RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Hydrological status

Relic forests of the Western Ghats are remains of the primeval forests that existed before anthropogenic alterations began, especially with the introduction of agriculture. Relic forests, multi-storeyed as they are and never completely clear-felled or burned down by the fires of shifting cultivators, and the organic debris on the floor never destroyed, are ideal set ups in humid tropical mountainous terrain. Despite the fact that the Central Western Ghats have five to six months of dry season, the water stored and released by the relic forests, which were sacred during pre-colonial times, cause streams to flow perennially. This was true of the Kanforests of Uttara Kannada district, Kathalekan (meaning the ‘dark sacred grove’) being no exception. The close links between Kansand water bodies have been brought out in earlier observations by the British foresters (Anonymous, 1923); it was an inevitable part of traditional ecological knowledge of the region (Chandran and Gadgil 1993). The water courses of Kathalekan, studded with Myristica swamps, though in a waned state today, are enough evidence of the excellent hydrology the region enjoyed. Members of Dipterocarpaceae and Myristicaceae, families with recalcitrant seeds and well known for their hygrophilous nature, seldom transgress in their distribution the limits of the tropical rain forest (Ashton 1964; Fedorov 1966; Chandran and Mesta 2001). Most other dominant tree families of Kathalekan, such as Anacardiaceae, Clusiaceae, Lauraceae, Myrtaceae etc. are also dominant in especially South-East Asian rain forests.