Perspective G G Marten Ed pp 132ndash158Westview Press Boulder Colo USA 1986
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Forestry ResearchInternational Journal of
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Marine BiologyJournal of
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Environmental Chemistry
Atmospheric SciencesInternational Journal of
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Geophysics
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BiodiversityInternational Journal of
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ScientificaHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
OceanographyInternational Journal of
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ClimatologyJournal of
6 ISRN Biodiversity
Albizia spp because of the peoplersquos attitude towards earningmoremoney through timber production However Swieteniamahagoni Albizia saman Delonix regia and Tectona grandishave been domesticated and have a long heritage of introduc-tion
32 Species Family Composition Araceae Mimosaceae andVerbenaceae families represented the highest numbers of fourspecies followed byCaesalpiniaceae Euphorbiaceae Poaceaeand Rutaceae representing three species AmaranthaceaeAsteraceae Anacardiaceae Combretaceae Meliaceae Myr-taceae Oxalidaceae Solanaceae and Zingiberaceae denotedtwo species and the rest of the families comprised onlyone species (Table 3) Among them 20 families (5556)represented only one species followed by two species wererepresented by nine families (25) three and more thanthree species are represented by four families (1111) and3 species (833) respectively The family importance value(FIV) was recorded highest for Araceae (163 individualsFIV 134) followed by Mimosaceae (143 individuals FIV126) Verbenaceae (118 individuals FIV 116) Rutaceae (117individuals FIV 982) Poaceae (99 individuals FIV 91)Caesalpiniaceae (96 individuals FIV 898) Zingiberaceae(137 individuals FIV 889) and lowest for Lauraceae (11 indi-viduals FIV 216) followed by Urtiaceae (17 individuals FIV240) Apocynaceae (20 individuals FIV 252) Annonaceae(25 individuals FIV 272) and Acanthaceae (28 individualsFIV 284)
33 Ecological Diversity Indices of Homestead Species Theresult of Shannon-Winner diversity index value was cal-culated highest for rural homestead garden both of tree(339) and of shrub (236) species where for herb speciesthe highest value (25) was found for the urban homesteadgarden Shannonrsquos maximum diversity index value (35) wasobserved highest for rural homestead tree species In case ofherb (256) and shrub (248) species the values were similarfor both types of the gardens Shannonrsquos equitability index(097) Simpsonrsquos index (004) and dominance of Simpsonrsquosindex (096) values were found similar for both the rural andurban homestead tree species For herb species Shannonrsquosequitability index value was highest for urban gardens (097)where dominance of Simpsonrsquos index (091) was found similarfor both rural and urban gardens However in case of shrubspecies Shannonrsquos equitability index value was highest forrural gardens (095) Simpsonrsquos index value (093) for urbangardens and dominance of Simpsonrsquos index value (089) forrural gardens However in case of tree and herb speciesspecies evenness index value was highest (224) for urbanhomestead garden where for shrub the value (219) washighest in rural homestead Species richness index valuesfor tree (498) and herb (226) species were highest in ruralhomestead but for shrub species the value (214) was highestin urban homestead (Table 4)
34 Spatial Arrangement of Homestead Garden Species In thestudy area it was observed that homestead gardeners do notfollow any specific spatial arrangement pattern and scientific
Table 4 Ecological diversity indices of homestead plant species inrural and urban areas of the study area
Ecologicaldiversity indexlowast
Tree Herb ShrubUrban Rural Urban Rural Urban Rural
SDI 004 005 007 004 007 004R 459 498 226 203 214 189E 224 223 224 22 213 219H 335 339 25 245 23 236Hmax 343 35 256 256 248 248EH 097 097 097 096 093 095D 004 004 009 009 012 011D1015840 096 096 091 091 088 089lowastH Shannon-Winner diversity index Hmax Shannonrsquos maximum diversityindex EH Shannonrsquos equitability index SDI species diversity index Rspecies richness index E species evenness indexD Simpsons index andD1015840dominance of Simpsons index
considerations for raising plants Plants were usually plantedin the front back and surroundings of the houses Resultsrevealed that 475 of rural gardeners preferred mostly thefront yard for species plantation followed by back yard325 homestead boundary (adjacent to the dwelling house)by 125 and 75 household owners preferred both pondbanks and road side simultaneously In case of urban area35 gardeners preferred balcony and veranda for plantingspecies followed by 30 in front yard 225 in homesteadboundary and 125 in rooftopThe reason for this variationwas that rural people depend more on homestead forest fortheir livelihood security as well as certain amount of familyincome than that of urban households Except these otherfactors those influence the species planting in different sitesare beautification of household area low canopy coverageland scarcity and so forth Ornamental plants for exampleGomphrena globosa Tagetes erecta Codiaeum variegatumOcimum sanctum and Nyctanthes arbortristis and majorfruit crop species for example Mangifera indica ArtocarpusheterophyllusCitrus limon Psidium guajava Zizyphusmauri-tiana Citrus grandis and Carica papayawere usually plantedin the front yard of the house (rural and urban) so that thegardeners can keep eye on them Trees in the homestead-boundary acted as a live fence and windbreak Tall woodyspecies such as are planted in the back yard for buildingmaterials and firewood
35 Choice of Species Grown for Different Usages The reasonsfor growing a variety of fruit species in the homesteadgardens are more or less complex A number of factorsdetermined the farmersrsquo decisions for growing particularspecies or groups of species The farmers were keen to growtimber trees for cash income if they already had a successfulstrategy for deriving income from off-farm labour or fromcrops Farmers with large families tend to grow fruit treesIn the surveyed area homestead plant species generally usedfor fruit and food medicines firewood timber and orna-mental and beautification purposes were identified Amongthem 45 were fruit and food providing species 3871
ISRN Biodiversity 7
medicinal plant species 3226 firewood species 2903timber species 1613 ornamental beautification and spir-itual species 1129 species are used as both for fodder andfence and 483 species used as spice and vegetables
36 Cultural Practices of Homestead Garden Farmers gen-erally collect planting materials from homesteads wildings(species that are growncollected from outside homesteadpremises) friends and families relatives government andNGO nurseries No specific spacing is followed in plantingof species in homestead garden Sometimes it was also foundto plant herbaceous species like Zingiber officinale Curcumalonga under the layer of shrub like Carica papaya Citruslimon and so forth in order to make the optimum use oftheir land Study figured out the analysis of respondentsanswers regarding different aspects of the existing manage-ment systems of homestead gardens in the study area Duringsurvey it was found that some households are not engagedin any managementcultural operations in their homesteadgardens whereas other households are more or less engagedwith the management of homestead gardens Species wereplanted usually during the morning andor afternoon ofthe day mostly in the monsoon season Generally fastgrowing and species having low crown coverage are selectedfor the plantation The results revealed that almost all thehouseholds carried out watering (100) and soil ploughing(94) Weeding was done out by 85 of respondents as wellas fencing (5375) and 675 respondents did mulchingConsequently about 62 respondents practice thinning orpruning in their homestead garden Large farmers generallyhired labour for doing thinning and pruning operations Butthey do very much little care for manuring (4625) andapplying pesticide (35) in their homesteads
37 Role of Homestead Gardens in Local Biodiversity Conser-vation Homestead gardens have long been themost effectiveand widespread measure for biodiversity conservation inBangladesh as due to anthropogenic pressure and land usechange the natural forest has been decreasing day by dayboth in explicit and implicit ways leading to threats tofuture productivity Generally rural communities preferredcultivated and planted multipurpose species that can beserved as fruits vegetables and spices also used as tim-ber Such kind of choice is the most important factor tohomestead gardens conservation in Bangladesh and playsa significant role in forest conservation since all the woodand other non-timber forest products that are harvested inthe homestead gardens do not need to be collected fromforests Respondents said that homestead gardens attract anumber of bird species like Streptopelia chinensis Psittac-ula krameri Eudynamys scolopaceus Micropternus brachyu-rus Dinopium benghalense Oriolus xanthornus Dicrurusmacrocercus Acridotheres tristis Corvus splendens Turduscafer Orthotomus sutorius Copsychus saularis Nectariniazeylonica Anthus campestris Passer domesticus and Plo-ceus philippinus to collect their food and making nestMoreover some animal species like squirrel take shelter
Table 5 Perceived importance of homestead garden conservationin the study area
Items Veryimportant
Lessimportant
Notimportant
Food and fruit 85 15 0Firewood 6875 2375 75Building materials 7875 20 125Subsistence familyincome 7375 20 625
Medicinal plants 2875 35 3625Ecological balance 2875 375 3375Soil erosion control 5125 375 1125Otherslowast 3625 175 4625lowastBoundary ornamental and spiritual purposes and so forth
and collect their food especially fruit like Aegle marme-los Annona squamosa Areca catechu Averrhoa carambolaCarica papaya Carissa carandas Cocos nucifera Dilleniaindica Elaeocarpus floribundus Mangifera indica Phyllan-thus acidus Phyllanthus emblica Psidium guajava Spondiaspinnata Syzygium cumini Tamarindus indica and Zizyphusmauritiana from the urban and rural homestead gardensThey also mentioned that some birds play a significant roleas pollinators or in the control of insect pests At this timedispersal of seeds also occurs by the animal birds andhelps in natural regeneration of homestead plants speciessince natural regeneration is the most important factor fortree diversity conservation Study also found a number ofbamboo shrub herb and climber species which were largelyused by the households also they give shelter to animaldiversity
38 Perceived Importance for Conservation of HomesteadGarden Species To determine the perceived importance ofhomestead species conservation farmers were interviewedusing a questionnaire asked to evaluate the importance ofmentioned eight functions of trees The results are presentedin Table 5 Likewise farmersrsquo perceived most importancefor homestead plant species conservation was related tofruit and food (85) followed by buildingmaterials (7875)subsistence family income (7375) and source of firewood(6875) The surveyed rural area is affected by monsoonflood every year as a result soil erosion is a serious problem inthis regionTherefore in order to keep houses above thewaterlevel it is mandatory to raise houses at the highest elevationsor fill the land by soil in the dry season especially throughoutthe floodplain regions As a consequence people are usuallyconcerned about the trees role to protect their homesteadland against water-induced soil erosion by binding the soilHowever they were not concerned about ecological impor-tance of forest Yet the majority of the respondents gradedthe homestead garden as being ldquoless importantrdquo as a meansof maintaining ecological balance and soil erosion control(375) followed by a source of medicinal plants (35)So it seems that there is still a lack of knowledge in these
8 ISRN Biodiversity
two categories and institutional and government and NGOstraining and learning programs are necessary to facilitateknowledge
4 Discussion
Analysis of the existing tree composition structure andrichness revealed that homestead forest in the study area hasmoderately high biodiversity and species richness Howeverthe number of plant species was higher than those foundin other homesteads of Bangladesh by Abedin and Quddus[53] cited from Alam and Masum [35] found in Tangail (52species) Ishurdi (34 species) Jessore (28 species) Patuakhali(20 species) Rajshahi (28 species) and Rangpur (21 species)districts respectively Motiur et al [31] found 60 species inSylhet Sadar Motiur et al [34] found 58 species in SouthwestBangladesh Kabir andWebb [3] recorded a total of 419 plantspecies from southwestern Bangladesh Alam and Masum[35] recorded a total of 101 species and Masum et al [8] 142species in an offshore island (Sandwip Island) of BangladeshMillat-E-Mustafa [54] identified 92 perennial plant species inone study conducted in different parts of the country
The traditional production system of homestead gar-den in the study area is moderate in terms of level ofcultural practices for absence of improved managementpractices and high-quality variety Farmers depend usuallyon naturally growing plants on their homestead boundaryBesides analysis of existing management regime indicatedthat the growers lack of scientific information almost allthe household owners still followed traditional homesteadforest management systems whereas a little owner adoptedmodern practices Increased tree planting in the homesteadsand their appropriate management including intercroppingpractices should be the strategy for enhancing tree coverof the homesteads of study area in order to meet basicneeds of its people and maintain environmental balanceHomestead gardens are playing a potential role in biodiversityconservation as well as uplifting the socioeconomic conditionby contributing families or householdrsquos annual income andproviding nutritional diet to families Variable homesteadgarden products such as seasonal fruits firewood medicinalplants timber and vegetables and spices were mostly usedby the small and medium household owners for their dailyneeds but large owners get their products into the market forsaleThese findings are also supported by the study of Millat-E-Mustafa [54] for the homestead garden of four regions inBangladesh Most of the households were found to prefermostly food or fruit species (45) because of the incomeincentives and family needs and this was also supported byseveral researchers [8 21 54] across the country
In the present study homesteads gardens were largelyuser oriented and market access was not fully developedHowever market access for homestead products is essentialas they sell their products easily into the market as wellas other forest products It was shown that most of theproducers were selling to their neighbours or local tradersTherefore they do not get proper price for their productsIf they get their products to the market or sell products via
retailers they will get proper prices also which is very muchimportant for the small household owners therefore creatinga scope for income Many studies of tropical homesteadgarden have reported reduced species diversity and stemdensity in homestead garden with closer proximity to marketfor example [55] So market access condition has greateffect on homestead forest management thus further studyis needed to directly test the influence of market accesson the homestead gardens structure of both commercialand subsistence-oriented homestead garden in BangladeshHowever the homestead gardens of the study area presentan excellent example of all embracing multipurpose land-usesystem and biodiversity conservation
41 Species Diversity and Biodiversity Conservation in Tra-ditional Homestead Garden Farming System Biodiversityconservation has become a growing concern for all over theworld and it is linked up highly with long-term health andvigour of the biosphere as an indicator of global environmentand also as a regulator of ecosystem functioning [56] Thebiological diversity indices revealed that homestead gardencould play an important role for carbon sequestration inthe future since plant growth is directly proportional tothe carbon sequestration capacity of the forest [57 58]By studying different literatures of homestead gardens allover Bangladesh we have developed in our mind that anumber of opportunities and drawbacks are influencing theselection of species of homestead garden Considering allthese we have developed a model of species diversity andbiodiversity conservation for both urban and rural surveyedhomestead gardens represented in Figure 1 We classified theopportunities and drawbacks of a typical homestead gardenfor both rural and urban areas separately Among the oppor-tunities the most prominent according to our observationwere generating income food security soil erosion controltimber demand market access beautification cattle foddermedicinal purposes and fuel wood species The drawbacksthat are influencing the selection of species were croplandexpansion fast growing species demand natural calamitiesland scarcity domestic animal low crown canopy infrastruc-ture and so forth The economical condition of the ruralpeople is not as like as urban people For this they usuallyprefer species that will provide them necessary fuel wood andfodder for their cattle Plantation of medicinal plant speciescan help to get remedy from diseases also regular supply ofrawmaterials to the industry could be an important source ofearning money to the farmers Urban people usually preferto plant various flowering and ornamental plants such asTagetes erectaGomphrena globosa andCodiaeumvariegatumfor ornamental beauty of their houses because they occupy asmaller space in their garden premises and they do not likesuch condition that will decrease the beautification view oftheir house The trend in gradual replacement of functionalplants to ornamentals has also been observed in cases wherepeople became richer [59] Side-by-side grazing of domesticanimals disturbs the diversity of homestead forest species Inthis circumstance introduction of grasses sedges and smallbushes could be a solution to get remedy to this problem
ISRN Biodiversity 9
Generating income
Food security Soil erosion Timber demand
Market access
Fuel wood species
Cattle fodder
Medicinal purposes
Urban Rural
Opportunities
Species diversity and choice of species
Biodiversity conservation
Threats
Rural Urban
Domestic animal Fast growingspecies
Naturalcalamities
Land scarcity Croplandexpansion
Low crowncanopy
Infrastructure
Beautification
Figure 1 Conceptual model of species diversity and biodiversity conservation in homestead garden farming system
This type of management could help villagers in getting fuelwood without disturbing the main vegetation Whatsoever itis now clear that homestead garden is a storehouse of largespecies diversity and sustainable resource management andthis large species diversity can play an important role inbiodiversity conservation
5 Conclusion
For aesthetic environmental and economic perspectivesspecies planting in homestead garden is desirableHomesteadgardening plays a significant role in both rural and urbanlandscape planning and management In this study we haveobserved that the homestead plant composition diversityand species richness were moderate in Kishoregang Sadararea Moreover there was a lack of scientific knowledgeof the gardeners an absence of proper planning and nospecific objectives and goals Present study did not discussany economic contribution andmarket access for homesteadthus further study is highly recommended and neededto directly test the economic significance and influence ofmarket access on the vegetation structure of both commercialand subsistence-oriented homestead gardens in northernBangladesh The moderate domination of fruit species overtimber species may be attributed to the gardenersrsquo generalperception that fruit species would bring early return aswell as the multipurpose nature of fruit species Homesteadgarden could provide employment opportunities for bothmale and female members resulting in increased familyincome for better livelihood to a large population in northernBangladesh Till now there is no specific management planof homestead gardens all over the country although it hastremendous contribution to greening the nature Considering
the present state of the homestead garden of the study areathis paper suggests that there is a need to establish properplanning and management mechanisms from governmentfor homestead garden This can be done by providing someincentives andor training to the owners to be more carefulabout conserving garden species to improve both ruraland urban plant species coverage It is also recommendedthat experimentation with new and diversified tree speciescan play an important role in enhancing the diversity anddistribution of homestead garden in the Kishoreganj Sadararea
Acknowledgments
The authors are highly grateful to each and every respondentwho participated in this study for giving their valuable timeand information regarding their homestead gardensThey areverymuch grateful toMr AvikKumar Roy for his consistencesupport during data collection as well as for giving overallidea about the study area
References
[1] M S UddinM J Rahman andMAMannan ldquoPlant biodiver-sity in the homesteads of saline area of Southern Bangladeshrdquoin Proceedings of National Workshop on Agroforestry ResearchDevelopment of Agroforestry Research in Bangladesh M F HaqMKHasan SMAsaduzzaman andMY Ali Eds pp 45ndash54Gazipur Bangladesh 2001
[2] M Zashimuddin Community Forestry for Poverty Reduction inBangladesh in Forests for Poverty Reduction Can CommunityForestry Make Money FAO Regional Office for Asia and thePacific Bangkok Thailand 2004
10 ISRN Biodiversity
[3] M E Kabir and E L Webb ldquoCan homegardens conserve bi-odiversity in Bangladeshrdquo Biotropica vol 40 no 1 pp 95ndash1032008
[4] A J Southern Acquisition of indigenous ecological knowledgeabout forest gardens in Kandy district Sri Lanka [M PhilDissertation] University of Wales Bangor UK 1994
[5] M B Uddin and S A Mukul ldquoImproving forest dependentlivelihoods through NTFPs and home gardens a case studyfrom satchari national parkrdquo in Making Conservation WorkLinking Rural Livelihoods amp Protected Area Management inBangladesh J Fox B Bushley S Dutt and S A QuaziEds pp 13ndash35 Nishorgo Program of the Bangladesh ForestDepartment and East-West Center of University of HawaiiDhaka Bangladesh 2007
[6] FAO ldquoGlobal forest resource assessment 2010 main reportrdquoFAO Forestry Paper 163 Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO) of the United Nations Rome Italy 2010
[7] M D Millat-E-Mustafa J B Hall and Z TeklehaimanotldquoStructure and floristics of Bangladesh homegardensrdquo Agro-forestry Systems vol 33 no 3 pp 263ndash280 1996
[8] K M Masum M S Alam and M M Abdullah-Al-MamunldquoEcological and economical significance of homestead forest tothe household of the offshore island in Bangladeshrdquo Journal ofForestry Research vol 19 no 4 pp 307ndash310 2008
[9] M F U Ahmed and S M L Rahman ldquoProfile and use of multi-species tree crops in the homesteads of Gazipur district centralBangladeshrdquo Journal of Sustainable Agriculture vol 24 no 1 pp81ndash93 2004
[10] O T Coomes and N Ban ldquoCultivated plant species diversity inhome gardens of an amazonian peasant village in northeasternPerurdquo Economic Botany vol 58 no 3 pp 420ndash434 2004
[11] B A Withrow-Robinson and D E Hibbs ldquoTesting an ecolog-ically based classification tool on fruit-based agroforestry innorthernThailandrdquoAgroforestry Systems vol 65 no 2 pp 123ndash135 2005
[12] O S Abdoellah H Y Hadikusumah K Takeuchi S Okuboand P Parikesit ldquoCommercialization of homegardens in anIndonesian village vegetation composition and functionalchangesrdquo Agroforestry Systems vol 68 no 1 pp 1ndash13 2006
[13] V E Mendez R Lok and E Somarriba ldquoInterdisciplinaryanalysis of homegardens in Nicaragua micro-zonation plantuse and socioeconomic importancerdquo Agroforestry Systems vol51 no 2 pp 85ndash96 2001
[14] C R Vogl and B Vogl-Lukasser ldquoTradition dynamics andsustainability of plant species composition and managementin homegardens on organic and non-organic small scale farmsin Alpine Eastern Tyrol Austriardquo Biological Agriculture andHorticulture vol 21 no 4 pp 349ndash366 2003
[15] A Hemp ldquoThe banana forests of Kilimanjaro biodiversity andconservation of the Chagga homegardensrdquo Biodiversity andConservation vol 15 no 4 pp 1193ndash1217 2006
[16] D K Das List of Bangladesh Village Tree Species ForestResearch Institute Chittagong Bangladesh 1990
[17] M M Hassan and A H Mazumdar ldquoAn exploratory surveyof trees on homestead and waste land of Bangladeshrdquo ADABNews pp 26ndash32 1990
[18] M K Alam and M Mohiuddin Some Potential MultipurposeTrees For Homesteads in Bangladesh vol 2 of AgroforestryInformation Series Winrock International Dhaka Bangladesh1992 Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC)
[19] M K Alam M Mohiuddin and S R Basak ldquoVillage treesin Bangladesh diversity and economic aspectsrdquo BangladeshJournal of Forest Science vol 25 no 1ndash2 pp 21ndash36 1996
[20] S A Khan and M K Alam Homestead Flora of BangladeshBangaldesh Agricultural Research Council InternationalDevelopment Research Cenbtre Village and Farm ForestryProject (SDC) Dhaka Bangladesh 1996
[21] M S Siddiqi and N A Khan ldquoFloristic composition and socio-economic aspects of rural homestead garden in Chittagong acase studyrdquo Journal of Forest Science vol 28 no 2 pp 94ndash1011999
[22] A M Shajaat Ali ldquoHomegardens in smallholder farmingsystems examples from Bangladeshrdquo Human Ecology vol 33no 2 pp 245ndash270 2005
[23] M E Kabir and E L Webb ldquoFloristics and structure of south-western Bangladesh homegardensrdquoThe International Journal ofBiodiversity Science and Management vol 4 no 1 pp 54ndash642008
[24] K U Ahmad ldquoMinor fruits in homestead agro forestryrdquo inAgroforestry Bangladesh Perspective M K Alam F U Ahmedand S M R Amin Eds pp 165ndash169 APAAN NAWG andBARC Dhaka Bangladesh 1997
[25] N M Islam Homestead garden agroforestry in Bangladesha case study in Rangpur district [MS thesis] AgriculturalUniversity of Norway As Norway 1998
[26] M A Bashar Homestead garden Agroforestry impact on Bi-odiversity conservation and household food security a casestudy of Gajipur district Bangladesh [MS thesis] AgriculturalUniversity of Norway As Norway 1999
[27] M S Alam M F Haque M Z Abedin and S AkterldquoHomestead trees and household fuel uses in and around thefarming systems research site Jessorerdquo inHomestead Plantationand Agroforestry in Bangladesh M Z Abedin C K Lai andM O Ali Eds pp 106ndash119 BARI RWEDP and WINROCKDhaka Bangladesh 1990
[28] G Miah M Z Abedin A B M A Khair M Shahidullah andA J M A Baki ldquoHomestead Plantation and household fuelsituation in Ganges floodplain of Bangladeshrdquo in HomesteadPlantation and Agroforestry in Bangladesh M Z Abedin CK Lai and M O Ali Eds pp 120ndash135 BARI JoydebpurBangladesh 1990
[29] M A Momin M Z Abedin M R Amin Q M S Islam andM M Haque ldquoExisting homestead plantation and householdfuel use pattern in the flood prone tangail region of Bangladeshrdquoin Homestead Plantation and Agroforestry in Bangladesh MZ Abedin C K Lai and M O Ali Eds pp 136ndash145 BARIJoydebpur Bangladesh 1990
[30] M Millat-E-Mustafa Z Teklehaimanot and A K O HarunildquoTraditional uses of perennial homestead garden plants inBangladeshrdquoForests Trees and Livelihoods vol 12 no 4 pp 235ndash256 2002
[31] R M Motiur J Tsukamoto Y Furukawa Z Shibayama and IKawata ldquoQuantitative stand structure of woody components ofhomestead forests and its implications on silvicultural manage-ment a case study in Sylhet Sadar Bangladeshrdquo Journal of ForestResearch vol 10 no 4 pp 285ndash294 2005
[32] W A Leuschner and K Khaleque ldquoHomestead agroforestry inBangladeshrdquoAgroforestry Systems vol 5 no 2 pp 139ndash151 1987
[33] N A Khan ldquoSocial forestry versus social reality patronage andcommunity-based forestry in Bangladeshrdquo Gatekeeper Series99 International Institute for Environment and Development(IIED) London UK 2001
ISRN Biodiversity 11
[34] R M Motiur Y Furukawa I Kawata M M Rahman and MAlam ldquoRole of homestead forests in household economy andfactors affecting forest production a case study in southwestBangladeshrdquo Journal of Forest Research vol 11 no 2 pp 89ndash972006
[35] M S Alam andKMMasum ldquoStatus of homestead biodiversityin the offshore Island of Bangladeshrdquo Research Journal ofAgriculture and Biological Sciences vol 1 no 3 pp 246ndash2532005
[36] S Akhter M Alamgir M S I Sohel M P Rana S J MonjurulAhmed and M S H Chowdhury ldquoThe role of women intraditional farming systems as practiced in homegardens a casestudy in Sylhet Sadar Upazila Bangladeshrdquo Tropical Conserva-tion Science vol 3 no 1 pp 17ndash30 2010
[37] H M F Rahman ldquoKishoreganj Sadar Upozilardquo in Banglape-dia National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh httpwwwbanglap-ediaorg
[38] K U Siddique M A Islam Z U Ahmed et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 11 AngiospermsMonocotyledons (Agavaceae-Najadaceae) Asiatic Society ofBangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2007
[39] K U Siddique M A Islam Z U Ahmed et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 5 BryophytesPteridophytes Gymnosperm Asiatic Society of BangladeshDhaka Bangladesh 2008
[40] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al EdsEncyclopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 6Angiosperms Dicotyledons (Acanthaceae-Asteraceae) AsiaticSociety of Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
[41] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 7 AngiospermsDicotyledons (Balsaminaceae-Euphorbiaceae) Asiatic Society ofBangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
[42] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al EdsEncyclopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 12Angiosperms Monocotyledons (Orchidaceae-Zingiberaceae)Asiatic Society of Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
[43] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 8 AngiospermsDicotyledons (Fabaceae-Lythraceae) Asiatic Society of Bang-ladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2009
[44] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 9 AngiospermsDicotyledons (Magnoliaceae-Ponicaceae) Asiatic Society ofBangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2009
[45] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al EdsEncyclopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 10Angiosperms Dicotyledons (Ranunculaceae-Zygophyllaceae)Asiatic Society of Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2010
[46] E P Odum Fundamentals of Ecology WB Saunders Philadel-phia Pa USA 1971
[47] R Margalef ldquoInformation theory in ecologyrdquo General SystemsYearbook vol 3 pp 36ndash71 1958
[48] P Michael Ecological Methods For Field and Laboratory Investi-gation McGraw-Hill New Delhi India 1990
[49] M Kent and P Coker Vegetation Description and Analysis APractical Approach WB Saunders Philadelphia Pa USA 1992
[50] E C Pielou ldquoSpecies-diversity and pattern-diversity in thestudy of ecological successionrdquo Journal of Theoretical Biologyvol 10 no 2 pp 370ndash383 1966
[51] A E Magurran Ecological Diversity and Measurement Prince-ton University Press Princeton NJ USA 1988
[52] S A Mori B M Boom A M Carvalino and D Santos ldquoTheecological importance of Myrtaceae in eastern Brazilian wetforestrdquo Biotropica vol 15 pp 68ndash70 1983
[53] M Z Abedin and M A Quddus ldquoHousehold fuel situationhomestead gardens and agroforestry practice at six agro-ecologically different locations of Bangladeshrdquo in HomesteadPlantation and Agroforestry in Bangladesh M Z Abedin CK Lai and M O Ali Eds pp 19ndash53 Bangladesh AgricultureResearch Institute (BARI) Joydebpur Bangladesh 1990
[54] M Millat-E-Mustafa ldquoTropical Homestead gardens anoverviewrdquo in Agroforestry Bangladesh Perspective M K AlamF U Ahmed and S M Amin Eds pp 18ndash133 APAN NAWGBAEC Dhaka Bangladesh 1997
[55] T Abebe Diversity in homegarden agroforestry systems ofsouthern Ethiopia [PhD Dissertation] Wageningen UniversityWageningen The Netherlands 2005
[56] O T Solbrig ldquoThe origin and function of biodiversityrdquo Environ-ment vol 33 no 5 pp 16ndash38 1991
[57] P Kumar ldquoCarbon sequestration strategy of Nubra Valleywith special reference to agroforestryrdquo DRDO TechnologySpectrum pp 187ndash192 2008
[58] P Kumar S Gupta and S Prakash ldquoCarbon pool of orchardsin siachen sector socio-economic Carbon sequestrationrdquo inAdvances in Agriculture Environment and Health S B SinghO P Charassia and S Yadav Eds pp 225ndash233 2008
[59] L Christanty O S Abdoellah G G Marten and J IskanderldquoTraditional agroforestry in West Java the pekarangan (Home-stead garden) and kebun-talun (annual-perennial rotation)cropping systemsrdquo in Traditional Agriculture in Southeast AsiaA Human Ecology Perspective G G Marten Ed pp 132ndash158Westview Press Boulder Colo USA 1986
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ClimatologyJournal of
ISRN Biodiversity 7
medicinal plant species 3226 firewood species 2903timber species 1613 ornamental beautification and spir-itual species 1129 species are used as both for fodder andfence and 483 species used as spice and vegetables
36 Cultural Practices of Homestead Garden Farmers gen-erally collect planting materials from homesteads wildings(species that are growncollected from outside homesteadpremises) friends and families relatives government andNGO nurseries No specific spacing is followed in plantingof species in homestead garden Sometimes it was also foundto plant herbaceous species like Zingiber officinale Curcumalonga under the layer of shrub like Carica papaya Citruslimon and so forth in order to make the optimum use oftheir land Study figured out the analysis of respondentsanswers regarding different aspects of the existing manage-ment systems of homestead gardens in the study area Duringsurvey it was found that some households are not engagedin any managementcultural operations in their homesteadgardens whereas other households are more or less engagedwith the management of homestead gardens Species wereplanted usually during the morning andor afternoon ofthe day mostly in the monsoon season Generally fastgrowing and species having low crown coverage are selectedfor the plantation The results revealed that almost all thehouseholds carried out watering (100) and soil ploughing(94) Weeding was done out by 85 of respondents as wellas fencing (5375) and 675 respondents did mulchingConsequently about 62 respondents practice thinning orpruning in their homestead garden Large farmers generallyhired labour for doing thinning and pruning operations Butthey do very much little care for manuring (4625) andapplying pesticide (35) in their homesteads
37 Role of Homestead Gardens in Local Biodiversity Conser-vation Homestead gardens have long been themost effectiveand widespread measure for biodiversity conservation inBangladesh as due to anthropogenic pressure and land usechange the natural forest has been decreasing day by dayboth in explicit and implicit ways leading to threats tofuture productivity Generally rural communities preferredcultivated and planted multipurpose species that can beserved as fruits vegetables and spices also used as tim-ber Such kind of choice is the most important factor tohomestead gardens conservation in Bangladesh and playsa significant role in forest conservation since all the woodand other non-timber forest products that are harvested inthe homestead gardens do not need to be collected fromforests Respondents said that homestead gardens attract anumber of bird species like Streptopelia chinensis Psittac-ula krameri Eudynamys scolopaceus Micropternus brachyu-rus Dinopium benghalense Oriolus xanthornus Dicrurusmacrocercus Acridotheres tristis Corvus splendens Turduscafer Orthotomus sutorius Copsychus saularis Nectariniazeylonica Anthus campestris Passer domesticus and Plo-ceus philippinus to collect their food and making nestMoreover some animal species like squirrel take shelter
Table 5 Perceived importance of homestead garden conservationin the study area
Items Veryimportant
Lessimportant
Notimportant
Food and fruit 85 15 0Firewood 6875 2375 75Building materials 7875 20 125Subsistence familyincome 7375 20 625
Medicinal plants 2875 35 3625Ecological balance 2875 375 3375Soil erosion control 5125 375 1125Otherslowast 3625 175 4625lowastBoundary ornamental and spiritual purposes and so forth
and collect their food especially fruit like Aegle marme-los Annona squamosa Areca catechu Averrhoa carambolaCarica papaya Carissa carandas Cocos nucifera Dilleniaindica Elaeocarpus floribundus Mangifera indica Phyllan-thus acidus Phyllanthus emblica Psidium guajava Spondiaspinnata Syzygium cumini Tamarindus indica and Zizyphusmauritiana from the urban and rural homestead gardensThey also mentioned that some birds play a significant roleas pollinators or in the control of insect pests At this timedispersal of seeds also occurs by the animal birds andhelps in natural regeneration of homestead plants speciessince natural regeneration is the most important factor fortree diversity conservation Study also found a number ofbamboo shrub herb and climber species which were largelyused by the households also they give shelter to animaldiversity
38 Perceived Importance for Conservation of HomesteadGarden Species To determine the perceived importance ofhomestead species conservation farmers were interviewedusing a questionnaire asked to evaluate the importance ofmentioned eight functions of trees The results are presentedin Table 5 Likewise farmersrsquo perceived most importancefor homestead plant species conservation was related tofruit and food (85) followed by buildingmaterials (7875)subsistence family income (7375) and source of firewood(6875) The surveyed rural area is affected by monsoonflood every year as a result soil erosion is a serious problem inthis regionTherefore in order to keep houses above thewaterlevel it is mandatory to raise houses at the highest elevationsor fill the land by soil in the dry season especially throughoutthe floodplain regions As a consequence people are usuallyconcerned about the trees role to protect their homesteadland against water-induced soil erosion by binding the soilHowever they were not concerned about ecological impor-tance of forest Yet the majority of the respondents gradedthe homestead garden as being ldquoless importantrdquo as a meansof maintaining ecological balance and soil erosion control(375) followed by a source of medicinal plants (35)So it seems that there is still a lack of knowledge in these
8 ISRN Biodiversity
two categories and institutional and government and NGOstraining and learning programs are necessary to facilitateknowledge
4 Discussion
Analysis of the existing tree composition structure andrichness revealed that homestead forest in the study area hasmoderately high biodiversity and species richness Howeverthe number of plant species was higher than those foundin other homesteads of Bangladesh by Abedin and Quddus[53] cited from Alam and Masum [35] found in Tangail (52species) Ishurdi (34 species) Jessore (28 species) Patuakhali(20 species) Rajshahi (28 species) and Rangpur (21 species)districts respectively Motiur et al [31] found 60 species inSylhet Sadar Motiur et al [34] found 58 species in SouthwestBangladesh Kabir andWebb [3] recorded a total of 419 plantspecies from southwestern Bangladesh Alam and Masum[35] recorded a total of 101 species and Masum et al [8] 142species in an offshore island (Sandwip Island) of BangladeshMillat-E-Mustafa [54] identified 92 perennial plant species inone study conducted in different parts of the country
The traditional production system of homestead gar-den in the study area is moderate in terms of level ofcultural practices for absence of improved managementpractices and high-quality variety Farmers depend usuallyon naturally growing plants on their homestead boundaryBesides analysis of existing management regime indicatedthat the growers lack of scientific information almost allthe household owners still followed traditional homesteadforest management systems whereas a little owner adoptedmodern practices Increased tree planting in the homesteadsand their appropriate management including intercroppingpractices should be the strategy for enhancing tree coverof the homesteads of study area in order to meet basicneeds of its people and maintain environmental balanceHomestead gardens are playing a potential role in biodiversityconservation as well as uplifting the socioeconomic conditionby contributing families or householdrsquos annual income andproviding nutritional diet to families Variable homesteadgarden products such as seasonal fruits firewood medicinalplants timber and vegetables and spices were mostly usedby the small and medium household owners for their dailyneeds but large owners get their products into the market forsaleThese findings are also supported by the study of Millat-E-Mustafa [54] for the homestead garden of four regions inBangladesh Most of the households were found to prefermostly food or fruit species (45) because of the incomeincentives and family needs and this was also supported byseveral researchers [8 21 54] across the country
In the present study homesteads gardens were largelyuser oriented and market access was not fully developedHowever market access for homestead products is essentialas they sell their products easily into the market as wellas other forest products It was shown that most of theproducers were selling to their neighbours or local tradersTherefore they do not get proper price for their productsIf they get their products to the market or sell products via
retailers they will get proper prices also which is very muchimportant for the small household owners therefore creatinga scope for income Many studies of tropical homesteadgarden have reported reduced species diversity and stemdensity in homestead garden with closer proximity to marketfor example [55] So market access condition has greateffect on homestead forest management thus further studyis needed to directly test the influence of market accesson the homestead gardens structure of both commercialand subsistence-oriented homestead garden in BangladeshHowever the homestead gardens of the study area presentan excellent example of all embracing multipurpose land-usesystem and biodiversity conservation
41 Species Diversity and Biodiversity Conservation in Tra-ditional Homestead Garden Farming System Biodiversityconservation has become a growing concern for all over theworld and it is linked up highly with long-term health andvigour of the biosphere as an indicator of global environmentand also as a regulator of ecosystem functioning [56] Thebiological diversity indices revealed that homestead gardencould play an important role for carbon sequestration inthe future since plant growth is directly proportional tothe carbon sequestration capacity of the forest [57 58]By studying different literatures of homestead gardens allover Bangladesh we have developed in our mind that anumber of opportunities and drawbacks are influencing theselection of species of homestead garden Considering allthese we have developed a model of species diversity andbiodiversity conservation for both urban and rural surveyedhomestead gardens represented in Figure 1 We classified theopportunities and drawbacks of a typical homestead gardenfor both rural and urban areas separately Among the oppor-tunities the most prominent according to our observationwere generating income food security soil erosion controltimber demand market access beautification cattle foddermedicinal purposes and fuel wood species The drawbacksthat are influencing the selection of species were croplandexpansion fast growing species demand natural calamitiesland scarcity domestic animal low crown canopy infrastruc-ture and so forth The economical condition of the ruralpeople is not as like as urban people For this they usuallyprefer species that will provide them necessary fuel wood andfodder for their cattle Plantation of medicinal plant speciescan help to get remedy from diseases also regular supply ofrawmaterials to the industry could be an important source ofearning money to the farmers Urban people usually preferto plant various flowering and ornamental plants such asTagetes erectaGomphrena globosa andCodiaeumvariegatumfor ornamental beauty of their houses because they occupy asmaller space in their garden premises and they do not likesuch condition that will decrease the beautification view oftheir house The trend in gradual replacement of functionalplants to ornamentals has also been observed in cases wherepeople became richer [59] Side-by-side grazing of domesticanimals disturbs the diversity of homestead forest species Inthis circumstance introduction of grasses sedges and smallbushes could be a solution to get remedy to this problem
ISRN Biodiversity 9
Generating income
Food security Soil erosion Timber demand
Market access
Fuel wood species
Cattle fodder
Medicinal purposes
Urban Rural
Opportunities
Species diversity and choice of species
Biodiversity conservation
Threats
Rural Urban
Domestic animal Fast growingspecies
Naturalcalamities
Land scarcity Croplandexpansion
Low crowncanopy
Infrastructure
Beautification
Figure 1 Conceptual model of species diversity and biodiversity conservation in homestead garden farming system
This type of management could help villagers in getting fuelwood without disturbing the main vegetation Whatsoever itis now clear that homestead garden is a storehouse of largespecies diversity and sustainable resource management andthis large species diversity can play an important role inbiodiversity conservation
5 Conclusion
For aesthetic environmental and economic perspectivesspecies planting in homestead garden is desirableHomesteadgardening plays a significant role in both rural and urbanlandscape planning and management In this study we haveobserved that the homestead plant composition diversityand species richness were moderate in Kishoregang Sadararea Moreover there was a lack of scientific knowledgeof the gardeners an absence of proper planning and nospecific objectives and goals Present study did not discussany economic contribution andmarket access for homesteadthus further study is highly recommended and neededto directly test the economic significance and influence ofmarket access on the vegetation structure of both commercialand subsistence-oriented homestead gardens in northernBangladesh The moderate domination of fruit species overtimber species may be attributed to the gardenersrsquo generalperception that fruit species would bring early return aswell as the multipurpose nature of fruit species Homesteadgarden could provide employment opportunities for bothmale and female members resulting in increased familyincome for better livelihood to a large population in northernBangladesh Till now there is no specific management planof homestead gardens all over the country although it hastremendous contribution to greening the nature Considering
the present state of the homestead garden of the study areathis paper suggests that there is a need to establish properplanning and management mechanisms from governmentfor homestead garden This can be done by providing someincentives andor training to the owners to be more carefulabout conserving garden species to improve both ruraland urban plant species coverage It is also recommendedthat experimentation with new and diversified tree speciescan play an important role in enhancing the diversity anddistribution of homestead garden in the Kishoreganj Sadararea
Acknowledgments
The authors are highly grateful to each and every respondentwho participated in this study for giving their valuable timeand information regarding their homestead gardensThey areverymuch grateful toMr AvikKumar Roy for his consistencesupport during data collection as well as for giving overallidea about the study area
References
[1] M S UddinM J Rahman andMAMannan ldquoPlant biodiver-sity in the homesteads of saline area of Southern Bangladeshrdquoin Proceedings of National Workshop on Agroforestry ResearchDevelopment of Agroforestry Research in Bangladesh M F HaqMKHasan SMAsaduzzaman andMY Ali Eds pp 45ndash54Gazipur Bangladesh 2001
[2] M Zashimuddin Community Forestry for Poverty Reduction inBangladesh in Forests for Poverty Reduction Can CommunityForestry Make Money FAO Regional Office for Asia and thePacific Bangkok Thailand 2004
10 ISRN Biodiversity
[3] M E Kabir and E L Webb ldquoCan homegardens conserve bi-odiversity in Bangladeshrdquo Biotropica vol 40 no 1 pp 95ndash1032008
[4] A J Southern Acquisition of indigenous ecological knowledgeabout forest gardens in Kandy district Sri Lanka [M PhilDissertation] University of Wales Bangor UK 1994
[5] M B Uddin and S A Mukul ldquoImproving forest dependentlivelihoods through NTFPs and home gardens a case studyfrom satchari national parkrdquo in Making Conservation WorkLinking Rural Livelihoods amp Protected Area Management inBangladesh J Fox B Bushley S Dutt and S A QuaziEds pp 13ndash35 Nishorgo Program of the Bangladesh ForestDepartment and East-West Center of University of HawaiiDhaka Bangladesh 2007
[6] FAO ldquoGlobal forest resource assessment 2010 main reportrdquoFAO Forestry Paper 163 Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO) of the United Nations Rome Italy 2010
[7] M D Millat-E-Mustafa J B Hall and Z TeklehaimanotldquoStructure and floristics of Bangladesh homegardensrdquo Agro-forestry Systems vol 33 no 3 pp 263ndash280 1996
[8] K M Masum M S Alam and M M Abdullah-Al-MamunldquoEcological and economical significance of homestead forest tothe household of the offshore island in Bangladeshrdquo Journal ofForestry Research vol 19 no 4 pp 307ndash310 2008
[9] M F U Ahmed and S M L Rahman ldquoProfile and use of multi-species tree crops in the homesteads of Gazipur district centralBangladeshrdquo Journal of Sustainable Agriculture vol 24 no 1 pp81ndash93 2004
[10] O T Coomes and N Ban ldquoCultivated plant species diversity inhome gardens of an amazonian peasant village in northeasternPerurdquo Economic Botany vol 58 no 3 pp 420ndash434 2004
[11] B A Withrow-Robinson and D E Hibbs ldquoTesting an ecolog-ically based classification tool on fruit-based agroforestry innorthernThailandrdquoAgroforestry Systems vol 65 no 2 pp 123ndash135 2005
[12] O S Abdoellah H Y Hadikusumah K Takeuchi S Okuboand P Parikesit ldquoCommercialization of homegardens in anIndonesian village vegetation composition and functionalchangesrdquo Agroforestry Systems vol 68 no 1 pp 1ndash13 2006
[13] V E Mendez R Lok and E Somarriba ldquoInterdisciplinaryanalysis of homegardens in Nicaragua micro-zonation plantuse and socioeconomic importancerdquo Agroforestry Systems vol51 no 2 pp 85ndash96 2001
[14] C R Vogl and B Vogl-Lukasser ldquoTradition dynamics andsustainability of plant species composition and managementin homegardens on organic and non-organic small scale farmsin Alpine Eastern Tyrol Austriardquo Biological Agriculture andHorticulture vol 21 no 4 pp 349ndash366 2003
[15] A Hemp ldquoThe banana forests of Kilimanjaro biodiversity andconservation of the Chagga homegardensrdquo Biodiversity andConservation vol 15 no 4 pp 1193ndash1217 2006
[16] D K Das List of Bangladesh Village Tree Species ForestResearch Institute Chittagong Bangladesh 1990
[17] M M Hassan and A H Mazumdar ldquoAn exploratory surveyof trees on homestead and waste land of Bangladeshrdquo ADABNews pp 26ndash32 1990
[18] M K Alam and M Mohiuddin Some Potential MultipurposeTrees For Homesteads in Bangladesh vol 2 of AgroforestryInformation Series Winrock International Dhaka Bangladesh1992 Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC)
[19] M K Alam M Mohiuddin and S R Basak ldquoVillage treesin Bangladesh diversity and economic aspectsrdquo BangladeshJournal of Forest Science vol 25 no 1ndash2 pp 21ndash36 1996
[20] S A Khan and M K Alam Homestead Flora of BangladeshBangaldesh Agricultural Research Council InternationalDevelopment Research Cenbtre Village and Farm ForestryProject (SDC) Dhaka Bangladesh 1996
[21] M S Siddiqi and N A Khan ldquoFloristic composition and socio-economic aspects of rural homestead garden in Chittagong acase studyrdquo Journal of Forest Science vol 28 no 2 pp 94ndash1011999
[22] A M Shajaat Ali ldquoHomegardens in smallholder farmingsystems examples from Bangladeshrdquo Human Ecology vol 33no 2 pp 245ndash270 2005
[23] M E Kabir and E L Webb ldquoFloristics and structure of south-western Bangladesh homegardensrdquoThe International Journal ofBiodiversity Science and Management vol 4 no 1 pp 54ndash642008
[24] K U Ahmad ldquoMinor fruits in homestead agro forestryrdquo inAgroforestry Bangladesh Perspective M K Alam F U Ahmedand S M R Amin Eds pp 165ndash169 APAAN NAWG andBARC Dhaka Bangladesh 1997
[25] N M Islam Homestead garden agroforestry in Bangladesha case study in Rangpur district [MS thesis] AgriculturalUniversity of Norway As Norway 1998
[26] M A Bashar Homestead garden Agroforestry impact on Bi-odiversity conservation and household food security a casestudy of Gajipur district Bangladesh [MS thesis] AgriculturalUniversity of Norway As Norway 1999
[27] M S Alam M F Haque M Z Abedin and S AkterldquoHomestead trees and household fuel uses in and around thefarming systems research site Jessorerdquo inHomestead Plantationand Agroforestry in Bangladesh M Z Abedin C K Lai andM O Ali Eds pp 106ndash119 BARI RWEDP and WINROCKDhaka Bangladesh 1990
[28] G Miah M Z Abedin A B M A Khair M Shahidullah andA J M A Baki ldquoHomestead Plantation and household fuelsituation in Ganges floodplain of Bangladeshrdquo in HomesteadPlantation and Agroforestry in Bangladesh M Z Abedin CK Lai and M O Ali Eds pp 120ndash135 BARI JoydebpurBangladesh 1990
[29] M A Momin M Z Abedin M R Amin Q M S Islam andM M Haque ldquoExisting homestead plantation and householdfuel use pattern in the flood prone tangail region of Bangladeshrdquoin Homestead Plantation and Agroforestry in Bangladesh MZ Abedin C K Lai and M O Ali Eds pp 136ndash145 BARIJoydebpur Bangladesh 1990
[30] M Millat-E-Mustafa Z Teklehaimanot and A K O HarunildquoTraditional uses of perennial homestead garden plants inBangladeshrdquoForests Trees and Livelihoods vol 12 no 4 pp 235ndash256 2002
[31] R M Motiur J Tsukamoto Y Furukawa Z Shibayama and IKawata ldquoQuantitative stand structure of woody components ofhomestead forests and its implications on silvicultural manage-ment a case study in Sylhet Sadar Bangladeshrdquo Journal of ForestResearch vol 10 no 4 pp 285ndash294 2005
[32] W A Leuschner and K Khaleque ldquoHomestead agroforestry inBangladeshrdquoAgroforestry Systems vol 5 no 2 pp 139ndash151 1987
[33] N A Khan ldquoSocial forestry versus social reality patronage andcommunity-based forestry in Bangladeshrdquo Gatekeeper Series99 International Institute for Environment and Development(IIED) London UK 2001
ISRN Biodiversity 11
[34] R M Motiur Y Furukawa I Kawata M M Rahman and MAlam ldquoRole of homestead forests in household economy andfactors affecting forest production a case study in southwestBangladeshrdquo Journal of Forest Research vol 11 no 2 pp 89ndash972006
[35] M S Alam andKMMasum ldquoStatus of homestead biodiversityin the offshore Island of Bangladeshrdquo Research Journal ofAgriculture and Biological Sciences vol 1 no 3 pp 246ndash2532005
[36] S Akhter M Alamgir M S I Sohel M P Rana S J MonjurulAhmed and M S H Chowdhury ldquoThe role of women intraditional farming systems as practiced in homegardens a casestudy in Sylhet Sadar Upazila Bangladeshrdquo Tropical Conserva-tion Science vol 3 no 1 pp 17ndash30 2010
[37] H M F Rahman ldquoKishoreganj Sadar Upozilardquo in Banglape-dia National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh httpwwwbanglap-ediaorg
[38] K U Siddique M A Islam Z U Ahmed et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 11 AngiospermsMonocotyledons (Agavaceae-Najadaceae) Asiatic Society ofBangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2007
[39] K U Siddique M A Islam Z U Ahmed et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 5 BryophytesPteridophytes Gymnosperm Asiatic Society of BangladeshDhaka Bangladesh 2008
[40] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al EdsEncyclopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 6Angiosperms Dicotyledons (Acanthaceae-Asteraceae) AsiaticSociety of Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
[41] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 7 AngiospermsDicotyledons (Balsaminaceae-Euphorbiaceae) Asiatic Society ofBangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
[42] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al EdsEncyclopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 12Angiosperms Monocotyledons (Orchidaceae-Zingiberaceae)Asiatic Society of Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
[43] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 8 AngiospermsDicotyledons (Fabaceae-Lythraceae) Asiatic Society of Bang-ladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2009
[44] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 9 AngiospermsDicotyledons (Magnoliaceae-Ponicaceae) Asiatic Society ofBangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2009
[45] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al EdsEncyclopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 10Angiosperms Dicotyledons (Ranunculaceae-Zygophyllaceae)Asiatic Society of Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2010
[46] E P Odum Fundamentals of Ecology WB Saunders Philadel-phia Pa USA 1971
[47] R Margalef ldquoInformation theory in ecologyrdquo General SystemsYearbook vol 3 pp 36ndash71 1958
[48] P Michael Ecological Methods For Field and Laboratory Investi-gation McGraw-Hill New Delhi India 1990
[49] M Kent and P Coker Vegetation Description and Analysis APractical Approach WB Saunders Philadelphia Pa USA 1992
[50] E C Pielou ldquoSpecies-diversity and pattern-diversity in thestudy of ecological successionrdquo Journal of Theoretical Biologyvol 10 no 2 pp 370ndash383 1966
[51] A E Magurran Ecological Diversity and Measurement Prince-ton University Press Princeton NJ USA 1988
[52] S A Mori B M Boom A M Carvalino and D Santos ldquoTheecological importance of Myrtaceae in eastern Brazilian wetforestrdquo Biotropica vol 15 pp 68ndash70 1983
[53] M Z Abedin and M A Quddus ldquoHousehold fuel situationhomestead gardens and agroforestry practice at six agro-ecologically different locations of Bangladeshrdquo in HomesteadPlantation and Agroforestry in Bangladesh M Z Abedin CK Lai and M O Ali Eds pp 19ndash53 Bangladesh AgricultureResearch Institute (BARI) Joydebpur Bangladesh 1990
[54] M Millat-E-Mustafa ldquoTropical Homestead gardens anoverviewrdquo in Agroforestry Bangladesh Perspective M K AlamF U Ahmed and S M Amin Eds pp 18ndash133 APAN NAWGBAEC Dhaka Bangladesh 1997
[55] T Abebe Diversity in homegarden agroforestry systems ofsouthern Ethiopia [PhD Dissertation] Wageningen UniversityWageningen The Netherlands 2005
[56] O T Solbrig ldquoThe origin and function of biodiversityrdquo Environ-ment vol 33 no 5 pp 16ndash38 1991
[57] P Kumar ldquoCarbon sequestration strategy of Nubra Valleywith special reference to agroforestryrdquo DRDO TechnologySpectrum pp 187ndash192 2008
[58] P Kumar S Gupta and S Prakash ldquoCarbon pool of orchardsin siachen sector socio-economic Carbon sequestrationrdquo inAdvances in Agriculture Environment and Health S B SinghO P Charassia and S Yadav Eds pp 225ndash233 2008
[59] L Christanty O S Abdoellah G G Marten and J IskanderldquoTraditional agroforestry in West Java the pekarangan (Home-stead garden) and kebun-talun (annual-perennial rotation)cropping systemsrdquo in Traditional Agriculture in Southeast AsiaA Human Ecology Perspective G G Marten Ed pp 132ndash158Westview Press Boulder Colo USA 1986
Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom
Forestry ResearchInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental and Public Health
Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
EcosystemsJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
MeteorologyAdvances in
EcologyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Marine BiologyJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom
Applied ampEnvironmentalSoil Science
Volume 2014
Advances in
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental Chemistry
Atmospheric SciencesInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Waste ManagementJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
International Journal of
Geophysics
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Geological ResearchJournal of
EarthquakesJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
BiodiversityInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ScientificaHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
OceanographyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Journal of Computational Environmental SciencesHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ClimatologyJournal of
8 ISRN Biodiversity
two categories and institutional and government and NGOstraining and learning programs are necessary to facilitateknowledge
4 Discussion
Analysis of the existing tree composition structure andrichness revealed that homestead forest in the study area hasmoderately high biodiversity and species richness Howeverthe number of plant species was higher than those foundin other homesteads of Bangladesh by Abedin and Quddus[53] cited from Alam and Masum [35] found in Tangail (52species) Ishurdi (34 species) Jessore (28 species) Patuakhali(20 species) Rajshahi (28 species) and Rangpur (21 species)districts respectively Motiur et al [31] found 60 species inSylhet Sadar Motiur et al [34] found 58 species in SouthwestBangladesh Kabir andWebb [3] recorded a total of 419 plantspecies from southwestern Bangladesh Alam and Masum[35] recorded a total of 101 species and Masum et al [8] 142species in an offshore island (Sandwip Island) of BangladeshMillat-E-Mustafa [54] identified 92 perennial plant species inone study conducted in different parts of the country
The traditional production system of homestead gar-den in the study area is moderate in terms of level ofcultural practices for absence of improved managementpractices and high-quality variety Farmers depend usuallyon naturally growing plants on their homestead boundaryBesides analysis of existing management regime indicatedthat the growers lack of scientific information almost allthe household owners still followed traditional homesteadforest management systems whereas a little owner adoptedmodern practices Increased tree planting in the homesteadsand their appropriate management including intercroppingpractices should be the strategy for enhancing tree coverof the homesteads of study area in order to meet basicneeds of its people and maintain environmental balanceHomestead gardens are playing a potential role in biodiversityconservation as well as uplifting the socioeconomic conditionby contributing families or householdrsquos annual income andproviding nutritional diet to families Variable homesteadgarden products such as seasonal fruits firewood medicinalplants timber and vegetables and spices were mostly usedby the small and medium household owners for their dailyneeds but large owners get their products into the market forsaleThese findings are also supported by the study of Millat-E-Mustafa [54] for the homestead garden of four regions inBangladesh Most of the households were found to prefermostly food or fruit species (45) because of the incomeincentives and family needs and this was also supported byseveral researchers [8 21 54] across the country
In the present study homesteads gardens were largelyuser oriented and market access was not fully developedHowever market access for homestead products is essentialas they sell their products easily into the market as wellas other forest products It was shown that most of theproducers were selling to their neighbours or local tradersTherefore they do not get proper price for their productsIf they get their products to the market or sell products via
retailers they will get proper prices also which is very muchimportant for the small household owners therefore creatinga scope for income Many studies of tropical homesteadgarden have reported reduced species diversity and stemdensity in homestead garden with closer proximity to marketfor example [55] So market access condition has greateffect on homestead forest management thus further studyis needed to directly test the influence of market accesson the homestead gardens structure of both commercialand subsistence-oriented homestead garden in BangladeshHowever the homestead gardens of the study area presentan excellent example of all embracing multipurpose land-usesystem and biodiversity conservation
41 Species Diversity and Biodiversity Conservation in Tra-ditional Homestead Garden Farming System Biodiversityconservation has become a growing concern for all over theworld and it is linked up highly with long-term health andvigour of the biosphere as an indicator of global environmentand also as a regulator of ecosystem functioning [56] Thebiological diversity indices revealed that homestead gardencould play an important role for carbon sequestration inthe future since plant growth is directly proportional tothe carbon sequestration capacity of the forest [57 58]By studying different literatures of homestead gardens allover Bangladesh we have developed in our mind that anumber of opportunities and drawbacks are influencing theselection of species of homestead garden Considering allthese we have developed a model of species diversity andbiodiversity conservation for both urban and rural surveyedhomestead gardens represented in Figure 1 We classified theopportunities and drawbacks of a typical homestead gardenfor both rural and urban areas separately Among the oppor-tunities the most prominent according to our observationwere generating income food security soil erosion controltimber demand market access beautification cattle foddermedicinal purposes and fuel wood species The drawbacksthat are influencing the selection of species were croplandexpansion fast growing species demand natural calamitiesland scarcity domestic animal low crown canopy infrastruc-ture and so forth The economical condition of the ruralpeople is not as like as urban people For this they usuallyprefer species that will provide them necessary fuel wood andfodder for their cattle Plantation of medicinal plant speciescan help to get remedy from diseases also regular supply ofrawmaterials to the industry could be an important source ofearning money to the farmers Urban people usually preferto plant various flowering and ornamental plants such asTagetes erectaGomphrena globosa andCodiaeumvariegatumfor ornamental beauty of their houses because they occupy asmaller space in their garden premises and they do not likesuch condition that will decrease the beautification view oftheir house The trend in gradual replacement of functionalplants to ornamentals has also been observed in cases wherepeople became richer [59] Side-by-side grazing of domesticanimals disturbs the diversity of homestead forest species Inthis circumstance introduction of grasses sedges and smallbushes could be a solution to get remedy to this problem
ISRN Biodiversity 9
Generating income
Food security Soil erosion Timber demand
Market access
Fuel wood species
Cattle fodder
Medicinal purposes
Urban Rural
Opportunities
Species diversity and choice of species
Biodiversity conservation
Threats
Rural Urban
Domestic animal Fast growingspecies
Naturalcalamities
Land scarcity Croplandexpansion
Low crowncanopy
Infrastructure
Beautification
Figure 1 Conceptual model of species diversity and biodiversity conservation in homestead garden farming system
This type of management could help villagers in getting fuelwood without disturbing the main vegetation Whatsoever itis now clear that homestead garden is a storehouse of largespecies diversity and sustainable resource management andthis large species diversity can play an important role inbiodiversity conservation
5 Conclusion
For aesthetic environmental and economic perspectivesspecies planting in homestead garden is desirableHomesteadgardening plays a significant role in both rural and urbanlandscape planning and management In this study we haveobserved that the homestead plant composition diversityand species richness were moderate in Kishoregang Sadararea Moreover there was a lack of scientific knowledgeof the gardeners an absence of proper planning and nospecific objectives and goals Present study did not discussany economic contribution andmarket access for homesteadthus further study is highly recommended and neededto directly test the economic significance and influence ofmarket access on the vegetation structure of both commercialand subsistence-oriented homestead gardens in northernBangladesh The moderate domination of fruit species overtimber species may be attributed to the gardenersrsquo generalperception that fruit species would bring early return aswell as the multipurpose nature of fruit species Homesteadgarden could provide employment opportunities for bothmale and female members resulting in increased familyincome for better livelihood to a large population in northernBangladesh Till now there is no specific management planof homestead gardens all over the country although it hastremendous contribution to greening the nature Considering
the present state of the homestead garden of the study areathis paper suggests that there is a need to establish properplanning and management mechanisms from governmentfor homestead garden This can be done by providing someincentives andor training to the owners to be more carefulabout conserving garden species to improve both ruraland urban plant species coverage It is also recommendedthat experimentation with new and diversified tree speciescan play an important role in enhancing the diversity anddistribution of homestead garden in the Kishoreganj Sadararea
Acknowledgments
The authors are highly grateful to each and every respondentwho participated in this study for giving their valuable timeand information regarding their homestead gardensThey areverymuch grateful toMr AvikKumar Roy for his consistencesupport during data collection as well as for giving overallidea about the study area
References
[1] M S UddinM J Rahman andMAMannan ldquoPlant biodiver-sity in the homesteads of saline area of Southern Bangladeshrdquoin Proceedings of National Workshop on Agroforestry ResearchDevelopment of Agroforestry Research in Bangladesh M F HaqMKHasan SMAsaduzzaman andMY Ali Eds pp 45ndash54Gazipur Bangladesh 2001
[2] M Zashimuddin Community Forestry for Poverty Reduction inBangladesh in Forests for Poverty Reduction Can CommunityForestry Make Money FAO Regional Office for Asia and thePacific Bangkok Thailand 2004
10 ISRN Biodiversity
[3] M E Kabir and E L Webb ldquoCan homegardens conserve bi-odiversity in Bangladeshrdquo Biotropica vol 40 no 1 pp 95ndash1032008
[4] A J Southern Acquisition of indigenous ecological knowledgeabout forest gardens in Kandy district Sri Lanka [M PhilDissertation] University of Wales Bangor UK 1994
[5] M B Uddin and S A Mukul ldquoImproving forest dependentlivelihoods through NTFPs and home gardens a case studyfrom satchari national parkrdquo in Making Conservation WorkLinking Rural Livelihoods amp Protected Area Management inBangladesh J Fox B Bushley S Dutt and S A QuaziEds pp 13ndash35 Nishorgo Program of the Bangladesh ForestDepartment and East-West Center of University of HawaiiDhaka Bangladesh 2007
[6] FAO ldquoGlobal forest resource assessment 2010 main reportrdquoFAO Forestry Paper 163 Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO) of the United Nations Rome Italy 2010
[7] M D Millat-E-Mustafa J B Hall and Z TeklehaimanotldquoStructure and floristics of Bangladesh homegardensrdquo Agro-forestry Systems vol 33 no 3 pp 263ndash280 1996
[8] K M Masum M S Alam and M M Abdullah-Al-MamunldquoEcological and economical significance of homestead forest tothe household of the offshore island in Bangladeshrdquo Journal ofForestry Research vol 19 no 4 pp 307ndash310 2008
[9] M F U Ahmed and S M L Rahman ldquoProfile and use of multi-species tree crops in the homesteads of Gazipur district centralBangladeshrdquo Journal of Sustainable Agriculture vol 24 no 1 pp81ndash93 2004
[10] O T Coomes and N Ban ldquoCultivated plant species diversity inhome gardens of an amazonian peasant village in northeasternPerurdquo Economic Botany vol 58 no 3 pp 420ndash434 2004
[11] B A Withrow-Robinson and D E Hibbs ldquoTesting an ecolog-ically based classification tool on fruit-based agroforestry innorthernThailandrdquoAgroforestry Systems vol 65 no 2 pp 123ndash135 2005
[12] O S Abdoellah H Y Hadikusumah K Takeuchi S Okuboand P Parikesit ldquoCommercialization of homegardens in anIndonesian village vegetation composition and functionalchangesrdquo Agroforestry Systems vol 68 no 1 pp 1ndash13 2006
[13] V E Mendez R Lok and E Somarriba ldquoInterdisciplinaryanalysis of homegardens in Nicaragua micro-zonation plantuse and socioeconomic importancerdquo Agroforestry Systems vol51 no 2 pp 85ndash96 2001
[14] C R Vogl and B Vogl-Lukasser ldquoTradition dynamics andsustainability of plant species composition and managementin homegardens on organic and non-organic small scale farmsin Alpine Eastern Tyrol Austriardquo Biological Agriculture andHorticulture vol 21 no 4 pp 349ndash366 2003
[15] A Hemp ldquoThe banana forests of Kilimanjaro biodiversity andconservation of the Chagga homegardensrdquo Biodiversity andConservation vol 15 no 4 pp 1193ndash1217 2006
[16] D K Das List of Bangladesh Village Tree Species ForestResearch Institute Chittagong Bangladesh 1990
[17] M M Hassan and A H Mazumdar ldquoAn exploratory surveyof trees on homestead and waste land of Bangladeshrdquo ADABNews pp 26ndash32 1990
[18] M K Alam and M Mohiuddin Some Potential MultipurposeTrees For Homesteads in Bangladesh vol 2 of AgroforestryInformation Series Winrock International Dhaka Bangladesh1992 Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC)
[19] M K Alam M Mohiuddin and S R Basak ldquoVillage treesin Bangladesh diversity and economic aspectsrdquo BangladeshJournal of Forest Science vol 25 no 1ndash2 pp 21ndash36 1996
[20] S A Khan and M K Alam Homestead Flora of BangladeshBangaldesh Agricultural Research Council InternationalDevelopment Research Cenbtre Village and Farm ForestryProject (SDC) Dhaka Bangladesh 1996
[21] M S Siddiqi and N A Khan ldquoFloristic composition and socio-economic aspects of rural homestead garden in Chittagong acase studyrdquo Journal of Forest Science vol 28 no 2 pp 94ndash1011999
[22] A M Shajaat Ali ldquoHomegardens in smallholder farmingsystems examples from Bangladeshrdquo Human Ecology vol 33no 2 pp 245ndash270 2005
[23] M E Kabir and E L Webb ldquoFloristics and structure of south-western Bangladesh homegardensrdquoThe International Journal ofBiodiversity Science and Management vol 4 no 1 pp 54ndash642008
[24] K U Ahmad ldquoMinor fruits in homestead agro forestryrdquo inAgroforestry Bangladesh Perspective M K Alam F U Ahmedand S M R Amin Eds pp 165ndash169 APAAN NAWG andBARC Dhaka Bangladesh 1997
[25] N M Islam Homestead garden agroforestry in Bangladesha case study in Rangpur district [MS thesis] AgriculturalUniversity of Norway As Norway 1998
[26] M A Bashar Homestead garden Agroforestry impact on Bi-odiversity conservation and household food security a casestudy of Gajipur district Bangladesh [MS thesis] AgriculturalUniversity of Norway As Norway 1999
[27] M S Alam M F Haque M Z Abedin and S AkterldquoHomestead trees and household fuel uses in and around thefarming systems research site Jessorerdquo inHomestead Plantationand Agroforestry in Bangladesh M Z Abedin C K Lai andM O Ali Eds pp 106ndash119 BARI RWEDP and WINROCKDhaka Bangladesh 1990
[28] G Miah M Z Abedin A B M A Khair M Shahidullah andA J M A Baki ldquoHomestead Plantation and household fuelsituation in Ganges floodplain of Bangladeshrdquo in HomesteadPlantation and Agroforestry in Bangladesh M Z Abedin CK Lai and M O Ali Eds pp 120ndash135 BARI JoydebpurBangladesh 1990
[29] M A Momin M Z Abedin M R Amin Q M S Islam andM M Haque ldquoExisting homestead plantation and householdfuel use pattern in the flood prone tangail region of Bangladeshrdquoin Homestead Plantation and Agroforestry in Bangladesh MZ Abedin C K Lai and M O Ali Eds pp 136ndash145 BARIJoydebpur Bangladesh 1990
[30] M Millat-E-Mustafa Z Teklehaimanot and A K O HarunildquoTraditional uses of perennial homestead garden plants inBangladeshrdquoForests Trees and Livelihoods vol 12 no 4 pp 235ndash256 2002
[31] R M Motiur J Tsukamoto Y Furukawa Z Shibayama and IKawata ldquoQuantitative stand structure of woody components ofhomestead forests and its implications on silvicultural manage-ment a case study in Sylhet Sadar Bangladeshrdquo Journal of ForestResearch vol 10 no 4 pp 285ndash294 2005
[32] W A Leuschner and K Khaleque ldquoHomestead agroforestry inBangladeshrdquoAgroforestry Systems vol 5 no 2 pp 139ndash151 1987
[33] N A Khan ldquoSocial forestry versus social reality patronage andcommunity-based forestry in Bangladeshrdquo Gatekeeper Series99 International Institute for Environment and Development(IIED) London UK 2001
ISRN Biodiversity 11
[34] R M Motiur Y Furukawa I Kawata M M Rahman and MAlam ldquoRole of homestead forests in household economy andfactors affecting forest production a case study in southwestBangladeshrdquo Journal of Forest Research vol 11 no 2 pp 89ndash972006
[35] M S Alam andKMMasum ldquoStatus of homestead biodiversityin the offshore Island of Bangladeshrdquo Research Journal ofAgriculture and Biological Sciences vol 1 no 3 pp 246ndash2532005
[36] S Akhter M Alamgir M S I Sohel M P Rana S J MonjurulAhmed and M S H Chowdhury ldquoThe role of women intraditional farming systems as practiced in homegardens a casestudy in Sylhet Sadar Upazila Bangladeshrdquo Tropical Conserva-tion Science vol 3 no 1 pp 17ndash30 2010
[37] H M F Rahman ldquoKishoreganj Sadar Upozilardquo in Banglape-dia National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh httpwwwbanglap-ediaorg
[38] K U Siddique M A Islam Z U Ahmed et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 11 AngiospermsMonocotyledons (Agavaceae-Najadaceae) Asiatic Society ofBangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2007
[39] K U Siddique M A Islam Z U Ahmed et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 5 BryophytesPteridophytes Gymnosperm Asiatic Society of BangladeshDhaka Bangladesh 2008
[40] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al EdsEncyclopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 6Angiosperms Dicotyledons (Acanthaceae-Asteraceae) AsiaticSociety of Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
[41] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 7 AngiospermsDicotyledons (Balsaminaceae-Euphorbiaceae) Asiatic Society ofBangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
[42] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al EdsEncyclopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 12Angiosperms Monocotyledons (Orchidaceae-Zingiberaceae)Asiatic Society of Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
[43] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 8 AngiospermsDicotyledons (Fabaceae-Lythraceae) Asiatic Society of Bang-ladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2009
[44] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 9 AngiospermsDicotyledons (Magnoliaceae-Ponicaceae) Asiatic Society ofBangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2009
[45] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al EdsEncyclopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 10Angiosperms Dicotyledons (Ranunculaceae-Zygophyllaceae)Asiatic Society of Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2010
[46] E P Odum Fundamentals of Ecology WB Saunders Philadel-phia Pa USA 1971
[47] R Margalef ldquoInformation theory in ecologyrdquo General SystemsYearbook vol 3 pp 36ndash71 1958
[48] P Michael Ecological Methods For Field and Laboratory Investi-gation McGraw-Hill New Delhi India 1990
[49] M Kent and P Coker Vegetation Description and Analysis APractical Approach WB Saunders Philadelphia Pa USA 1992
[50] E C Pielou ldquoSpecies-diversity and pattern-diversity in thestudy of ecological successionrdquo Journal of Theoretical Biologyvol 10 no 2 pp 370ndash383 1966
[51] A E Magurran Ecological Diversity and Measurement Prince-ton University Press Princeton NJ USA 1988
[52] S A Mori B M Boom A M Carvalino and D Santos ldquoTheecological importance of Myrtaceae in eastern Brazilian wetforestrdquo Biotropica vol 15 pp 68ndash70 1983
[53] M Z Abedin and M A Quddus ldquoHousehold fuel situationhomestead gardens and agroforestry practice at six agro-ecologically different locations of Bangladeshrdquo in HomesteadPlantation and Agroforestry in Bangladesh M Z Abedin CK Lai and M O Ali Eds pp 19ndash53 Bangladesh AgricultureResearch Institute (BARI) Joydebpur Bangladesh 1990
[54] M Millat-E-Mustafa ldquoTropical Homestead gardens anoverviewrdquo in Agroforestry Bangladesh Perspective M K AlamF U Ahmed and S M Amin Eds pp 18ndash133 APAN NAWGBAEC Dhaka Bangladesh 1997
[55] T Abebe Diversity in homegarden agroforestry systems ofsouthern Ethiopia [PhD Dissertation] Wageningen UniversityWageningen The Netherlands 2005
[56] O T Solbrig ldquoThe origin and function of biodiversityrdquo Environ-ment vol 33 no 5 pp 16ndash38 1991
[57] P Kumar ldquoCarbon sequestration strategy of Nubra Valleywith special reference to agroforestryrdquo DRDO TechnologySpectrum pp 187ndash192 2008
[58] P Kumar S Gupta and S Prakash ldquoCarbon pool of orchardsin siachen sector socio-economic Carbon sequestrationrdquo inAdvances in Agriculture Environment and Health S B SinghO P Charassia and S Yadav Eds pp 225ndash233 2008
[59] L Christanty O S Abdoellah G G Marten and J IskanderldquoTraditional agroforestry in West Java the pekarangan (Home-stead garden) and kebun-talun (annual-perennial rotation)cropping systemsrdquo in Traditional Agriculture in Southeast AsiaA Human Ecology Perspective G G Marten Ed pp 132ndash158Westview Press Boulder Colo USA 1986
Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom
Forestry ResearchInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental and Public Health
Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
EcosystemsJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
MeteorologyAdvances in
EcologyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Marine BiologyJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom
Applied ampEnvironmentalSoil Science
Volume 2014
Advances in
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental Chemistry
Atmospheric SciencesInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Waste ManagementJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
International Journal of
Geophysics
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Geological ResearchJournal of
EarthquakesJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
BiodiversityInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ScientificaHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
OceanographyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Journal of Computational Environmental SciencesHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ClimatologyJournal of
ISRN Biodiversity 9
Generating income
Food security Soil erosion Timber demand
Market access
Fuel wood species
Cattle fodder
Medicinal purposes
Urban Rural
Opportunities
Species diversity and choice of species
Biodiversity conservation
Threats
Rural Urban
Domestic animal Fast growingspecies
Naturalcalamities
Land scarcity Croplandexpansion
Low crowncanopy
Infrastructure
Beautification
Figure 1 Conceptual model of species diversity and biodiversity conservation in homestead garden farming system
This type of management could help villagers in getting fuelwood without disturbing the main vegetation Whatsoever itis now clear that homestead garden is a storehouse of largespecies diversity and sustainable resource management andthis large species diversity can play an important role inbiodiversity conservation
5 Conclusion
For aesthetic environmental and economic perspectivesspecies planting in homestead garden is desirableHomesteadgardening plays a significant role in both rural and urbanlandscape planning and management In this study we haveobserved that the homestead plant composition diversityand species richness were moderate in Kishoregang Sadararea Moreover there was a lack of scientific knowledgeof the gardeners an absence of proper planning and nospecific objectives and goals Present study did not discussany economic contribution andmarket access for homesteadthus further study is highly recommended and neededto directly test the economic significance and influence ofmarket access on the vegetation structure of both commercialand subsistence-oriented homestead gardens in northernBangladesh The moderate domination of fruit species overtimber species may be attributed to the gardenersrsquo generalperception that fruit species would bring early return aswell as the multipurpose nature of fruit species Homesteadgarden could provide employment opportunities for bothmale and female members resulting in increased familyincome for better livelihood to a large population in northernBangladesh Till now there is no specific management planof homestead gardens all over the country although it hastremendous contribution to greening the nature Considering
the present state of the homestead garden of the study areathis paper suggests that there is a need to establish properplanning and management mechanisms from governmentfor homestead garden This can be done by providing someincentives andor training to the owners to be more carefulabout conserving garden species to improve both ruraland urban plant species coverage It is also recommendedthat experimentation with new and diversified tree speciescan play an important role in enhancing the diversity anddistribution of homestead garden in the Kishoreganj Sadararea
Acknowledgments
The authors are highly grateful to each and every respondentwho participated in this study for giving their valuable timeand information regarding their homestead gardensThey areverymuch grateful toMr AvikKumar Roy for his consistencesupport during data collection as well as for giving overallidea about the study area
References
[1] M S UddinM J Rahman andMAMannan ldquoPlant biodiver-sity in the homesteads of saline area of Southern Bangladeshrdquoin Proceedings of National Workshop on Agroforestry ResearchDevelopment of Agroforestry Research in Bangladesh M F HaqMKHasan SMAsaduzzaman andMY Ali Eds pp 45ndash54Gazipur Bangladesh 2001
[2] M Zashimuddin Community Forestry for Poverty Reduction inBangladesh in Forests for Poverty Reduction Can CommunityForestry Make Money FAO Regional Office for Asia and thePacific Bangkok Thailand 2004
10 ISRN Biodiversity
[3] M E Kabir and E L Webb ldquoCan homegardens conserve bi-odiversity in Bangladeshrdquo Biotropica vol 40 no 1 pp 95ndash1032008
[4] A J Southern Acquisition of indigenous ecological knowledgeabout forest gardens in Kandy district Sri Lanka [M PhilDissertation] University of Wales Bangor UK 1994
[5] M B Uddin and S A Mukul ldquoImproving forest dependentlivelihoods through NTFPs and home gardens a case studyfrom satchari national parkrdquo in Making Conservation WorkLinking Rural Livelihoods amp Protected Area Management inBangladesh J Fox B Bushley S Dutt and S A QuaziEds pp 13ndash35 Nishorgo Program of the Bangladesh ForestDepartment and East-West Center of University of HawaiiDhaka Bangladesh 2007
[6] FAO ldquoGlobal forest resource assessment 2010 main reportrdquoFAO Forestry Paper 163 Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO) of the United Nations Rome Italy 2010
[7] M D Millat-E-Mustafa J B Hall and Z TeklehaimanotldquoStructure and floristics of Bangladesh homegardensrdquo Agro-forestry Systems vol 33 no 3 pp 263ndash280 1996
[8] K M Masum M S Alam and M M Abdullah-Al-MamunldquoEcological and economical significance of homestead forest tothe household of the offshore island in Bangladeshrdquo Journal ofForestry Research vol 19 no 4 pp 307ndash310 2008
[9] M F U Ahmed and S M L Rahman ldquoProfile and use of multi-species tree crops in the homesteads of Gazipur district centralBangladeshrdquo Journal of Sustainable Agriculture vol 24 no 1 pp81ndash93 2004
[10] O T Coomes and N Ban ldquoCultivated plant species diversity inhome gardens of an amazonian peasant village in northeasternPerurdquo Economic Botany vol 58 no 3 pp 420ndash434 2004
[11] B A Withrow-Robinson and D E Hibbs ldquoTesting an ecolog-ically based classification tool on fruit-based agroforestry innorthernThailandrdquoAgroforestry Systems vol 65 no 2 pp 123ndash135 2005
[12] O S Abdoellah H Y Hadikusumah K Takeuchi S Okuboand P Parikesit ldquoCommercialization of homegardens in anIndonesian village vegetation composition and functionalchangesrdquo Agroforestry Systems vol 68 no 1 pp 1ndash13 2006
[13] V E Mendez R Lok and E Somarriba ldquoInterdisciplinaryanalysis of homegardens in Nicaragua micro-zonation plantuse and socioeconomic importancerdquo Agroforestry Systems vol51 no 2 pp 85ndash96 2001
[14] C R Vogl and B Vogl-Lukasser ldquoTradition dynamics andsustainability of plant species composition and managementin homegardens on organic and non-organic small scale farmsin Alpine Eastern Tyrol Austriardquo Biological Agriculture andHorticulture vol 21 no 4 pp 349ndash366 2003
[15] A Hemp ldquoThe banana forests of Kilimanjaro biodiversity andconservation of the Chagga homegardensrdquo Biodiversity andConservation vol 15 no 4 pp 1193ndash1217 2006
[16] D K Das List of Bangladesh Village Tree Species ForestResearch Institute Chittagong Bangladesh 1990
[17] M M Hassan and A H Mazumdar ldquoAn exploratory surveyof trees on homestead and waste land of Bangladeshrdquo ADABNews pp 26ndash32 1990
[18] M K Alam and M Mohiuddin Some Potential MultipurposeTrees For Homesteads in Bangladesh vol 2 of AgroforestryInformation Series Winrock International Dhaka Bangladesh1992 Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC)
[19] M K Alam M Mohiuddin and S R Basak ldquoVillage treesin Bangladesh diversity and economic aspectsrdquo BangladeshJournal of Forest Science vol 25 no 1ndash2 pp 21ndash36 1996
[20] S A Khan and M K Alam Homestead Flora of BangladeshBangaldesh Agricultural Research Council InternationalDevelopment Research Cenbtre Village and Farm ForestryProject (SDC) Dhaka Bangladesh 1996
[21] M S Siddiqi and N A Khan ldquoFloristic composition and socio-economic aspects of rural homestead garden in Chittagong acase studyrdquo Journal of Forest Science vol 28 no 2 pp 94ndash1011999
[22] A M Shajaat Ali ldquoHomegardens in smallholder farmingsystems examples from Bangladeshrdquo Human Ecology vol 33no 2 pp 245ndash270 2005
[23] M E Kabir and E L Webb ldquoFloristics and structure of south-western Bangladesh homegardensrdquoThe International Journal ofBiodiversity Science and Management vol 4 no 1 pp 54ndash642008
[24] K U Ahmad ldquoMinor fruits in homestead agro forestryrdquo inAgroforestry Bangladesh Perspective M K Alam F U Ahmedand S M R Amin Eds pp 165ndash169 APAAN NAWG andBARC Dhaka Bangladesh 1997
[25] N M Islam Homestead garden agroforestry in Bangladesha case study in Rangpur district [MS thesis] AgriculturalUniversity of Norway As Norway 1998
[26] M A Bashar Homestead garden Agroforestry impact on Bi-odiversity conservation and household food security a casestudy of Gajipur district Bangladesh [MS thesis] AgriculturalUniversity of Norway As Norway 1999
[27] M S Alam M F Haque M Z Abedin and S AkterldquoHomestead trees and household fuel uses in and around thefarming systems research site Jessorerdquo inHomestead Plantationand Agroforestry in Bangladesh M Z Abedin C K Lai andM O Ali Eds pp 106ndash119 BARI RWEDP and WINROCKDhaka Bangladesh 1990
[28] G Miah M Z Abedin A B M A Khair M Shahidullah andA J M A Baki ldquoHomestead Plantation and household fuelsituation in Ganges floodplain of Bangladeshrdquo in HomesteadPlantation and Agroforestry in Bangladesh M Z Abedin CK Lai and M O Ali Eds pp 120ndash135 BARI JoydebpurBangladesh 1990
[29] M A Momin M Z Abedin M R Amin Q M S Islam andM M Haque ldquoExisting homestead plantation and householdfuel use pattern in the flood prone tangail region of Bangladeshrdquoin Homestead Plantation and Agroforestry in Bangladesh MZ Abedin C K Lai and M O Ali Eds pp 136ndash145 BARIJoydebpur Bangladesh 1990
[30] M Millat-E-Mustafa Z Teklehaimanot and A K O HarunildquoTraditional uses of perennial homestead garden plants inBangladeshrdquoForests Trees and Livelihoods vol 12 no 4 pp 235ndash256 2002
[31] R M Motiur J Tsukamoto Y Furukawa Z Shibayama and IKawata ldquoQuantitative stand structure of woody components ofhomestead forests and its implications on silvicultural manage-ment a case study in Sylhet Sadar Bangladeshrdquo Journal of ForestResearch vol 10 no 4 pp 285ndash294 2005
[32] W A Leuschner and K Khaleque ldquoHomestead agroforestry inBangladeshrdquoAgroforestry Systems vol 5 no 2 pp 139ndash151 1987
[33] N A Khan ldquoSocial forestry versus social reality patronage andcommunity-based forestry in Bangladeshrdquo Gatekeeper Series99 International Institute for Environment and Development(IIED) London UK 2001
ISRN Biodiversity 11
[34] R M Motiur Y Furukawa I Kawata M M Rahman and MAlam ldquoRole of homestead forests in household economy andfactors affecting forest production a case study in southwestBangladeshrdquo Journal of Forest Research vol 11 no 2 pp 89ndash972006
[35] M S Alam andKMMasum ldquoStatus of homestead biodiversityin the offshore Island of Bangladeshrdquo Research Journal ofAgriculture and Biological Sciences vol 1 no 3 pp 246ndash2532005
[36] S Akhter M Alamgir M S I Sohel M P Rana S J MonjurulAhmed and M S H Chowdhury ldquoThe role of women intraditional farming systems as practiced in homegardens a casestudy in Sylhet Sadar Upazila Bangladeshrdquo Tropical Conserva-tion Science vol 3 no 1 pp 17ndash30 2010
[37] H M F Rahman ldquoKishoreganj Sadar Upozilardquo in Banglape-dia National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh httpwwwbanglap-ediaorg
[38] K U Siddique M A Islam Z U Ahmed et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 11 AngiospermsMonocotyledons (Agavaceae-Najadaceae) Asiatic Society ofBangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2007
[39] K U Siddique M A Islam Z U Ahmed et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 5 BryophytesPteridophytes Gymnosperm Asiatic Society of BangladeshDhaka Bangladesh 2008
[40] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al EdsEncyclopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 6Angiosperms Dicotyledons (Acanthaceae-Asteraceae) AsiaticSociety of Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
[41] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 7 AngiospermsDicotyledons (Balsaminaceae-Euphorbiaceae) Asiatic Society ofBangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
[42] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al EdsEncyclopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 12Angiosperms Monocotyledons (Orchidaceae-Zingiberaceae)Asiatic Society of Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
[43] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 8 AngiospermsDicotyledons (Fabaceae-Lythraceae) Asiatic Society of Bang-ladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2009
[44] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 9 AngiospermsDicotyledons (Magnoliaceae-Ponicaceae) Asiatic Society ofBangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2009
[45] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al EdsEncyclopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 10Angiosperms Dicotyledons (Ranunculaceae-Zygophyllaceae)Asiatic Society of Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2010
[46] E P Odum Fundamentals of Ecology WB Saunders Philadel-phia Pa USA 1971
[47] R Margalef ldquoInformation theory in ecologyrdquo General SystemsYearbook vol 3 pp 36ndash71 1958
[48] P Michael Ecological Methods For Field and Laboratory Investi-gation McGraw-Hill New Delhi India 1990
[49] M Kent and P Coker Vegetation Description and Analysis APractical Approach WB Saunders Philadelphia Pa USA 1992
[50] E C Pielou ldquoSpecies-diversity and pattern-diversity in thestudy of ecological successionrdquo Journal of Theoretical Biologyvol 10 no 2 pp 370ndash383 1966
[51] A E Magurran Ecological Diversity and Measurement Prince-ton University Press Princeton NJ USA 1988
[52] S A Mori B M Boom A M Carvalino and D Santos ldquoTheecological importance of Myrtaceae in eastern Brazilian wetforestrdquo Biotropica vol 15 pp 68ndash70 1983
[53] M Z Abedin and M A Quddus ldquoHousehold fuel situationhomestead gardens and agroforestry practice at six agro-ecologically different locations of Bangladeshrdquo in HomesteadPlantation and Agroforestry in Bangladesh M Z Abedin CK Lai and M O Ali Eds pp 19ndash53 Bangladesh AgricultureResearch Institute (BARI) Joydebpur Bangladesh 1990
[54] M Millat-E-Mustafa ldquoTropical Homestead gardens anoverviewrdquo in Agroforestry Bangladesh Perspective M K AlamF U Ahmed and S M Amin Eds pp 18ndash133 APAN NAWGBAEC Dhaka Bangladesh 1997
[55] T Abebe Diversity in homegarden agroforestry systems ofsouthern Ethiopia [PhD Dissertation] Wageningen UniversityWageningen The Netherlands 2005
[56] O T Solbrig ldquoThe origin and function of biodiversityrdquo Environ-ment vol 33 no 5 pp 16ndash38 1991
[57] P Kumar ldquoCarbon sequestration strategy of Nubra Valleywith special reference to agroforestryrdquo DRDO TechnologySpectrum pp 187ndash192 2008
[58] P Kumar S Gupta and S Prakash ldquoCarbon pool of orchardsin siachen sector socio-economic Carbon sequestrationrdquo inAdvances in Agriculture Environment and Health S B SinghO P Charassia and S Yadav Eds pp 225ndash233 2008
[59] L Christanty O S Abdoellah G G Marten and J IskanderldquoTraditional agroforestry in West Java the pekarangan (Home-stead garden) and kebun-talun (annual-perennial rotation)cropping systemsrdquo in Traditional Agriculture in Southeast AsiaA Human Ecology Perspective G G Marten Ed pp 132ndash158Westview Press Boulder Colo USA 1986
Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom
Forestry ResearchInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental and Public Health
Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
EcosystemsJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
MeteorologyAdvances in
EcologyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Marine BiologyJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom
Applied ampEnvironmentalSoil Science
Volume 2014
Advances in
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental Chemistry
Atmospheric SciencesInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Waste ManagementJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
International Journal of
Geophysics
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Geological ResearchJournal of
EarthquakesJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
BiodiversityInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ScientificaHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
OceanographyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Journal of Computational Environmental SciencesHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ClimatologyJournal of
10 ISRN Biodiversity
[3] M E Kabir and E L Webb ldquoCan homegardens conserve bi-odiversity in Bangladeshrdquo Biotropica vol 40 no 1 pp 95ndash1032008
[4] A J Southern Acquisition of indigenous ecological knowledgeabout forest gardens in Kandy district Sri Lanka [M PhilDissertation] University of Wales Bangor UK 1994
[5] M B Uddin and S A Mukul ldquoImproving forest dependentlivelihoods through NTFPs and home gardens a case studyfrom satchari national parkrdquo in Making Conservation WorkLinking Rural Livelihoods amp Protected Area Management inBangladesh J Fox B Bushley S Dutt and S A QuaziEds pp 13ndash35 Nishorgo Program of the Bangladesh ForestDepartment and East-West Center of University of HawaiiDhaka Bangladesh 2007
[6] FAO ldquoGlobal forest resource assessment 2010 main reportrdquoFAO Forestry Paper 163 Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO) of the United Nations Rome Italy 2010
[7] M D Millat-E-Mustafa J B Hall and Z TeklehaimanotldquoStructure and floristics of Bangladesh homegardensrdquo Agro-forestry Systems vol 33 no 3 pp 263ndash280 1996
[8] K M Masum M S Alam and M M Abdullah-Al-MamunldquoEcological and economical significance of homestead forest tothe household of the offshore island in Bangladeshrdquo Journal ofForestry Research vol 19 no 4 pp 307ndash310 2008
[9] M F U Ahmed and S M L Rahman ldquoProfile and use of multi-species tree crops in the homesteads of Gazipur district centralBangladeshrdquo Journal of Sustainable Agriculture vol 24 no 1 pp81ndash93 2004
[10] O T Coomes and N Ban ldquoCultivated plant species diversity inhome gardens of an amazonian peasant village in northeasternPerurdquo Economic Botany vol 58 no 3 pp 420ndash434 2004
[11] B A Withrow-Robinson and D E Hibbs ldquoTesting an ecolog-ically based classification tool on fruit-based agroforestry innorthernThailandrdquoAgroforestry Systems vol 65 no 2 pp 123ndash135 2005
[12] O S Abdoellah H Y Hadikusumah K Takeuchi S Okuboand P Parikesit ldquoCommercialization of homegardens in anIndonesian village vegetation composition and functionalchangesrdquo Agroforestry Systems vol 68 no 1 pp 1ndash13 2006
[13] V E Mendez R Lok and E Somarriba ldquoInterdisciplinaryanalysis of homegardens in Nicaragua micro-zonation plantuse and socioeconomic importancerdquo Agroforestry Systems vol51 no 2 pp 85ndash96 2001
[14] C R Vogl and B Vogl-Lukasser ldquoTradition dynamics andsustainability of plant species composition and managementin homegardens on organic and non-organic small scale farmsin Alpine Eastern Tyrol Austriardquo Biological Agriculture andHorticulture vol 21 no 4 pp 349ndash366 2003
[15] A Hemp ldquoThe banana forests of Kilimanjaro biodiversity andconservation of the Chagga homegardensrdquo Biodiversity andConservation vol 15 no 4 pp 1193ndash1217 2006
[16] D K Das List of Bangladesh Village Tree Species ForestResearch Institute Chittagong Bangladesh 1990
[17] M M Hassan and A H Mazumdar ldquoAn exploratory surveyof trees on homestead and waste land of Bangladeshrdquo ADABNews pp 26ndash32 1990
[18] M K Alam and M Mohiuddin Some Potential MultipurposeTrees For Homesteads in Bangladesh vol 2 of AgroforestryInformation Series Winrock International Dhaka Bangladesh1992 Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC)
[19] M K Alam M Mohiuddin and S R Basak ldquoVillage treesin Bangladesh diversity and economic aspectsrdquo BangladeshJournal of Forest Science vol 25 no 1ndash2 pp 21ndash36 1996
[20] S A Khan and M K Alam Homestead Flora of BangladeshBangaldesh Agricultural Research Council InternationalDevelopment Research Cenbtre Village and Farm ForestryProject (SDC) Dhaka Bangladesh 1996
[21] M S Siddiqi and N A Khan ldquoFloristic composition and socio-economic aspects of rural homestead garden in Chittagong acase studyrdquo Journal of Forest Science vol 28 no 2 pp 94ndash1011999
[22] A M Shajaat Ali ldquoHomegardens in smallholder farmingsystems examples from Bangladeshrdquo Human Ecology vol 33no 2 pp 245ndash270 2005
[23] M E Kabir and E L Webb ldquoFloristics and structure of south-western Bangladesh homegardensrdquoThe International Journal ofBiodiversity Science and Management vol 4 no 1 pp 54ndash642008
[24] K U Ahmad ldquoMinor fruits in homestead agro forestryrdquo inAgroforestry Bangladesh Perspective M K Alam F U Ahmedand S M R Amin Eds pp 165ndash169 APAAN NAWG andBARC Dhaka Bangladesh 1997
[25] N M Islam Homestead garden agroforestry in Bangladesha case study in Rangpur district [MS thesis] AgriculturalUniversity of Norway As Norway 1998
[26] M A Bashar Homestead garden Agroforestry impact on Bi-odiversity conservation and household food security a casestudy of Gajipur district Bangladesh [MS thesis] AgriculturalUniversity of Norway As Norway 1999
[27] M S Alam M F Haque M Z Abedin and S AkterldquoHomestead trees and household fuel uses in and around thefarming systems research site Jessorerdquo inHomestead Plantationand Agroforestry in Bangladesh M Z Abedin C K Lai andM O Ali Eds pp 106ndash119 BARI RWEDP and WINROCKDhaka Bangladesh 1990
[28] G Miah M Z Abedin A B M A Khair M Shahidullah andA J M A Baki ldquoHomestead Plantation and household fuelsituation in Ganges floodplain of Bangladeshrdquo in HomesteadPlantation and Agroforestry in Bangladesh M Z Abedin CK Lai and M O Ali Eds pp 120ndash135 BARI JoydebpurBangladesh 1990
[29] M A Momin M Z Abedin M R Amin Q M S Islam andM M Haque ldquoExisting homestead plantation and householdfuel use pattern in the flood prone tangail region of Bangladeshrdquoin Homestead Plantation and Agroforestry in Bangladesh MZ Abedin C K Lai and M O Ali Eds pp 136ndash145 BARIJoydebpur Bangladesh 1990
[30] M Millat-E-Mustafa Z Teklehaimanot and A K O HarunildquoTraditional uses of perennial homestead garden plants inBangladeshrdquoForests Trees and Livelihoods vol 12 no 4 pp 235ndash256 2002
[31] R M Motiur J Tsukamoto Y Furukawa Z Shibayama and IKawata ldquoQuantitative stand structure of woody components ofhomestead forests and its implications on silvicultural manage-ment a case study in Sylhet Sadar Bangladeshrdquo Journal of ForestResearch vol 10 no 4 pp 285ndash294 2005
[32] W A Leuschner and K Khaleque ldquoHomestead agroforestry inBangladeshrdquoAgroforestry Systems vol 5 no 2 pp 139ndash151 1987
[33] N A Khan ldquoSocial forestry versus social reality patronage andcommunity-based forestry in Bangladeshrdquo Gatekeeper Series99 International Institute for Environment and Development(IIED) London UK 2001
ISRN Biodiversity 11
[34] R M Motiur Y Furukawa I Kawata M M Rahman and MAlam ldquoRole of homestead forests in household economy andfactors affecting forest production a case study in southwestBangladeshrdquo Journal of Forest Research vol 11 no 2 pp 89ndash972006
[35] M S Alam andKMMasum ldquoStatus of homestead biodiversityin the offshore Island of Bangladeshrdquo Research Journal ofAgriculture and Biological Sciences vol 1 no 3 pp 246ndash2532005
[36] S Akhter M Alamgir M S I Sohel M P Rana S J MonjurulAhmed and M S H Chowdhury ldquoThe role of women intraditional farming systems as practiced in homegardens a casestudy in Sylhet Sadar Upazila Bangladeshrdquo Tropical Conserva-tion Science vol 3 no 1 pp 17ndash30 2010
[37] H M F Rahman ldquoKishoreganj Sadar Upozilardquo in Banglape-dia National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh httpwwwbanglap-ediaorg
[38] K U Siddique M A Islam Z U Ahmed et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 11 AngiospermsMonocotyledons (Agavaceae-Najadaceae) Asiatic Society ofBangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2007
[39] K U Siddique M A Islam Z U Ahmed et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 5 BryophytesPteridophytes Gymnosperm Asiatic Society of BangladeshDhaka Bangladesh 2008
[40] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al EdsEncyclopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 6Angiosperms Dicotyledons (Acanthaceae-Asteraceae) AsiaticSociety of Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
[41] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 7 AngiospermsDicotyledons (Balsaminaceae-Euphorbiaceae) Asiatic Society ofBangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
[42] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al EdsEncyclopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 12Angiosperms Monocotyledons (Orchidaceae-Zingiberaceae)Asiatic Society of Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
[43] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 8 AngiospermsDicotyledons (Fabaceae-Lythraceae) Asiatic Society of Bang-ladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2009
[44] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 9 AngiospermsDicotyledons (Magnoliaceae-Ponicaceae) Asiatic Society ofBangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2009
[45] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al EdsEncyclopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 10Angiosperms Dicotyledons (Ranunculaceae-Zygophyllaceae)Asiatic Society of Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2010
[46] E P Odum Fundamentals of Ecology WB Saunders Philadel-phia Pa USA 1971
[47] R Margalef ldquoInformation theory in ecologyrdquo General SystemsYearbook vol 3 pp 36ndash71 1958
[48] P Michael Ecological Methods For Field and Laboratory Investi-gation McGraw-Hill New Delhi India 1990
[49] M Kent and P Coker Vegetation Description and Analysis APractical Approach WB Saunders Philadelphia Pa USA 1992
[50] E C Pielou ldquoSpecies-diversity and pattern-diversity in thestudy of ecological successionrdquo Journal of Theoretical Biologyvol 10 no 2 pp 370ndash383 1966
[51] A E Magurran Ecological Diversity and Measurement Prince-ton University Press Princeton NJ USA 1988
[52] S A Mori B M Boom A M Carvalino and D Santos ldquoTheecological importance of Myrtaceae in eastern Brazilian wetforestrdquo Biotropica vol 15 pp 68ndash70 1983
[53] M Z Abedin and M A Quddus ldquoHousehold fuel situationhomestead gardens and agroforestry practice at six agro-ecologically different locations of Bangladeshrdquo in HomesteadPlantation and Agroforestry in Bangladesh M Z Abedin CK Lai and M O Ali Eds pp 19ndash53 Bangladesh AgricultureResearch Institute (BARI) Joydebpur Bangladesh 1990
[54] M Millat-E-Mustafa ldquoTropical Homestead gardens anoverviewrdquo in Agroforestry Bangladesh Perspective M K AlamF U Ahmed and S M Amin Eds pp 18ndash133 APAN NAWGBAEC Dhaka Bangladesh 1997
[55] T Abebe Diversity in homegarden agroforestry systems ofsouthern Ethiopia [PhD Dissertation] Wageningen UniversityWageningen The Netherlands 2005
[56] O T Solbrig ldquoThe origin and function of biodiversityrdquo Environ-ment vol 33 no 5 pp 16ndash38 1991
[57] P Kumar ldquoCarbon sequestration strategy of Nubra Valleywith special reference to agroforestryrdquo DRDO TechnologySpectrum pp 187ndash192 2008
[58] P Kumar S Gupta and S Prakash ldquoCarbon pool of orchardsin siachen sector socio-economic Carbon sequestrationrdquo inAdvances in Agriculture Environment and Health S B SinghO P Charassia and S Yadav Eds pp 225ndash233 2008
[59] L Christanty O S Abdoellah G G Marten and J IskanderldquoTraditional agroforestry in West Java the pekarangan (Home-stead garden) and kebun-talun (annual-perennial rotation)cropping systemsrdquo in Traditional Agriculture in Southeast AsiaA Human Ecology Perspective G G Marten Ed pp 132ndash158Westview Press Boulder Colo USA 1986
Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom
Forestry ResearchInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental and Public Health
Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
EcosystemsJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
MeteorologyAdvances in
EcologyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Marine BiologyJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom
Applied ampEnvironmentalSoil Science
Volume 2014
Advances in
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental Chemistry
Atmospheric SciencesInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Waste ManagementJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
International Journal of
Geophysics
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Geological ResearchJournal of
EarthquakesJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
BiodiversityInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ScientificaHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
OceanographyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Journal of Computational Environmental SciencesHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ClimatologyJournal of
ISRN Biodiversity 11
[34] R M Motiur Y Furukawa I Kawata M M Rahman and MAlam ldquoRole of homestead forests in household economy andfactors affecting forest production a case study in southwestBangladeshrdquo Journal of Forest Research vol 11 no 2 pp 89ndash972006
[35] M S Alam andKMMasum ldquoStatus of homestead biodiversityin the offshore Island of Bangladeshrdquo Research Journal ofAgriculture and Biological Sciences vol 1 no 3 pp 246ndash2532005
[36] S Akhter M Alamgir M S I Sohel M P Rana S J MonjurulAhmed and M S H Chowdhury ldquoThe role of women intraditional farming systems as practiced in homegardens a casestudy in Sylhet Sadar Upazila Bangladeshrdquo Tropical Conserva-tion Science vol 3 no 1 pp 17ndash30 2010
[37] H M F Rahman ldquoKishoreganj Sadar Upozilardquo in Banglape-dia National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh httpwwwbanglap-ediaorg
[38] K U Siddique M A Islam Z U Ahmed et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 11 AngiospermsMonocotyledons (Agavaceae-Najadaceae) Asiatic Society ofBangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2007
[39] K U Siddique M A Islam Z U Ahmed et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 5 BryophytesPteridophytes Gymnosperm Asiatic Society of BangladeshDhaka Bangladesh 2008
[40] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al EdsEncyclopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 6Angiosperms Dicotyledons (Acanthaceae-Asteraceae) AsiaticSociety of Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
[41] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 7 AngiospermsDicotyledons (Balsaminaceae-Euphorbiaceae) Asiatic Society ofBangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
[42] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al EdsEncyclopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 12Angiosperms Monocotyledons (Orchidaceae-Zingiberaceae)Asiatic Society of Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
[43] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 8 AngiospermsDicotyledons (Fabaceae-Lythraceae) Asiatic Society of Bang-ladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2009
[44] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al Eds Ency-clopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 9 AngiospermsDicotyledons (Magnoliaceae-Ponicaceae) Asiatic Society ofBangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2009
[45] Z U Ahmed M A Hassan Z N T Begum et al EdsEncyclopaedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh Vol 10Angiosperms Dicotyledons (Ranunculaceae-Zygophyllaceae)Asiatic Society of Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh 2010
[46] E P Odum Fundamentals of Ecology WB Saunders Philadel-phia Pa USA 1971
[47] R Margalef ldquoInformation theory in ecologyrdquo General SystemsYearbook vol 3 pp 36ndash71 1958
[48] P Michael Ecological Methods For Field and Laboratory Investi-gation McGraw-Hill New Delhi India 1990
[49] M Kent and P Coker Vegetation Description and Analysis APractical Approach WB Saunders Philadelphia Pa USA 1992
[50] E C Pielou ldquoSpecies-diversity and pattern-diversity in thestudy of ecological successionrdquo Journal of Theoretical Biologyvol 10 no 2 pp 370ndash383 1966
[51] A E Magurran Ecological Diversity and Measurement Prince-ton University Press Princeton NJ USA 1988
[52] S A Mori B M Boom A M Carvalino and D Santos ldquoTheecological importance of Myrtaceae in eastern Brazilian wetforestrdquo Biotropica vol 15 pp 68ndash70 1983
[53] M Z Abedin and M A Quddus ldquoHousehold fuel situationhomestead gardens and agroforestry practice at six agro-ecologically different locations of Bangladeshrdquo in HomesteadPlantation and Agroforestry in Bangladesh M Z Abedin CK Lai and M O Ali Eds pp 19ndash53 Bangladesh AgricultureResearch Institute (BARI) Joydebpur Bangladesh 1990
[54] M Millat-E-Mustafa ldquoTropical Homestead gardens anoverviewrdquo in Agroforestry Bangladesh Perspective M K AlamF U Ahmed and S M Amin Eds pp 18ndash133 APAN NAWGBAEC Dhaka Bangladesh 1997
[55] T Abebe Diversity in homegarden agroforestry systems ofsouthern Ethiopia [PhD Dissertation] Wageningen UniversityWageningen The Netherlands 2005
[56] O T Solbrig ldquoThe origin and function of biodiversityrdquo Environ-ment vol 33 no 5 pp 16ndash38 1991
[57] P Kumar ldquoCarbon sequestration strategy of Nubra Valleywith special reference to agroforestryrdquo DRDO TechnologySpectrum pp 187ndash192 2008
[58] P Kumar S Gupta and S Prakash ldquoCarbon pool of orchardsin siachen sector socio-economic Carbon sequestrationrdquo inAdvances in Agriculture Environment and Health S B SinghO P Charassia and S Yadav Eds pp 225ndash233 2008
[59] L Christanty O S Abdoellah G G Marten and J IskanderldquoTraditional agroforestry in West Java the pekarangan (Home-stead garden) and kebun-talun (annual-perennial rotation)cropping systemsrdquo in Traditional Agriculture in Southeast AsiaA Human Ecology Perspective G G Marten Ed pp 132ndash158Westview Press Boulder Colo USA 1986
Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom
Forestry ResearchInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental and Public Health
Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
EcosystemsJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
MeteorologyAdvances in
EcologyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Marine BiologyJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom
Applied ampEnvironmentalSoil Science
Volume 2014
Advances in
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental Chemistry
Atmospheric SciencesInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Waste ManagementJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
International Journal of
Geophysics
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Geological ResearchJournal of
EarthquakesJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
BiodiversityInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ScientificaHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
OceanographyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Journal of Computational Environmental SciencesHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ClimatologyJournal of
Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom
Forestry ResearchInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental and Public Health
Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
EcosystemsJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
MeteorologyAdvances in
EcologyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Marine BiologyJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom
Applied ampEnvironmentalSoil Science
Volume 2014
Advances in
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Environmental Chemistry
Atmospheric SciencesInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Waste ManagementJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
International Journal of
Geophysics
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Geological ResearchJournal of
EarthquakesJournal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
BiodiversityInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ScientificaHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
OceanographyInternational Journal of
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Journal of Computational Environmental SciencesHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014
ClimatologyJournal of