ABSTRACT
Any ecosystem whether aquatic or terrestrial is exposed to various anthropogenic and natural threats which directly or indirectly affects the ecological habitat of the different species whether plants or animals making them rare or endangered. Therefore, researchers have tried for their different conservation habitats, protecting them from the major threats like overgrazing, deforestation, bush fires, shifting cultivation and road construction which are thought to be the major causes of biodiversity. Natural forest conservation plays a vital role in the provision of environmental and social services such as productivity, nutrient biogeochemical cycling, carbon dioxide mitigation problems, litter biomass, etc.
India is bestowed with vast forest resources, which play a pivotal role in social, cultural, historical, economic and industrial development of the country and in maintaining its ecological balance. Forests act as an important resource base for the sustenance of its population and a storehouse of biodiversity. Other land use practices, such as agriculture and animal husbandry are benefitted by forests. The worldwide destruction of the natural environment in the recent past has led to a tremendous loss of biological diversity. This alarming situation has necessitated the in-depth research on the current status of different life forms. Two important attributes of biodiversity: species richness and endemism need particular 56attention in this regard. As projections indicate that species in ecosystems will be at maximum risk from human activities during the next few decades, critical taxonomic evaluation of life forms should be the highest priority. With reference to Article 7 of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD), there is an urgent need to prepare an inventory of plant and animal biodiversity through surveys or on ground practicals which will serve as an archive for future biodiversity studies. In this background, an attempt was made to study the ecological and biomass assessment of the present status of the vegetation cover during 2016–17 and also to indicate the change in vegetation cover over the last decade of Central University of Orissa (CUO), Main Campus, Koraput, Odisha which is located in between the two major industries of HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) and NALCO (National Aluminum Company Limited) of Govt. of India and is hence an important biodiversity study site.
