Assessment of trees outside forests in Ballia District of eastern Uttar Pradesh, India

A study was undertaken to assess the number of important tree species outside forests in rural areas of district Ballia, which is a commercial center and a consumption center for the tree based needs. The species selected were Teak (Tectona grandis), Mango (Mangifera indica), Shisham (Dalbergia sissoo), Mahua (Madhuca longifolia), Neem (Azadirachta indica), Aonla (Emblica officinalis)) and Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus sp.). These species are very common species as Trees Outside Forests (TOF) in rural area of the district and out of six, Mango, Neem and Shisham are most demanded species of the region. The district Ballia has 2372 villages, out of which 23 villages (1%) were taken for the study. The number of trees on the basis of girth classes was recorded in selected villages of respective blocks. In case of Teak, a total of 578351 trees, in Mango species, a total of 433320 trees, a total of 522848 trees in Neem, in case of Shisham, a total of 454319 trees, in Eucalyptus species, a total of 359395 trees, in case of Aonla, a total of 78202 and for Mahua, 86295 trees were enumerated in different girth classes. It was found that Mahua and Aonla trees were very less as compared to other species. Thus, introduction of these species in large areas/private land of farmer may be a viable option for minimizing demand supply gap as well as to increase the tree cover.