572 research outputs found
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Strengthening interpretation of Singalila National Park
Full text linkTourism in Darjeeling is not an uncommon phenomenon, where as early as mid 1800 British,Europeans, Anglo-Indians and Bengali aristocrats from Calcutta and Dhaka visited Darjeeling (Subbha 1988)[#1]. Tourism holds a vital economic importance to Darjeeling
The street is no place for dogs: swinging wildly between wanton killing of dogs and extreme ‘pro-life’ interventions, India has never framed a rational, scientifically valid dog ownership or population control strategy
Full text linkEveryday, India wakes up to horrific stories of attacks on people by street dogs and equally horrific acts of cruelty towards dogs. There is extreme polarisation on this issue between the advocates of human rights versus animal rights. The lack of a critical and scientific analysis is glaring
Mapping invasive species Lantana camara in a high diversity tropical ecosystem of Western Ghats, India
Full text linkSpecies that spread uncontrollably in areas beyond their natural ranges are termed
invasive alien species. These species are an increasingly widespread problem,
adversely affecting all kinds of ecosystems in the world today. Their impacts range
from community-level changes in species composition, to changes in soil nutrient
characteristics, alterations in disturbance regimes, and negative impacts on ecosystem
services such as disruption of the hydrological balance. Prevention and timely control
of invasion by alien species is therefore an imperative for conservation of native
ecosystems and biodiversity. Repeated observations and monitoring are a means to
understanding their behaviour better in order to facilitate action for management.
While regular field surveys are a useful means of monitoring invasion on the ground,
the time taken and resources required for large area field surveys are often prohibitive.
Remote sensing (hereafter RS) is a valuable tool to detect and monitor invasion in
large landscapes. In this thesis I consider RS as a methodology to monitor invasion by
first reviewing and summarizing existing literature, and later focusing on a single
invasive alien plant species — Lantana camara (henceforth Lantana) — in a highly
biodiverse mixed forest ecosystem in the Western Ghats of India. I first did a comprehensive review of literature on RS applications to mapping
invasion (Chapter 2). I began by studying the various life-forms for which, and
habitats wherein, RS has proved an effective tool for detecting invasion, listing the
sensors that were most effective. I found that invasion has been recorded from almost
all kinds of habitats across the globe, and RS methods have been used in these
habitats to detect or map invasive species, from areas with dense tree cover to those
with sparse vegetation. Invasion mapping in tropical forests is more challenging than
temperate forests, due to the diversity and complexity of the tiered tropical forests,
and advanced technology such as use of LiDAR or RADAR, as well as fine spatial
and spectral resolution sensors were the way to facilitate detection. Among invasive
plant life-forms that could be detected efficiently by RS methods, those that formed
large dominant canopies or contiguous stands were most easily detected, since
discriminating them from the background was comparatively easier. I then looked into
plant traits that were most easily detectable from RS data, grouping them into three
trait groups — phenological, structural and physiological — to identify those traits that are appropriate tools for monitoring invasion. Plant phenology traits have been
easier to map due to long term and repeated RS data availability. While structural
traits in the vertical as well as lateral or horizontal dimension have been tapped for
invasion detection, physiological trait mapping has only been restricted to a few
studies where it is possible to distinguish the amounts of nitrogen or moisture content
in the canopy. This review also touched upon the area of predictive modelling using
known data records, which is a newly emerging tool for monitoring. A collaborative
approach among plant ecologists, RS scientists, simulation modelers, and land
managers would facilitate advancement of methods to monitor and combat invasion in
an era of global change. I next focused on trying to understand ground-based and over-the-canopy approaches
to studying invasion using a focal species, Lantana camara (hereafter, Lantana). This
shrub, a Central American native, is notorious for its invasive behaviour across the
globe, and has been reported to have invaded several habitat types across India. The
Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot is a region of extreme significance for
conservation of biodiversity. While Lantana has been reported as an aggressive
invader in several locations in the Western Ghats, the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple
Tiger Reserve (BRT TR) has undergone recent systematic long-term observational
studies on the species’ spread, making in-depth investigations possible in this
location. This tiger reserve is a protected area with very high biodiversity and
comprises several forest types, predominantly deciduous; almost the entire BRT TR
has been invaded by Lantana to varying extents
Contested urban commons: mapping the transition of a lake to a sports stadium in Bangalore
Full text linkUrban expansion is a global phenomenon during which many
common spaces, often with complex histories of governance and stewardships become redefined within prevailing notions of urbanity. However, such commons often pose challenges that result in conflict with respect to their use, management, and ownership. In this paper, we use the example of a lake in the South Indian megapolis of Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore) to look at different changing notions of urban commons pictured against a backdrop of rapid urbanization, migration, and landscape change. We look at conflicts at each period of change and argue that many of these have shaped the landscape of today and perhaps may be responsible for current notions of ownership associated with the landscape. We combine
landscape change analysis through geospatial means along with official archival records, oral narratives, and secondary information sources to describe gradual loss of an urban commons. We then pose that knowledge of historical contexts of access to ecosystem services, exclusion, conflict, and the mechanisms of conflict
resolution around urban commons can help understand trends in contemporary management of commons. This knowledge would help shape more equitable and ecologically robust policy frameworks that govern these vulnerable resources
Prediction in a socio-hydrological world
No full textWater resource management involves public investments with long-ranging impacts that traditional prediction approaches cannot address. These are increasingly being critiqued because (1)there is an absence of feedbacks between water and society; (2) the models are created by domain experts who hand them to decision makers to implement; and (3) they fail to account for global forces on local water resources. Socio-hydrological models that explicitly account for
feedbacks between water and society at multiple scales and facilitate stakeholder participation can address these concerns. However, they require a fundamental change in how we think about prediction. We suggest that, in the context of long-range predictions, the goal is not scenarios that present a snapshot of the world at some future date, but rather projection of alternative, plausible and co-evolving trajectories of the socio-hydrological system. This will both yield insights into cause–effect relationships and help stakeholders identify safe or desirable operating
space
Decline of pollinators threatens food supply
Full text linkMost of our staple food crops such as wheat, rice, sorghum, barley and maize do not require animals for their pollination. However, wild pollinators play a very important role in the production of other crops such as some pulses, sunflower seeds, cardamom, coffee, cashew nuts, oranges, mangoes and apples. An army of more than 20,000 species of pollinators including birds, bats and insects service these crops. For most of our food crops, though, the most important pollinators are the thousands of species of bees
Extent and Status of Semiarid Savanna Grasslands in Peninsular India
No full textThe semi-arid savanna grasslands (SSG) of peninsular India are important habitats with a unique assemblage of endemic species. They are also critical to millions of pastoralists and agro-pastoralists for whom these are the major grazing areas for their livestock. Yet, the forest-centric bias towards vegetation classification in India has failed to properly recognise this biome, and as a result, it has been neglected and subject to large-scale landuse change. Most efforts at mapping the extent of this biome using remote sensing data have tended to underestimate the extent due to difficulties in differentiating between grass cover and dryland agriculture. We used a novel approach of using multi-date MODIS NDVI data and an unsupervised classification to create a probabilistic output of SSG occurrence. We also used ancillary data to predict occurrence of SSG using NDVI and Bioclimatic layers with a regression tree rule-set classification, which identifies the bioclimatic envelope of SSG, and the predicted extent. To determine the current protection status of SSG, we conducted a GAP analysis with the current protected area network. The results show that the SSG biome is primarily spread over eleven states of India with 1.2 to 9.1% coverage of the geographic area for the high probability of SSG occurrence class. However, the overall protection status of SSG in these states is low, with only 0.1 to 8.7% under the PA network. The states with the highest area of SSG include Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan. To conserve and manage the last remaining areas of SSG in the country, we suggest a sentinel landscape approach, with a systematic conservation prioritisation exercise combining both biodiversity value as well as human-use to ensure a sustainable and equitable use of these threatened ecosystems
A New Species of Euphlyctis (Amphibia, Anura, Dicroglossidae) from the West Coastal Plains of India
No full textThe genus Euphlyctis is widely distributed across Southwestern Arabian Peninsula into parts of Southeast
Asia. Five of the seven known Euphlyctis species are found within the Indian subcontinent. Here, we describe a new species, Euphlyctis karaavali sp. nov. from South-west coast of India, which was discovered during surveys engaging citizens. This species was identified to be distinct based on molecular and morphological evidence. We provide a detailed description of this species along with its call description and compare it with closest congeners. Previous studies in the region had identified this species as E. hexadactylus but suggested the possibility of it being cryptic. Genetically E. karaavali sp. nov. is distinct from E. hexadactylus with a genetic divergence of 9.2% (12S and 16S) and shows a high divergence with E. kalasgramensis and E. ehrenbergii (13.04% each). Our findings are discussed in the context of cryptic species discovery, citizen engagement in scientific progress and conservation measures while suggesting future directions
First record of a bat from the Lakshadweep archipelago, southwestern India
No full textThe first record of a bat species from the Lakshadweep
archipelago (India) has been identified as Tadarida aegyptiaca (Chiroptera: Molossidae). It appears unlikely that any bat colony may have been resident on the islands. Stranding during migration, high aerial foraging, or disorientation by wind farms on the west coast of mainland
India, are factors that need to be further explored to
explain this occurrence
India Biodiversity Portal: An integrated, interactive and participatory biodiversity informatics platform
Full text linkThis paper describes a growing biodiversity platform, launched in 2008, which organizes knowledge on the biodiversity of India. The main objective and originality of the India Biodiversity Portal (IBP) is to aggregate curated biodiversity data of different kinds (e.g. distribution maps, temporal distribution or life history) in an integrated platform where amateurs and experts can easily interact