Authorities in Kashmir are geo-tagging the culturally significant Chinar trees for creating a comprehensive database for their management and better conservation. This is being done under the Jammu and Kashmir government’s "Digital Tree Aadhaar" programme, led by Forest Research Institute (FRI) of the territory’s forest department.
The campaign involves the use of Geographical Information System (GIS). Under the process, QR-based digital plate is affixed to each surveyed Chinar tree using a specialised spring-enabled metal. Each tree is given a unique ID like Aadhaar specifying the year the tree is surveyed, the district it is located and a serial number for easy identification. These QR codes record information such as geographical location, heath, age and growing patterns to help forest conservationists in tracking changing patterns and addressing arising risks.
Anyone scanning the QR code can get information about the tree shape, the number of main branches, disease, if any, and whether the tree is a seed bearer. Syed Tariq, the head of the project, told Reuters, "We have geo-tagged nearly 29,000 trees, but we still have more small-sized trees that haven't been tagged...These will be tagged in due course."
Tariq said that they are using a ultrasonography (USG)-based gadget which determines risk levels, eliminating the need for manual evaluation.
"We are preserving that data in the heritage registers of each district. Each district will have its own heritage register so that the credible data is readily available and new data can be added when new ones are planted," he told PTI. Tariq also mentioned that a chinar atlas will be created after the exercise is finished.
The Chinar trees are culturally and ecologically significant in the valley. However, hundreds of them have been lost over a decade amid rising urbanisation, road-widening projects and diseases.
These trees take about 150 years to grow to their full size of 30 metres in height with girth of 10–15 metres at the ground level. The campaign has revealed that the highest number of chinar trees in the valley is found in Srinagar, followed by Ganderbal, Anantnag and Baramulla districts.
"In terms of girth, we have recorded the biggest chinar tree in Ganderbal district [in central Kashmir] whose girth is 74 feet. That is the world's third largest chinar tree in terms of girth," he told PTI.
The forest department lacked credible data about the number of these trees in the valley. There was a rough estimate of 40,000–45,000 trees, but there was no exact number.
(With inputs from PTI.)
