Biodiversity of the Western Ghats with special reference to conservation of plant Diversity at Kaiga

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INTRODUCTION :

he biological diversity of the Indian

subcontinent is one of the richest

in the world owing to its vast geo-

graphic area, varied topography and

climate, and the juxtaposition of sev-

eral biogeographical regions. Because

of its richness in overall species diver-

sity India is recognised as one of the

12 megadiversity regions of the

world. A very small number of coun-

tries, mainly in the tropics, possess a

large fraction of worlds species diver-

sity and those countries which posses

the greatest species richness are

recognised as megadiversity countries

which attract special international at-

tention. Of about 1.7 million species

globally described and recorded in

scientific literature, India has about

1,26,200 species (Khoshoo, 1995). It

ranks tenth in the world both in respect

of richness of flowering plants (17,000

spp.) and mammals (372 spp.).

Of the 11 Vavilovian centres of diver-

sity and origin of major crop species,

India is one. It is the centre of diversity

and origin of about 167 important cul-

tivated plant species and domesti-

cated animals. To name a few, the fol-

lowing cultivated plants arose in India

and spread throughout the world: rice,

sugarcane, jute, mango, citrus, ba-

nana, jack fruit, some species of mil-

lets, Asiatic vigna, egg plant, ama-

ranths, edible Dioscorea, Alocasia,

Colocasia, Amorphophallus, carda-

mom, black pepper, ginger, turmeric,

several medicinals, aromatics and or-

namentals. As far as agro-biodiversity

is concerned, India ranks seventh

among the centres of diversity and

origin of crop plants (Khoshoo, 1995).

Among animals, domestic fowl (from

jungle fowl) is an example of Indias

contribution.

Of the 25 Hot-pots identified in the

world, Eastern Himalayas and West-

ern Ghats form foarts of two of them.

Hot spots are recognised on the ba-

sis of the presence of greatest num-

ber of endemic or restricted range

species. Since the endemic species are

found in restricted areas, often requir-

ing special niche for survival, many of

them, especially those with very re-

stricted distribution, are extinction-

prone, particularly if their habitats are

disturbed. Hence, at the global level,

the Hot-spots are areas of high con-

servation priority, because if unique

species are lost they can never be re-

placed.

WESTERN GHATS:

Of the estimated 17,000 species of

flowering-plants reported from India,

about 4500 species are found in the

Western Ghats region, of which 1720

(> one third) species are endemic. In

other words these endemic plants are

found only in this region and nowhere

else in the world. Nearly a third of these

endemic plant species are rare or

threatened and several are believed to

be extinct or are on the verge of be-

coming so. Of the 372 species of mam-

mals found in India, 63 are in the West-

ern Ghats, of which 16 are endemic.

Of these, endemic species, Lion-tailed

macaque, Nilgiri langur, Malabar civet,

Nilgiri marten, Indian gaint squirrel,

small Travancore flying squirrel and

Nilgiri tahr are thratened. In addition,

91 species of reptiles and 84 species

of amphibians are also endemic to this

region.

The forests of Western Ghats, in view

of their floristic diversity and numer-

ous multipurpose species, are consid-

ered a varietal storehouse of economi-

cally important plants. In addition to

the numerous timber and woodfuel

plants, these forests provide a wealth

of Non-Wood Forest Products

(NWFPs) which are of particular sig-

nificance to forest-dependent people

and small scale local industries. Non-

wood forest products provide fibre,

food (edible fruits, nuts, spices, con-

diments etc.), extractive products

(gums, resins and oleo-resins; tans and

dyes; essential oils) and medicines.

Western Ghats region is also a rich

gene pool of cultivated plants. It con-

tains wild relatives of many different

crops like rice, sugarcane, black pep-

per, ginger, turmeric etc. These wild

relatives play a vital role as genetic

sources in plant breeding

programmes. There are also in this

region a large number of species of

horticultural value.

THREATS:

Our biotic resources are under increas-

ing pressure due to over exploitation

of plant and animal resources, chang-

ing land use, habitat loss and fragmen-

tation, growing pollution of soil, water

and air and the green house effect syn-

dromes. The effective forest cover in

this country is limited to less than 11%

of its geographic area, whereas the

forest cover required for ecological sta-

bility is 33%. According to the State

of Forests Report, 1997 of the Minis-

try of Environment and Forests, the for-

est cover has gone down from 638,879

sq. km in 1995 to 633,397 sq. km in

Biodiversity of

the Western

Ghats with

special

reference to

conservation of

plant Diversity

at Kaiga

Dr. Kaveriappa and Mr. B.V. Shetty

of Mangalore University describe

biodiversity of the Western Ghats

and the work on Conservation of

Plants around Kaiga nuclear power

plant.

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An International Journal of Nuclear Power - Vol. 15 No. 1 to 4 (2001)

4 1

1997 - a loss of 5482 sq. km in just

two years.

CONSERVATION MEASURES:

Environmental movement has received

a new dynamism since the Stockholm

conference held in June, 1972. The en-

vironmental movement in India too is

coming of age. There has been an

awareness in recent years among the

policy makers, as well as the general

public, of the dangers of extensive

damage to our forests.

In situ conservation: The best way to

conserve plants, including the varied

germ-plasm of different species, would

be in situ conservation. There are at

present in this country 80 National

Parks and 441 Sanctuaries with a total

area of about 148,848 sq. km, repre-

senting barely 4.5% of the countrys

geographic area.

In 1971 a worldwide programme was

launched by the UNESCO under its

Man and Biosphere Programme

(MAB) for the identification and con-

servation of areas rich in genetic re-

sources, called Biosphere Reserves,

in various geographical and climatic

regions of the world to provide an as-

sured future for mankind. In 1985, in

the world there were 243 Biosphere Re-

serves in 65 countries covering an area

of over 115 million hectare. In India,

13 representative ecosystems have

been identified to be protected as Bio-

sphere Reserves, including the Nilgiri

Biosphere Reserve in the Western

Ghats.

The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve which is

located at the meeting point of

Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu ex-

tends over an area of 5520 sq. km,

which is roughly 0.15% of Indias land

area and harbours 18% of all an-

giosperm species, 15% of all butter-

flies and 23% of all vertebrates (exclud-

ing marine species) known from India.

Ex-situ conservation: Although in situ

conservation is the best way to pre-

serve a species, in view of the persist-

ing threats to the flora of the Western

paddy fields near the Kaiga Nuclear

Power Plant and surveying the flora of

kaiga.

Floristic survey: The floristic survey of

the protected zone around the Nuclear

Power Plant, as well as the surround-

ing forests in Kaiga has revealed that

the area is rich in angiosperm (flower-

ing plants) flora. Nearly 450 species

belonging to 338 genera have been

recorded of which two monotypic gen-

era viz. Carvia with a single species,

C. callosa (Nees) Bremek.

(Acanthaceae) and Moullava, again

with a solitary species M. spicata

(Dalz.) Nicolson (Caesalpiniaceae),

and 28 species are endemic to the

Western Ghats region (Krishnakumar

et al., 1998). Of these 30 endemics,

20 are tree species of which two viz.

Holigarna grahamii (Wight) Kurz and

Myristica malabarica Lam., are re-

ported to be rare/threatened. Many

economically important species, in-

cluding several medicinally useful ones

are found here. The area is also rich in

pteridophytic flora and as many as 22

species of ferns and fern-allies have so

far been recorded (Rajagopal &

Gopalakrishna Bhat, 1998).

In a limited survey of the mycoflora of

submerged litter in the streams in the

region as many as 81 species of

aquatic fungi have been recorded, sug-

gesting that the regions fungal diver-

sity is considerable.

It is thus evident that the Kaiga forest

is rich in plant (including microbial) di-

versity and as such effective conser-

vation measures will have to be taken

to protect it.

Revegetation: Under the revegetation

programme about 125,000 seedlings

belonging to 75 species have been

planted in more than 40 hectares of

paddy fields near the Nuclear Power

Plant. Majority of these plants belong

to the species found in the Western

Ghats and include 11 species endemic

to the Western Ghats, the total num-

ber of seedling under them being

21,786.

Ghats, because of the various

anthropic activities, it may not be al-

ways feasible to resort to this course

ital and ex situ conservation may some-

times prove to be an effective alterna-

tive.

PLANT CONSERVATION PROGR-

AMME OF APPLIED BOTANY DE-

PARTMENT OF MANGALORE UNI-

VERSITY:

Ever since its inception in 1994, the

Department of Applied Botany of

Mangalore University has taken up

plant conservation, ecology and envi-

ronment as the thrust area of research.

And ex situ conservation of the plants

of the Western Ghats, especially the

endemic and threatened ones, has

been one of the main objectives of the

department. About 42,000 seedlings

have been planted around the Lakya

Dam in Kudremukh. They comprise of

55 species of the Western Ghats, in-

cluding 20 endemics.

Besides a botanical garden, an arbo-

retum extending over an area of about

three hectares has been established

in Mangalore University campus exclu-

sively for the introduction of the en-

demic species of the Western Ghats,

especially those occurring in the

Karnataka region. More than 100 en-

demic species, with a total of more

than 2000 plants, are being maintained

in the arboretum. They include 11 rare

and threatened species.

The department, in collaboration with

the Dakshina Kannada district authori-

ties, established has an arboretum of

plants of Western Ghats at Pilikula

Nirsarga Dhama (about 15 km from

Mangalore) in an area extending over

35 hectares where about 200 species,

including several endemic and threat-

ened species, have been introduced.

Plant conservation work at Kaiga:

Thanks to the plant conservation

project funded by the Nuclear Power

Corporation of India, Kaiga, the Ap-

plied Botany Department of the

Mangalore University has been en-

gaged, since 1989, in revegetating the

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4 2

Born in Kodagu District of Karnataka,

Dr. Kaveriappa had his primary and

secondary education in Kodagu

District and higher education in the

Govt. College, Madikeri and

Manasagangotri Mysore both under

the University of Mysore. After comple-

tion of M. Sc., degree he did research

B. V. Shetty started his research career

in the Cytogenetics Laboratory of the

Agricultural College and Research

Institute, Coimbatore (now Agricul-

tural University) and later worked for

about 30 years (1959-89) in the

Botanical Survey of India where he

served in the regional stations at

Coimbatore, Dehra Dun and Jodhpur,

and also in the Central National

Herbarium, Calcutta. While working in

the regional station at Coimbatore, he

has acquired considerable knowledge

of the vegetation and flora of the

southern Western Ghats. His floristic

studies in the region have resulted in

the discovery of many species new to

science and in the location of several

rare and endemic plants.

He underwent higher training in plant

taxonomy in the Royal Botanic Garden,

Edinburgh (1968-69) under the

Colombo Plan and held the post of

Indian Liaison Botanist in the Royal

Botanic Gardens, Kew, U. K. (1986-88).

He has published/edited two books

(viz., Flora of Tonk district, Rajasthan

and Flora Rajasthan - 3 vols.) and

about 50 research papers on floristics,

conservation aspects, new species,

nomenclature, revision and cytotax-

onomy.

On superannuation from the Botanical

Survey of India, he has been working in

the Dept. of Applied Botany, Mangalore

University, initially as Emeritus

Scientist of Botanical Survey of India

for two years and later for two years in

a project on Conservation of Flora,

Fauna and Plantlore of Western Ghats,

funded by the MacArthur Foundation,

Chicago, USA as one of the Principal

Investigators. At present he is working

as a consultant for some of the projects

executed by the department.

leading to Ph. D. degree in Plant

Pathology. Later, he opted for teaching

career and joined the service in the

Post Graduate Centre of Mysore

University (now Mangalore University)

at Mangalore in 1971. In 1987 he was

appointed as Professor of Applied

Botany. In 1980 when Mangalore

University was founded he was taken to

University administration and served

as its Registrar from 1982 to 1994.

Besides teaching post graduate

students, he has guided nine scholars

for Ph.D. degrees in different areas such

as Microbiology, Plant Pathology,

Plant Tissue Culture and

Micropropagation, Plant Microbial

Interaction and Plant Conservation

and Biodiversity. He has undertaken

several major research projects on

floristics and conservation of plants of

the Western Ghats. Currently, he is

working on two major research projects

on Biodiversity and Conservation. He

has published more than 70 research

papers in National and International

Scientific Jouranls.

He has visited abroad twice, once as

Nuffield Foundation Fellow to U.K. in

1984 and later as Fulbright Visiting

Fellow to Tennessee University in

U.S.A. in 1994. He is the elected fellow

of the Society of Ethnobotany and Life

Member of six scientific bodies includ-

ing Bombay Natural History Society,

National Institute of Ecology, Society of

Ethnobotanists.

He has served as an expert of the UGC

to evaluate UGC sponsored major and

minor research projects, COSIST and

special assistantance to Universities.

He is also a member of the standing

committee of UGC on environmental

studies. Currently he is working as

Professor & Chairman, Dept. of

Applied Botany, Mangalore University.

Arboretum: In addition, an arboretum

is being established in the NPCL area.

About 1500 seedlings belonging to 86

species have already been planted in

the arboretum. They include 32 spe-

cies endemic to the Western Ghats,

of which four species viz., Myristica

fatua Houtt. var. magnifica (Beddome)

Sinclair, Myristica malabarica Lam.,

Pterospermum reticulatum Wight &

Arn. and Vepris bilocularis (Wight &

Arn.) Engl. are rare/threatened.

The ultimate objective is to develop

the entire Kaiga forest area, including

the arboretum, as a centre of study

for plant diversity and to impress upon

the people who visit the place about

the need to preserve them. The en-

riched flora of the area will also serve

future botanical research.

LITERATURE CITED

Khoshoo, T. N. 1995. Census of Indias

biodiversity: Tasks ahead. Curr. Sci.

69: 14-17.

Krishnakumar, G., Gopalakrishna Bhat,

K. and Kaveriappa, K. M. 1998. En-

demic, rare and threatened plants of

the Kaiga forest of Uttara Kannada in

Karnataka. Higher Plants of Indian

Sub-continent (Additional Series of In-

dian J. Forestry No. X ) 8: 215-221.

Rajagopal, K. and Gopalakrishna

Bhat, K. 1998. Pteridophytic flora of

Karnataka state, India. Indian Fern J.

15: 1-28.