Sustaining biodiversity conservation in human-modified landscapes in the Western Ghats: Remnant forests matter (original) (raw)
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Biological Conservation, 2010
The view that biodiversity-rich areas partially or largely managed by local residents, sometimes referred to as community-conserved areas (CCAs), can be effective in biological conservation has gained considerable ground over the past decade. In this paper, we review available scientific information on the conservation effectiveness of such areas globally. We compiled studies undertaken during the last 5 years (2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)) that use quantifiable ecological attributes to: (1) compare CCAs with strictly protected areas (SPAs); compare CCAs with open-access ecosystems and (3) study trends in biological attributes of CCAs over time. We found that there were few consistent differences in diversity/species richness of flora or fauna protected under the two types of management or in deforestation rates. However, CCAs tend to harbour a species complement distinct from that of SPAs and show lowered abundances of monitored taxa that are of conservation importance. CCAs conserve biological values more effectively than openaccess areas. Also, biological values tend to decline in CCAs over time. We conclude that CCAs could represent a significant improvement over open-access areas in terms of conservation effectiveness, yet fall short of the needs of comprehensive biological conservation. While extremely few studies have been undertaken in India, the trends seen largely concur with global ones. This review, based on a limited sample size, is only a beginning, and is expected to serve as an invitation for further research to address both the question of biological effectiveness of diverse forest governance regimes as well as the socio-economic, demographic and institutional reasons underlying these differences.
The role of informal protected areas in maintaining biodiversity in the Western Ghats of India
Ecology and …, 2005
Although it is widely believed that an important function of protected areas is to conserve species that are unable to survive elsewhere, there are very few empirical studies in which a comparison is made between biodiversity of protected areas and that of the cultivated landscape surrounding them. We examined the diversity of trees, birds, and macrofungi at 58 sites in three land-use types in a tree-covered landscape in Kodagu district in the Western Ghats of India. Ten forest reserve sites in the formal protected area, and 25 sacred groves and 23 coffee plantations in the neighboring cultivated landscape were sampled. A total of 215 tree, 86 bird, and 163 macrofungus species were recorded. The forest reserve had a large number of trees that were restricted in their distribution, and the sacred groves had a large number of macrofungi. We observed that deciduous trees and non-forest-dwelling birds increased, and evergreen trees and forest-dwelling birds decreased with increasing intensity of land management. We found that trees having non-timber uses and macrofungi useful to the local people, as well as those with medicinal properties, were abundant in sacred groves. We found no significant differences in the distribution of endemic and threatened birds across the three land-use types. Although endemic trees were more abundant in the forest reserve than in sacred groves, threatened trees were more abundant in sacred groves than in the forest reserve. We attribute the high diversity in sacred groves to the native tree cover in shade coffee plantations. We conclude that informal protected areas are as important as formal ones for biodiversity conservation in Kodagu. We recommend that a conservation strategy that recognizes informal protection traditions is essential for successful biodiversity conservation in regions where formal reserves are surrounded by a matrix of cultivated land.
Biodiversity and conservation of a cultural landscape in the Western Ghats of India
Dr Leonard Polonsky thesis digitisation, 2002
The effects of landscape modification on the diversity of three contrasting groups of organisms-trees, birds and macrofungi that are biologically and ecologically different are presented in this study. Three competing heuristic frameworks-island biogeography, metapopulation theory and landscape ecology-which have been advanced to study the fragmented landscapes, are discussed. The most suitable framework for studying biodiversity of the three groups of organisms in landscapes that are modified but not fragmented, is determined. Two contrasting approaches to biodiversity conservation-strict protection, and community-based conservation-are assessed and the conditions where they are suitable are determined.
Human disturbance and forest diversity in the Tansa Valley, India
Biodiversity and Conservation, 2003
We assessed the diversity of woody plants at 15 forested sites in the Tansa Valley of Thane District, in Maharashtra, India. The fewest species (11) were seen at a degraded mangrove site near the river mouth, and the greatest number (150) in the rich semi-evergreen forest on Tungar Hill. For all sites there were 141 tree, 25 shrub and 15 liana species, a total of 181 species. Excluding the mangrove site, which had no species in common with the other 14 sites, we analyzed the species distributions in detail. These sites ranged in area from 4 to 30 km2 each, had woody floras of 89 ± 6 species, and varied in intensity of human impact. Despite a history of exploitation and substantial reduction in biomass from firewood collecting, set fires and illicit tree felling, considerable plant diversity remains in the area. We found a modest increase in species richness in transects away from two villages. We observed the exploitation of the forest by the principal users, primarily of the Warli Tribe. They exploited a wide variety of forest resources (92 species), for medicines, foods, construction materials, household goods, manure and other purposes. They collected 15 items for sale. By far the single most important item collected was firewood, which dramatically reduced forest biomass within 2 km of villages. The species distributions in these forest remnants are strongly nested, mostly due to varying degrees of disturbance at individual sites. The high species diversity on Tungar Hill is most likely a relict of the earlier character of forests throughout much of the valley. It merits the highest priorities for preservation, as a refuge for Western Ghat species at the northern limits of their distributions.
Forest biodiversity gradients and the human impact in Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal
Biodiversity and Conservation, 2009
Patterns of biodiversity, environment and human impact were studied in 57 sample plots in an 1,178 ha forest area in a rural mountain area of Nepal that is administrated by the Annapurna Conservation Area Project. Alpha-, beta- and gamma-diversity was measured or estimated for six groups of organisms: trees, shrubs, climbers, herbs, polypores and mycorrhizal fungi, and the recorded patterns were correlated with a set of environmental variables. Human impact in terms of fuelwood collection, selective cutting and grazing was found to influence species diversity patterns in all organism groups. Species richness of trees, climbers and polypores at plot level (alpha-diversity) generally responded negatively to human impact, whereas species richness of herbs and shrubs showed a positive relation. Species turnover (beta-diversity), measured as length of the DCA first axis, was significantly correlated to distance to village for all species groups. This indicates that the human impact is very important for the biodiversity patterns in the study area, and that biodiversity connected to undisturbed forest habitats are potentially threatened in the area. The results are discussed in the context of practical conservation. A proposal for future management zones addressing protection of biodiversity without limiting the local use of the forest resource is put forward.
A landscape approach to biodiversity conservation of sacred groves in the Western Ghats of India
Conservation …, 2005
Although sacred groves are important for conservation in India, the landscape that surrounds them has a vital influence on biodiversity within them. Research has focused on tree diversity inside these forest patches. In a coffee-growing region of the Western Ghats, however, landscape outside sacred groves is also tree covered because planters have retained native trees to provide shade for coffee plants. We examined the diversity of trees, birds, and macrofungi at 58 sites-10 forest-reserve sites, 25 sacred groves, and 23 coffee plantations-in Kodagu district. We measured landscape composition and configuration around each site with a geographic information system. To identify factors associated with diversity we constructed multivariate models by using a decision-tree technique. The conventional measures of landscape fragmentation such as patch size did not influence species richness. Distance of sacred groves from the forest reserve had a weak influence. The measures of landscape structure (e.g., tree cover in the surroundings) and stand structure (e.g., variability in canopy height) contributed to the variation in species richness explained by multivariate models. We suggest that biodiversity present within sacred groves has been influenced by native tree cover in the surrounding landscape. To conserve this biodiversity the integrity of the tree-covered landscape matrix will need to be conserved.
Diversity and Distributions, 2006
Distributional similarity (congruence) between phylogenetically independent taxonomic groups has important biogeographical as well as conservation implications. When multiple groups show congruence, one or two of them can be used as surrogates of diversity in others; thus, simplifying some of the challenges of area prioritization for conservation action. Here we test for congruence in complementarity between amphibians, reptiles and birds across seven tropical rainforest sites in the Eastern Himalaya and Indo-Burma global biodiversity hotspots. The results show that while frogs and lizards are strongly congruent with each other, birds as a whole do not show congruence with either of them. However, certain bird subgroups delineated on the basis of broad ecological niche and life history attributes are significantly congruent with both frogs and lizards. Multiple Mantel regression between environmental variable and species distribution dissimilarity matrices indicate that along with differential response to between-site ecological differences, inherent life-history characteristics shared by certain groups contributes to observed patterns of congruence. Our analyses indicate that examining biologically distinct subsets of larger groups can improve the resolution of congruence analyses. This approach can refine area-prioritization initiatives by revealing fine-scale discordances between otherwise concordant groups, and vice versa. Given that monetary resources do not always allow inclusion of multiple groups in biodiversity inventorying efforts, performing such analyses also makes economic sense because it can provide better resolution even with single-group data. In the context of conservation in North-east India, the results highlight the biogeographical complexity of the region, and also point at future priorities for biodiversity inventorying and conservation prioritization, both in terms of areas as well as taxonomic groups.