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Elevational species richness patterns emerge from multiple local mechanisms in himalayan woody plants
No full textWe compared woody plant species distributions across nested spatial scales
(local scale to entire Western Himalaya) and explored landscape scale patterns in detail to
obtain inferences about the elevational gradient in species richness. Distribution data were
compiled for 1100 species in the Western Himalaya, and primary data, comprising 123
species and 47 000 individuals, were collected for a landscape. Correlates of diversity were
examined for the five spatial scales, and for different biogeographic groups at the landscape
scale. The results indicate multiple mechanisms both within and across scales. At the
landscape scale, though the mechanisms explaining unimodal species richness patterns were
hard to separate, the underlying correlates of biogeographic groups were more distinct;
temperate species richness followed mid-domain model predictions, and showed a nonlinear
relationship with temperature, whereas tropical species richness tracked temperature and
area. Simulations demonstrated that models with varying assumptions, while resulting in
monotonic, unimodal, or multimodal patterns at local scales, could all lead to unimodal
patterns at regional scales when multiple local replicates are aggregated, with a peak in
the major ecotone. The turnover or successive accumulation of marginal species in ecotones
potentially explains the mid-elevational peak in this zone. Landscape scale primary data
on distribution and abundance could therefore be critical to understanding key aspects of
macroecological patterns
Joint Forest Planning and Management (JFPM) in the Eastern Plains Region of Karnataka: A Rapid Assessment
Get PDFOver the past decade Joint Forest Management (JFM) has become the key concept through which forest generation activities are being implemented in most parts of India. This study was a rapid independent assessment of the JFPM activities conducted by Karnataka Forest department under a massive loan from the Japanese Bank for International Co-operation, focusing on the northern and southern maidan regions. The assessment used data from various sources at different scales and depth, including macro-level data gathered by the department itself, responses to a mail-in questionnaire, observations from brief field visits to a number of villages, and from in-depth case studies in a few villages. The study uncovered several lacunae in the way JFPM was being undertaken. Many of the basic tenets of ‘joint planning and management’ like consultation with villagers and setting up of Village Forest Committees (VFCs) are being violated from the outset. The selection of villages has been poor. Most VFCs exist in name only with poor participation of the village general body.Some of the lacunae in JFPM implementation are due to lacunae in the basic framework for JFPM. It is also true that the Eastern Plains region presents special challenges to JFPM implementation. But genuine JFPM is generally absent even in pockets where favourable conditions exist. On the contrary, the few ‘success’ stories are often cases of exploiting existing hierarchies to meet narrowly defined goals. Thus, the major cause of the poor quality of JFPM processes and outcomes is the refusal of the implementation agency to seriously commit itself to the concept of participatory, people-oriented forestry
Plant–plant interactions in tropical forests
No full textSome interactions between plants are uniquely conspicuous elements of certain tropical forests; the giant lianas that wend through the canopy and the epiphyte-laden branches of cloud forests are striking examples. Nevertheless, the fundamental processes involved are no different from those in extra-tropical communities, even though diverse, sometimes uniquely tropical, mechanisms
may be involved. An individual of one plant species interacting with an individual of a second plant species can lead to any of the same five outcomes at any latitude, and these consist of all combinations of negative, positive and neutral effects (except the non-interaction described by the mutually neutral interaction, 0/0). But interactions among plants in forests seldom involve such simple one-on-one relationships. More commonly, multiple players are involved and the interactions change with time: the liana binds crowns of several trees, the fallen palm frond damages multiple seedlings, and the solum is shared by roots of many species. Furthermore, positive and negative interactions occur simultaneously, so the observer sees only an integrated net effect of multiple
interactions (Holmgren et al. 1997)
Measuring and Mapping Threats to a Wildlife Sanctuary in Southern India
No full textAlthough conservation and management of tropical ecosystems requires that we understand the
threats to these areas, there are no standardized methods to quantify threats to ecosystems.We used a geographic
information system-based protocol with several physical and socioeconomic attributes to assess the threats to
a protected area, a wildlife sanctuary in southern India. Physical attributes included threats from major and
minor roads and the accessibility of an area (given as inverse of the slope of the area), and socioeconomic
attributes included the number of human settlements and human, cattle, and sheep populations.We divided the
sanctuary into 30-ha grids, and for each grid we computed three threat categories: (1) settlement-associated
threat from humans, cattle, and sheep; (2) development-associated threat resulting from major and minor
roads; and (3) accessibility-related threat caused by the steepness of the terrain. Combining all three threats,
we derived a composite threat index for each grid and mapped five levels of threats in the sanctuary.We collected
data on human activities, tree species richness, and diversity in the transects laid in areas corresponding to
these five threat levels. Although the threat levels of the transects were strongly correlated with the humanrelated
disturbance activities, the composite threat indices of the transects were negatively correlated with tree
species richness, indicating that the threat values we derived served as a good surrogate of the actual threat
experienced by the sanctuary. With appropriate modifications, the protocol developed here can be applied to
other ecosystems as well
Status of the loggerhead turtle in India
Get PDFAccording to sea turtle literature from India and Indian Ocean area, of the world’s seven species of sea turtles, five are known to inhabit Indian coastal waters, its Bay
Islands, Lakshadweep, etc. Except for the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), the remaining four species nest along the Indian coastline1. All these five species are legally protected under the Indian Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, and included in Appendix I of the CITES (Convention on International Trade of Endangered Flora
and Fauna)
Are red-listed species threatened? A comparative analysis of red-listed and non-red-listed plant species in the Western Ghats, India
No full textRed lists of taxa are important documents guiding the prioritization of conservation efforts. However the actual process of arriving at red lists has been contentious, because of the paucity of hard ecological data. In this article, we examine the red listing of plant species at two geographical scales: regional and local in the Western Ghats, India. At the regional level, we compared the rarity (or abundance) of the red listed and the co-occurring non-red-listed species in fifteen sites across Western Ghats. For the local level analysis, we compared the distribution and demographic profile of red-listed medicinal plants with co-occurring non-redlisted species at two field sites in the Western Ghats. At both the regional and the local scales, our analyses showed that the red-listed species, as a group are not any more disadvantaged than the non-red-listed species. Our results lay caution on the process of inclusion of species in red-lists and urge the necessity of strong field data to make the red-list
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Species diversity,endemism and distribution of land snails of the Western Ghats, India
No full textAs elsewhere, invertebrate taxa have received little attention in conservation planning in India. The Western Ghats has been designated as a global biodiversity hotspot, one of only two such designations in India. We
have assembled a database for land snail records in the region, incorporating both published records and the results of our own surveys over the last three years. Of the 269 species so far recorded, 75% are endemic to the region. Many species have very restricted ranges within the region. There is a decline in diversity and local endemism from south to north. The southernmost division (8–12°N) has much the richest recorded fauna (210 species), and the highest level of local endemism (56%). The latter is much lower in the central (12–16°N) and northern (16–21°N) divisions. There is thus considerable faunal turnover within the region. The overall level of endemism is higher than that recorded for other taxa, and our data have already been used to identify three local hotspots within the region. These results are discussed in terms of present climate and habitats, and in terms of environmental history. Comparisons are made with studies on other continents, and the impact of human activity by destruction and fragmentation of habitats is considered
On a new genus and a new species of Eulophidae (Hymenoptera:Chalcidoidea) from the paddy fields of Southern India
Get PDFA new genus viz. Kiggaella Narendran with the type species Kiggaella oryzae Narendran sp. nov. is described from the paddy fields of Karnataka, India. It resembles the genus Minotetrastichus Graham in general appearance but differs from it in having scutellum without submedian groove, forewing more than 3x as long as broad and one of the central setae much larger than any of the remaining ones
Seedling mortality in two vulnerable tree species in the sacred groves of Western Ghats, South India
Get PDFSacred groves form a significant component of the traditional conservation movement in many parts of the tropical world1. The Western Ghats, one of the two mega-diversity centers in India, is dotted with sacred groves, with the highest concentrations located in the central Western Ghats2. Sacred groves are believed to serve as the last refugia for a number of taxa, particularly
for rare, endangered and threatened species3,4. Of late due to encroachments and land-use changes, the sacred groves have been increasingly threatened and fragmented 4. During the last century alone,the total area under the groves in Kodagu district in the central Western Ghats decreased by 42%. Besides, more than 46% of the sacred groves in the district are less than 0.4 ha in area. The increased fragmentation of the groves could undermine
the utility of these groves in serving as a refugium for the rare, endangered and threatened (RET) species. Here we examine the effects of grove area on the seedling
mortality of two economically important and vulnerable tree species
Linking Biodiversity Conservation and Livelihoods in India
No full textIn a country like India, millions of people rely on products from natural ecosystems to sustain their
livelihood. Natural ecosystems provide clean water from watersheds, retention of soil and soil fertility, sequestration of carbon, as well as pollinators and
natural predators of pests. For these reasons, rapid, often irreversible, loss of species and ecosystems is of more than just academic concern. Indeed, our understanding of biodiversity in natural ecosystems remains so woefully inadequate that we are unable to fully comprehend the consequences of its loss. With impending climate change and increasing spread of invasive species, the biodiversity crisis is likely to
get worse, with far-reaching effects on human societies