Acta Scientific MICROBIOLOGY (ISSN: 2581-3226) Volume 4 Issue 4 April 2021 Mapping Habitat to Establish the Gene Bank of Aegle marmelos (L.) Correa for Conservation in Nepal Bimal Bahadur Kunwar 1,2,3 * 1 Biomaterial Management and Learning Pvt. Ltd, Nepal 2 Prithvi Narayan Campus, Tribhuvan University, Nepal 3 Research, Community Development and Conservation Center (C3DR), Nepal *Corresponding Author: Bimal Bahadur Kunwar, Biomaterial Management and Learning Pvt. Ltd and Prithvi Narayan Campus, Tribhuvan University and Research, Community Development and Conservation Center (C3DR), Nepal. bimalnature@gmail.com Research Article Received: November 16, 2020 Published: March 24, 2021 © All rights are reserved by Bimal Bahadur Kunwar. Abstract Aegle marmelos (L.) Correa is an economically crucial plant mainly harvested and traded for medicinal and religious purposes. Most of the harvesting is made from forests. Due to rapid habitat change, deforestation and over-exploitation, it is feared that such a valuable plant and its precious genetic diversity may be lost from nature. Responding to these challenges, a major initiative has been launched in the Western Terai Landscape Complex to identify the threats and to identify hot spots (sinks) of genetic variability that can be targeted for enriching the forest gene bank concept. To improve our knowledge regarding the natural habitat of the species, literature review, herbarium center visit, and field visits were performed. All accumulated data were subjected to DIVA GIS to plot a predictive map of the plant habitat based on climate and altitude. The Sixteen measured populations distributed along East-West longitudinal gradient in Nepal were explored and tested using GIS maps. For conservation strategies, populations of the Khata site of Dhanaoura VDC, Bardia district is purposed as a hot spot and is a probable sink of the gene pool while remaining sites as a source. Therefore, the transformation of the gene in Khata of Dhanaoura VDC, Bardia district from other sites of the country, is required to conserve the genetic resources of A. marmelos in a constant and stable form. The provided information can be utilized to conserve genetic resources and to utilize the resources sustainability. Keywords: Gene Bank; Diversity; Conservation Strategies; Western Terai Introduction Aegle marmelos (L.) Correa (Syns. Feronia pellucid Roth., Crat- evaeva marmelos L.) is also called Bengal quince, Bael fruit, Indian quince, golden apple, holy fruit, stone apple, bel, bela (Nepali, Hin- di); Sirphal, Malur, Amritfal, Mahafal, Sadafal, Willow (Sanskrit); Bel, Marmelos (Trade name) and other dialectal names are Ohshit, Opesheet in Burmese; Phneou or Pnoi in Cambodian; Oranger du Malabar in French; Maja, Maja batuh in Indonesian; Modjo in Java; Torum in Lao (Sino-Tibetan); Bilak or Maja pahit in Malayan; Marmelos in Portuguese; Matum, Mapin, and Tum in Thailand; Mbaunau, Trai mam in Vietnamese. The plant species belong to the Rutaceae family, and the distribution of the family Rutaceae Rue/ Citrus (Latin for rue) is worldwide, especially in tropical regions, including 153 genera and 1800 species and it is characterized by the development of oil glands producing aromatic oil [1]. Aegle be- longs to one of the monotypic genera of subfamily Rosidae, tribe Citation: Bimal Bahadur Kunwar. “Mapping Habitat to Establish the Gene Bank of Aegle marmelos (L.) Correa for Conservation in Nepal". Acta Scientific Microbiology 4.4 (2021): 108-118.