65 © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
P. Singh et al. (eds.), Contemporary Environmental Issues and Challenges in Era
of Climate Change, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9595-7_3
B. P. Ahirvar · S. Chaudhry · P. Das (*)
Department of Environmental Science, Indira Gandhi National Tribal University,
Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh, India
M. Kumar
Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India
3
Climate Change Impact on Forest
and Agrobiodiversity: A Special
Reference to Amarkantak Area, Madhya
Pradesh
Bhairo Prasad Ahirvar, Shivaji Chaudhry, Manish Kumar,
and Pallavi Das
Abstract
Impact of climate change causes many visible changes within an ecosystem and
organism. In recent years, biodiversity loss is one of the challenging issues which
are affected by climate change. India has a unique climate which supports rich
biological diversity. Amarkantak is a holy town situated in district Anuppur of
Madhya Pradesh. Some parts of Amarkantak come under Achanakmar-
Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve (AABR). It lies between latitude 22°15 to 20°
58 N and longitude 81° 25 N to 20°5E. The biosphere reserve is an origin place
of three major rivers of Central Indian region, i.e., Narmada, Son, and Johila and
their tributaries. It is home to primitive tribal communities like Baiga, Gonds,
Panikas, Kol, and Dhanaur. All these communities are mostly dependent on the
forest and agriculture for their livelihood. Last few decades, climate change
impacts on the non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and agricultural crops. A
fnding of the study shows that locals felt a lesser number of rainy days which
directly affect crop production of the area. Apart from that, quantity of NTFPs
has also declined. Fishery sector of the area is also affected. The climate of the
region supports rich diversity of plants and animals’ species. Few medicinal
plants are now not available in natural forest due to extreme forest fres and
overexploitation.
Keywords
Climate change · Forest · Agrobiodiversity · Livelihood · Amarkantak · Madhya
Pradesh