Pakur

Spread over an area of 92.88 sq kms, Pakur Forest Division is situated entirely within the Pakur District in north-eastern Jharkhand. The division created in 2004 by carving out forests that were then under the Pakur Forest Range of Sahibganj Forest Division.Prior to independence, the forests of Pakur were under the control of various petty zamindars and looked after by the Private Estates Forest Officer. The forests of Pakur Division are situated in the eastern portion of Santhal Pargana and geographically can be sub-divided into the following categories:

1. Daman-i-Koh Hills (from northern corner of Pakur district up to the south-west bordering the Birbhum district of West Bengal)
2. Alluvial Area (narrow strip of continuous Alluvial soil which lies between the Ganga feeder canal and the loop line of Eastern Railway)
3. Rolling Area

Geologically, the forests of Pakur Division are part of two systems:

1. Archeans
2. Gondwana (covering the southern and south-western portion of the Division)

The forests of Pakur Division comprise of 14.43 sq kms of Reserved Forests, 57.60 sq kms of Protected Forests and 20.84 sq kms of Unclassed Forests. Administratively, the forests of Pakur Division are split into 3 Forest Ranges:

1. Pakur (7.15 sq kms)
2. Hiranpur (50.06 sq kms)
3. Amrapar (35.66. sq kms)

Headquartered in Pakur town, and covering a mere 5.18% of the total area of Pakur District, the forests of PakurDivision are drained by the Bansloi, Torai and Brahmini rivers. The forests of Pakur are spread over the northern and western parts of Pakur districts, and lie mainly on its undulating slopes. The topography is hilly with occasional tracts of flat plateaus and valleys, with a varied terrain consisting dotted with several prominent hills.

With a Monsoon Type climate, Pakur Division is characterised by three distinct seasons – summer, rainy and winter. Being situated just beyond the tropic of cancer and away from sea, winters are distinct and prominent. However, the higher altitude in most areas ameliorates the extreme summer temperatures, though in the lower altitude maximum summer temperatures can go between 42 to 46 degrees Celsius on certain days. Hot and dry summer lasts from March to May and cold winterfrom November to February. The average annual rain fall is 1354.60mm.

The forests of PakurForest Division broadly conform to Northern Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest and may be classified as 5-B as per Champion and Seth (1968) classification. According to the classification of forest types of India, the forests ofPakurDivision fall into the following sub-types:

1. Northern Dry Peninsular Sal Forest–5B/C-1 type
2. Northern Tropical Dry Mixed Deciduous Forest– 5B/C-2 type
3. Tropical Dry Deciduous Scrub Forest–5B/DS-1 type

Most of the forests of the Division is composed of the former type, and situated along the northern aspects where slope is moderate to steep. The primary associate species found in the Sal forests of Pakur Division areTerminalia chebula, Buchnnlatinzan, Semicarpus anacardium, along with occasional bamboo brakes are also present. Miscellaneous forests are situtatedboth on plains as well as hills where soil is shallow and degraded, as well as the warmer aspects and comparatively drier localities (such as hill slopes and hill tops having poor soil and moisture content). Here, the primary species are Dhaura,Asan, Kend, Galgal, Piar, Amla and so on. ScatteredSemal trees are found in moister localities. Sal occurs near the foot-hill and in well drained moist localities. The localities adjacent to the hills of Hiranpur Range consist of Tropical Dry Deciduous Scrub Forest. These are home to thorny species such as Flacouria indica, Carissa spinerum, Randia species, Euphorbia species, Acacia species, zyzyphus species, Zinosa species, Boswellia, Anogeissus, Aegle marmelos, Butea monosperma, Daiospyros, Madhuca, Nyctanthes etc. The tree species are mostly malformed and have stunted growth. ccurrence of bamboo in this division is not extensive and they occur scattered around the fringes of the forests and mainly along the hill slopes of DharampurBanglow. Such bamboo are of generally poor quality.

These forests of entire Santhal Parganas (which now include the districts of Pakur, Godda, Sahibganj, Dumka and Jamtara) were rich in wildlife at the turn of the 20^th century, within the next few decades large mammalian fauna was wiped off due to rampant hunting and habitat loss. Birdlife is rich in these forests. A detailed checklist of birds, mammals, fishes, and reptiles of Pakur Forest Division may be found in the Working Plan of the Division.