Management for Improved Soil Quality, Tree Diversity and Building Resilience in Panchase Protected Forest, Gandaki Province, Nepal

Forest ecosystem enhances environmental resilience by maintaining ecosystem stability and supporting natural processes. In Nepal, the rising temperature has exerted immense pressure on people's livelihoods and ecosystems. In a forest, soil characteristics and tree diversity are the key components that enhance its resilience in response to various disturbances such as drought, fire, erosion, and landslides. However, the role of forest management in improving soil quality, fostering tree diversity, and building resilience is less investigated in Nepal. The present study aims to assess the role of forest management in soil quality, tree diversity, and building resilience. For this purpose, the soil quality was determined and soil quality rating (SQR) was computed across three management zones of the Panchase protected forest, using a semi-quantitative equation model. The observed tree richness was obtained from transect walk and tree counts around soil sample points. The community resilience adjoining the forest was assessed through participatory approach employing a scoring method. The results showed that SQR was higher in the Protected Zone (0.82) followed by the Intensive Management Zone (0.77) and the Impact Zone (0.69). The highly significant differences in SQR among the three management zones (P