India is bestowed with the rich diversity of flora and fauna due to diverse landscapes. The species diversity has also helped in the selection of appropriate native species to enhance the ecological functions of urbanizing landscapes. Global warming and consequent impending danger of climate changes has necessitated to arrest deforestation. Adoption of monoculture plantations though the region appears green, but fulfilling the vital ecosystem functions such as groundwater recharge, food and fodder to dependent biota, etc. There is also a looming threat of climate change on food and water security in the country. This necessitates propagation of our native tree species to improve the micro climate, mitigation of floods, water security, etc, In this context, creation of miniforest was mooted three decades ago at the Centre for Ecological Sciences (CES), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore and tree species of Western Ghats forests. This exercise also helped in evaluating the performance of Western Ghtas native plants in the Deccan plateau region - Bangalore. A small vacant space (about 1.75 hectare) that was beset with scrub vegetation (infested with invasive weeds – Parthenium) opposite to the CES in the campus of Indian Institute of Science was chosen for planting tree saplings from the forests of the Western Ghats. This region is now popularly known as IISc miniforest. Saplings (480 no’s.) belonging to forty nine species (Table 1) which were raised at the CES Field Station Nursery at Sirsi, Uttara Kannada district and from forest divisions of Uttara Kannada district (Karntaka Forest Department, Canara Circle) were obtained and planted along with few species already existing on the plot with a spacing of 3 x 3 m.

Vegetation of Western Ghats: Western Ghats mountain ranges constitute the gorgeous array of mountains along the west coast of India, separating the Deccan Plateau and a narrow coastal strip (along the Arabian Sea). The mountain range starts from the southern part of the Tapti River near the border area of the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. Western Ghats mountain ranges cover a length of around 1600 km (8° to 22° N, 73° to 78 °E ) running through a geographical area of about 160,000 km2 of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala states fin ally terminates at Kanyakumari district, in the southern-most tip of the Indian peninsula (Daniel, 1997). The climate is also extremely variable. The rainfall varies from 5000 mm per annum in windward areas to less than 600 mm in the leeward or rain shadow areas with prolonged dry season.

The vegetation varies broadly from evergreen, semi-evergreen, deciduous, scrub forests, sholas, grasslands and bamboo clumps. Factors including sunlight, rainfall, humidity, altitude, topography and location contribute to the uniqueness of this habitat, its animal and plant diversity. Plants species such as Holigarna grahamii (Wight) Kurz, Garcinia sp., Mitragyna parvifolia (Roxb.) Korth., Lophopetalum wightianum Arn., Syzygium leatum (Buch.-Ham.) Gandhi, Entada rheedei Spreng., Calamus prasinus Lak. & Renuka and the like represent evergreen, semi evergreen and moist deciduous species of the Western Ghats (Pascal and Ramesh, 1987, Pascal, 1988). These species generally thrive in Western Ghats with the unique climatic and edaphic factors and are not generally found thriving in other plateau regions.