CONCLUSION

Land over analysis show vegetation has declined from 96.57% (in 1973) to 91.72% (in 2012). Land use analysis for the period 1973 to 2012 has been done using Gaussian maximum likelihood classifier and the temporal land use show 1.47 % growth in built up area during last four decades with the decline of forest vegetation by 2.6 %. Major human induced ecological changes in the Western Ghats started with the arrival of agriculture and animal husbandry.Collection of forest produce such as pepper, cardamom, ivory, honey, wax has gone on for a long time in the Western Ghats. Several industries were started in the early decades before independence, primarily to utilize the forest resources of the Western Ghats. These have included saw mills, brick and tile, paper, polyfibre, matchwood, plywood, and tanning. A few other industries have sprung up based on the mineral resources of the hills such as the steel works at Bhadravati. These created pressure on extraction of forest products. Pepper and cardamom, which are native to the evergreen forests of the Western Ghats, were also taken up as plantation crops on a more extensive scale in modern times. Many of the newer plantations were taken up by clear felling natural evergreen forests tracts which till then had predominantly tribal populations. Kans (Sacred groves) being the centres of spiritualism, culture and community get together are important places for re-emphasizing their roles in conservation of nature. Proper survey and mapping of boundaries of all kans must be done in order to protect them from encroachment and other threats.Strict actions should be taken against encroachers. Taking special care of threatened species and threatened micro-habitats within the kan forests will also help in protection. Providing good protection and adopting bettermanagement practices in moderately disturbed kans could return the vegetation to high species richness and stocking density.   It would also give a better chance of establishment to sensitiveevergreen species, to endemic species, and to thosein RET categories, as well as to economically important species, through natural succession.