Biodiversity and Environment: Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System Perspective

This book under review presents many techniques that are currently being used in different parts of the globe to map and conserve nature. The interdisciplinary approach is essential for implementation of integrated conservation strategies. The approaches/applications presented in this book have great influence on the design, planning and implementationprogrammes to protect nature. The management of ecosystems requires inventory and moni­ toring of biodiversity in large areas of natural landscapes at fine scales. Biodiversity refers to the range of variations among a set of entities and is commonly used to describe variety and variability of living organisms in terms of genetic diversity (heritable variations within populations), species diversity (species richness in a habitat) and eco­ logical diversity (biophysical diversity).

India, because of its unique biogeo­ graphic location embraces three major biological realms, viz. Indo-Malayan, Eurasian and Afro-tropical. It is notable in its species-richness and endemism, and is ranked tenth amongst the biodiver­ sity-rich countries. India is one of the world's 12 Vavilovian centres of origin and diversification of cultivated plants (with 167 species of agrihorticultural crops and 320 species of their relatives known to have originated here). Conser­ vative estimates of species-richness show that around 127,000 species (plants, animals and microorganisms) have been so far reported from India and 400,000 species are yet to be explored. Conserva­ tion of biodiversity is important to man­ kind for various reasons. It facilitates ecosystem functions (carbon exchange, watershed flows, soil fertility, climate, etc.), offers aesthetic, scientific, cultural and other values and forms the basis for foodstuff, fibres, pharmaceuticals, chemi­ cals, etc.

Anthropogenic activities coupled with the burgeoning human population, have led to the grim biodiversity scenario; numerous important plant and animal species are on the verge of extinction, while others are threatened or vulnerable. In order to bring about sustainable re­ source conservation and management, it is essential to adopt several different approaches for managing the ecosystem and biodiversity. To arrest the process of degradation and species-loss requires specialized solutions and an understand­ ing of ecological processes. Protecting biodiversity does not merely involve setting aside chunks of area as reserves. Instead, all the ecological processes that have maintained the area's biodiversity such as predation, pollination, parasitism, seed dispersal and herbivory, involving complex interactions between several species of plants and animals need to be ensured. As of now, there are still major lacunae in information resources pertain­ ing to forests, biodiversity - flora and fauna, causative factors for their degra­ dation, and major threats. The available data are alarmingly inadequate to provide a lucid picture of the current status and ongoing losses/gains. The accelerated rate of extinction of species has prompted a need for a comprehensiveassessment of the status, causes and trends of biodiver­ sity at landscape levels and recommend conservation strategies for proper moni­ toring and management of forests and grassland, along with their inventory at regional, national and global levels. Today, there is a shift from broad inven­ tory surveys due to costliness and im­ practicality of such an approach. Instead, there is much interest in techniques that can predict species occurrence, habitat type and genetic impacts with the help of spatial and temporal tools - Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS). Mapping the

Mapping the distribution of habitat types in the region as landscape elements could be done efficiently with the help of remotely sensed data acquired at different time intervals along with field surveys (which is also referred to as ground­ truthing or training data collection). This would help in establishing association of groups of species with different land­ scape elements on the basis of field sur­ veys. Temporal data (i.e. the data acquired at different time periods for the same location) help in assessing rates of trans­ formations of habitat and the threats to different species as a result of ongoing landscape changes. This analysis would help in assigning conservation priorities to species on the basis of threats to their populations, rarity, endemism and taxo­ nomic distinctiveness, and to different types of habitats or landscape elements on the basis of richness and significance of the threatened species that occur.

Utilization of spatial and temporal analyses tools such as GIS and RS could help determine the rates, causes and scale of biodiversity loss. GIS intermingle information obtained from various sources such as Survey of India topo­ graphic sheets, vegetation maps, remote sensing imagery, and other archival material to provide a picture of the state and extent of resource loss over time. Information on deforestation and land­ use change can be integrated with data on the distribution of biodiversity and existing information on soils, topography, climate, etc. to obtain a comprehensive picture. GIS could be used more exten­ sively as a tool in policy and landscape level planning. Thus, GIS aids in manag­ ing and monitoring the spatial relation­ ships of various components making up the stratification (species distribution pat­ tern, plant associations, bio-geo-climatic variables, forest and soil types, etc.).Remote sensing provides the most efficient tool available for determining landscape-scale elements of biodiversity, such as the relative proportion of matrix and patches and their physical arrange­ ment. At intermediate scales, remote sensing provides an ideal tool for evaluat­ ing the presence of corridors and the nature of edges. At the stand scale, remote sensing technologies are likely to deliver an increasing amount of information about the structural attributes of forest stands, such as the nature of the canopy surface, the presence of layering within the canopy and presence of (very) coarse woody debris on the forest floor.This publication is a conference pro

This publication is a conference pro­ ceedings with 16 papers presented by lead researchers in the field. It has diverse objectives and methods currently being used to map nature. These case studies serve as prime examples of approaches that employ databases and maps as conser­ vation planning, management and moni­ toring tools.Maslekars paper lucidly explains the biodiversity and conservation status in India, touches upon richness statistics, and various threats to biodiversity loss and conservation strategies. Finally, it highlights the importance of data in evolving conservation strategies and usage of remote sensing in the manage­ ment of natural resources.ment of natural resources. While highlighting the need for assess­ ment of forest cover for rational planning and objective management of forest re­ sources, Pandey prescribes usage of RS (with ground truthing) as a potential tool for mapping, periodic assessment for detecting change, its rate, degradation and denudation of forest resources. This paper also touches upon the Indian policy on forest cover, and provides a detailed account on forest cover in India from 1987 (19.49%) to 1999 (19.39%), which is well below the National Forest Policy fixation of33.3%.Roy et al. describe in great detail the RS and GIS methodology involved in characterizing landscape for better understandingof the ecosystem.The metho­ dology presented in this paper for under­ standing biota considers both spatial and non-spatial data. Parameters and analyses of landscape for biodiversity characteri­ zation are exhaustive and would be a good reference material for researchers. The biodiversity characterization done for three regions (Northeastern India, Western Ghats and Western Himalaya) are well presented. This paper also dis­ cusses 'BioCAP' - software which helps planners and decision makers in prio­ ritizing in situ conservation areas. Similar exercise of biodiversity characterization at landscape level for Meghalaya has been reported by Porwal et al.

The fuelwood model for Cibodas bio­ sphere reserve, West Java is explained by Toxopeus. This model with the help of spatial and temporal data proposes sus­ tainable use of fuelwood to prevent de­ forestation. Various parameters considered in this endeavour are fuelwood demand, consumption pattern, resource availabi­ lity, population growth, etc. This paper also touches on various management options, which could aid as guidelines for decision makers. Sharma and Singh review an excellent account of the status of plant diversity in India along with the conservation aspects and strategies.Researcherswho are looking for data on Indian flora have to read this chapter with enormous input on ecosys­ tems, floral richness and endemic species. Mathur provides how best RS and GIS may be applied to spatial database deve­ lopment and strengthening management in protected area at Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra, Bandhav­ garh National Park and Great Himalayan National Park. This paper outlines the need for systematic capacity building efforts at the protected area level to meet the growing management needs. Singh et al. report the efforts of the Botanical Survey of India (BSI), a nodal agency of GO! dealing with floral diver­ sity of India in developing query-based databases for biodiversity characteri­ zation. This helps in finding the location of all the taxa belonging to a particular conservation category, number of such taxa for a given administrative boundary, or other attribute information related to a particular taxa. The knowledge of occur­ rence of particular categories is impor­ tant for inclusion of a particular habitat in conservationprioritization and manage­ ment strategy. Rawat reviews the status of patterns of species distribution in alpine vegetation of the western Himalayas and empha­ sizes the need for application of multi­ scale spatial studies for inventorying and long-term monitoring. Indiscriminate habitat fragmentations due to unplanned developmental acti­ vities have led to the elephant habitat erosion at an alarming rate, which has led to human-animal conflict, inbreed­ ing, etc. which question its very survival. Rout et al. advocate usage of remote sensing and GIS in wildlife management by presenting an interesting case study dealing with characterization of elephant habitats and corridors in Orissa along with a part of Bihar using digital image processing technique in analysing remote sensing data and GIS and advocate their usage in wildlife management. Mukherjee reports a preliminary study undertaken at a serpentine ecosystem (vegetation over ultrabasic rocks) of Rut­ land Island of Andamans using RS. Kushwaha et al. explain how biological richness map for conservation prioriti­ zation and management was achieved by using RS, landscape analysis along with

field survey, with an illustrative case study undertaken at Subausiri district of Arunachal Pradesh. Rajendran reports the biodiversity status in Western Ghats of Karnataka with the help of biodiversity sample plots. This paper highlights the need for identi­ fying 'hotspots within hotspots' in the Western Ghats in which there are areas rich in plant and animal diversity and degraded and threatened habitats, where revival of eco-system is a possibility. A study reported by Sinha et al. on traditional homegardens at Parugram, Barak valley reveals that plant diversity richness has been maintained due to sus­ tainable management practices of Bish­ nupriya Manipuri community, which highlights the role of traditional commu­ nities in maintaining biodiversity. Kumar et al. present an analysis of various parameters to assess the forest fragmentation in Garo Hills Conservation Area (GCA) and have identified corri­ dors of old tropical forests. Kumar and Kankane brief the efforts of the Zoologi­ cal Survey of India (ZSI) as a nodal agency of Gal in disseminating informa­ tion and biodiversity conservation. This chapter provides an excellent data on the faunal diversity. The gist of the discussion so far, based on the chapters presented in this book highlights that the management of eco­ systems requires inventory and moni­ toring of large areas of natural land­ scapes at fine scales. Increasingly, model­ ling is being used as a research and management tool to examine spatio­ temporal processes such as land use con­ version, natural disturbance, resource harvesting and species dynamics. In this regard, geographical information systems and remote sensing could help determine the rates, causes and scale of biodiversity loss. Information on deforestation and land-use change can be integrated with data on the distribution of biodiversity and existing information on soils, topo­ graphy, climate, etc. to obtain a compre­ hensive picture. Maps can provide us not only important regional information about species and habitat distributions but also indicate precise location infor­ mation about dynamic distribution patterns in relation to landscape features. Thus,

tuberculosis in a suspended animation in the human body. They use a new term 'non-replicating persistence' (NRP) to describe this deadly deception. Hypoxic NRP could possibly give a handle to combat this pathogen with novel drugs. The review on big bacteria is timely. Thiomargarita (= sulfur pearl) namibien­ sis could reach a whopping 700!lm length and is clearly visible to the naked eye. Another big bacteria Epulopiscium fishelsoni living in a protein soup of fish guts has more amount of DNA than a eukaryotic cell. Phages of dairy bacteria show that there are still newer concepts in mole­ cular biology to come from phage bio­ logy. A combination of A-like paradigm, mycobacterial phage resemblance and totally new characteristics makes these phages useful models. The fungus­ growing ants were once presumed to be better than microbiologists. They are reported to be growing a monoculture of a fungus. Recent reports showed that another deadly fungal pathogen Esco­ vopsis could create havoc in these ant­ fungus gardens. What is extraordinary is the presence of an actinomycetes that grows more abundantly on workers that tend the garden. These bacteria secrete antibiotics that keep the Escovopsis in check.

This tripartite mutualism is the topicreviewed by Currie who has done semi­ nal work as well. What I found astonish­ ing is that Escovopsis could not develop antibiotic resistance against the anti­ biotics produced by the ant garden actinomycete in spite of their age-old mutualism. However, the reckless use of antibiotics by humans led to the evolu­ tion of antibiotic resistance in bacteria in just sixty years. Horizontal gene transfer apparently is a phenomenon having a definitive contribution in the evolution of bacterial species. The review by Koonin et al., shows how the microbial compara­ tive genomics will open up new vistas to the initiated.

GIS could be a powerful tool in policy and landscape level planning for sustain­ able management of the natural resources. This book addresses the exigency of the spatial and temporal analyses skills in addressing the problem of loss of bio­ diversity, and stimulates discussion on the potential use of GIS and RS for inventorying and mapping for conserva­ tion and management of biological di­ versity. This publication with excellent illustrations will be a useful reference for all researchers in the field of biodiversity and conservation. The problem we have noticed in this publication is the presence of a large number of typographical errors, which might irritate a serious reader!