Farmers of the forest: Distribution of Hornbill species in India with their conservation status and strategic recommendation for conservation

Often referred to as the "farmers of the forest," hornbills consume a variety of fruits and play a crucial role in seed dispersal across extensive areas, thereby enhancing plant diversity and facilitating forest regeneration. While hornbills are essential to the ecosystem, they face signi...

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Main Authors: Komal Rana, Smita Badola, Deepti Bahuguna
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Action for Sustainable Efficacious Development and Awareness 2025-05-01
Series:Environment Conservation Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journal.environcj.in/index.php/ecj/article/view/3362
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author Komal Rana
Smita Badola
Deepti Bahuguna
author_facet Komal Rana
Smita Badola
Deepti Bahuguna
author_sort Komal Rana
collection DOAJ
description Often referred to as the "farmers of the forest," hornbills consume a variety of fruits and play a crucial role in seed dispersal across extensive areas, thereby enhancing plant diversity and facilitating forest regeneration. While hornbills are essential to the ecosystem, they face significant threats from habitat loss, deforestation, poaching, and the illegal pet trade. There are approximately sixty-two hornbill species globally, with nine residing in India. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), among the nine Indian species, five are classified as Vulnerable, two as Near Threatened, and two as Least Concern. The Western Ghats and Northeastern Himalayas are biodiversity hotspots that provide critical habitat for hornbills, including several endemic and near-endemic species. Despite their ecological importance, these regions face persistent conservation challenges that threaten the survival of hornbill populations. Although initiatives such as community engagement, habitat restoration, and legal protection are in place, these regions still face considerable challenges in hornbill conservation. This review seeks to consolidate existing research on hornbill distribution, habitat preferences, and ecological needs in India. It also aims to identify the key threats facing these species and propose actionable recommendations for future research and conservation strategies to ensure their long-term survival.
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language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher Action for Sustainable Efficacious Development and Awareness
record_format Article
series Environment Conservation Journal
spelling doaj-art-e36a0cf8120f417c92c1902a33ddc6992025-08-20T03:47:16ZengAction for Sustainable Efficacious Development and AwarenessEnvironment Conservation Journal0972-30992278-51242025-05-0126210.36953/ECJ.33622025Farmers of the forest: Distribution of Hornbill species in India with their conservation status and strategic recommendation for conservationKomal Rana0Smita Badola1Deepti Bahuguna2Aquatic and Conservation Biology Lab, Deptt. of Zoology,Pt. L. M. S. Campus Rishikesh, Sri Dev Suman Uttarakhand University, Uttarakhand-IndiaAquatic and Conservation Biology Lab, Deptt. of Zoology,Pt. L. M. S. Campus Rishikesh, Sri Dev Suman Uttarakhand University, Uttarakhand-IndiaAquatic and Conservation Biology Lab, Deptt. of Zoology,Pt. L. M. S. Campus Rishikesh, Sri Dev Suman Uttarakhand University, Uttarakhand-India Often referred to as the "farmers of the forest," hornbills consume a variety of fruits and play a crucial role in seed dispersal across extensive areas, thereby enhancing plant diversity and facilitating forest regeneration. While hornbills are essential to the ecosystem, they face significant threats from habitat loss, deforestation, poaching, and the illegal pet trade. There are approximately sixty-two hornbill species globally, with nine residing in India. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), among the nine Indian species, five are classified as Vulnerable, two as Near Threatened, and two as Least Concern. The Western Ghats and Northeastern Himalayas are biodiversity hotspots that provide critical habitat for hornbills, including several endemic and near-endemic species. Despite their ecological importance, these regions face persistent conservation challenges that threaten the survival of hornbill populations. Although initiatives such as community engagement, habitat restoration, and legal protection are in place, these regions still face considerable challenges in hornbill conservation. This review seeks to consolidate existing research on hornbill distribution, habitat preferences, and ecological needs in India. It also aims to identify the key threats facing these species and propose actionable recommendations for future research and conservation strategies to ensure their long-term survival. https://journal.environcj.in/index.php/ecj/article/view/3362Conservation statusConservation strategyDistributionEndangered speciesseed dispersers
spellingShingle Komal Rana
Smita Badola
Deepti Bahuguna
Farmers of the forest: Distribution of Hornbill species in India with their conservation status and strategic recommendation for conservation
Environment Conservation Journal
Conservation status
Conservation strategy
Distribution
Endangered species
seed dispersers
title Farmers of the forest: Distribution of Hornbill species in India with their conservation status and strategic recommendation for conservation
title_full Farmers of the forest: Distribution of Hornbill species in India with their conservation status and strategic recommendation for conservation
title_fullStr Farmers of the forest: Distribution of Hornbill species in India with their conservation status and strategic recommendation for conservation
title_full_unstemmed Farmers of the forest: Distribution of Hornbill species in India with their conservation status and strategic recommendation for conservation
title_short Farmers of the forest: Distribution of Hornbill species in India with their conservation status and strategic recommendation for conservation
title_sort farmers of the forest distribution of hornbill species in india with their conservation status and strategic recommendation for conservation
topic Conservation status
Conservation strategy
Distribution
Endangered species
seed dispersers
url https://journal.environcj.in/index.php/ecj/article/view/3362
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AT smitabadola farmersoftheforestdistributionofhornbillspeciesinindiawiththeirconservationstatusandstrategicrecommendationforconservation
AT deeptibahuguna farmersoftheforestdistributionofhornbillspeciesinindiawiththeirconservationstatusandstrategicrecommendationforconservation