Habitat monitoring and conservation prioritisation of protected areas in Western Ghats, Kerala, India (original) (raw)
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Conservation of biodiversity has been put to the highest priority throughout the world. The process of identifying threatened ecosystems will search for different drivers related to biodiversity loss. The present study aimed to generate spatial information on deforestation and ecological degradation indicators of fragmentation and forest fires using systematic conceptual approach in Telangana state, India. Identification of ecosystems facing increasing vulnerability can help to safeguard the extinctions of species and useful for conservation planning. The technological advancement of satellite remote sensing and Geographical Information System has increased greatly in assessment and monitoring of ecosystem-level changes. The areas of threat were identified by creating grid cells (5 × 5 km) in Geographical Information System (GIS). Deforestation was assessed using multi-source data of 1930, 1960, 1975, 1985, 1995, 2005 and 2013. The forest cover of 40,746 km2, 29,299 km2, 18,652 km2, 18,368 km2, 18,006 km2, 17,556 km2 and 17,520 km2 was estimated during 1930, 1960, 1975, 1985, 1995, 2005 and 2013, respectively. Historical evaluation of deforestation revealed that major changes had occurred in forests of Telangana and identified 1095 extinct, 397 critically endangered, 523 endangered and 311 vulnerable ecosystem grid cells. The fragmentation analysis has identified 307 ecosystem grid cells under critically endangered status. Forest burnt area information was extracted using AWiFS data of 2005 to 2014. Spatial analysis indicates total fire-affected forest in Telangana as 58.9 % in a decadal period. Conservation status has been recorded depending upon values of threat for each grid, which forms the basis for conservation priority hotspots. Of existing forest, 2.1 % grids had severe ecosystem collapse and had been included under the category of conservation priority hotspot-I, followed by 27.2 % in conservation priority hotspot-II and 51.5 % in conservation priority hotspot-III. This analysis complements assessment of ecosystems undergoing multiple threats. An integrated approach involving the deforestation and degradation indicators is useful in formulating the strategies to take appropriate conservation measures.
Forestry issues and challenges in terms of ecosystem conservation and management has been a debatable topic over the years. Protected area such as biosphere reserves, national parks and wildlife sanctuaries are facing unpredictable pressure of global issues such as environmental degradation, biodiversity loss, climate change, and raw material supply. Using the Nokrek National Park and Biosphere Reserve forest ecosystem in the Himalaya region as an example, this research focused on governance, economical, and technical situation that shape and improve forest management. Effective local institutions promotes biodiversity maintenance and livelihoods, and forest management requires information on status and condition of forest, therefore, emphasis put to describe threats causing loss of biodiversity, current issues and future challenges in Himalaya region. Review studies and field data indicate the study area is rich in wild flora and fauna, and act as homelands of Achik (Garo) tribe. This paper presented a framework of forest assessments and monitoring, and for discussions about ways to improve forest conservation and management that achieve environmental objectives, and at the same time promote local and national development, and contribute to sustainable local livelihoods.
Landscapes of Protection: Forest Change and Fragmentation in Northern West Bengal, India
Environmental Management, 2009
In the tropics and sub-tropics, where high levels of biodiversity co-exist with some of the greatest levels of population density, achieving complete exclusion in protected area contexts has proved close to impossible. There is a clear need to recognize that parks are significantly impacted by human–environment interactions in the larger landscape within which they are embedded, and to move the frontier of research beyond the boundaries of protected areas in order to examine larger landscapes where multiple forms of ownership and access are embedded. This research evaluates forest change and fragmentation between 1990 and 2000, in a landscape surrounding the Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary in the Indian state of West Bengal. This protected forest is bounded to the south by a less intensively protected area, the Baikunthapur Reserve Forest, and surrounded by a mosaic of unprotected, largely private land holdings. Results indicate differences in the extent and spatial pattern of forest cover change in these three zones, corresponding to different levels of government protection, access and monitoring. The two protected areas experience a trend toward forest regrowth, relating to the cessation of commercial logging by park management during this period. Yet, there is still substantial clearing toward peripheral areas that are well connected to illegal timber markets by transportation networks. The surrounding landscape, although experiencing some forest regrowth within less intensively cultivated tea plantations, is also becoming increasingly fragmented, with potentially critical impacts on the maintenance of effective wildlife corridors in this ecologically critical region.
Prioritisation of conservation areas in the Western Ghats, India
Biological …, 2006
Areas of high conservation value were identified in the Western Ghats using a systematic conservation planning approach. Surrogates were chosen and assessed for effectiveness on the basis of spatial congruence using Pearson’s correlations and Mantel’s tests. The surrogates were, threatened and endemic plant and vertebrate species, unfragmented forest areas, dry forests, sub-regionally rare vegetation types, and a remotely sensed sur- rogate for unique evergreen ecosystems. At the scale of this analysis, amphibian richness was most highly correlated with overall threatened and endemic species richness, whereas mammals, especially wide-ranging species, were better at capturing overall ani- mal and habitat diversity. There was a significant relationship between a remote sensing based habitat surrogate and endemic tree diversity and composition. None of the taxa or habitats served as a complete surrogate for the others. Sites were prioritised on the basis of their irreplaceability value using all five surrogates. Two alternative reserve networks are presented, one with minimal representation of surrogates, and the second with 3 occurrences of each species and 25% of each habitat type. These networks cover 8% and 29% of the region respectively. Seventy percent of the completely irreplaceable sites are outside the current protected area network. While the existing protected area net- work meets the minimal representation target for 88% of the species chosen in this study and all of the habitat surrogates, it is not representative with regard to amphibians, endemic tree species and small mammals. Much of the prioritised unprotected area is under reserve forests and can thus be incorporated into a wider network of conservation areas.
Priority Areas for Conservation in Northeast India: A Case
2013
For setting up priority sites for conservation, information on the distribution of species in the area is required. The present study provides first-hand information on the distribution of threatened and endemic species in Meghalaya, northeast India, which is a part of Indo-Burma hotspot. Distribution of species in different habitats reveals that primary forests are the main habitat of threatened and endemic species. The number of threatened species was high at low and medium-high altitude areas, whereas, endemic species showed high concentration at medium and medium-high altitude areas. Though the current protected area in the state is serving an important role in plant diversity conservation, it is inadequate because of smaller area and being restricted at low-medium altitude. High altitude areas in Meghalaya are poorly represented by protected category and a large number of threatened and endemic species occur in areas located outside the existing protected areas. Eleven priority sites are identified that contain 66 (80%) threatened and 274 (85%) endemic species, where conservation efforts need to be focused at the earliest. Closer monitoring of plant diversity including the populations of endemic and threatened species is suggested for effective conservation of such species.
Current Science, 2016
Protected areas need to be monitored regularly to realize the effectiveness of conservation measures. In this study, Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve of Western Ghats has been monitored for deforestation in a historic time frame. The study attempted to identify the changes that occurred within the Biosphere Reserve from the early 1920s to the recent by mapping the land use/land cover and quantifying the forest cover changes that have occurred in the Biosphere Reserve individually for each conservation zone and protected area. Multi-temporal satellite datasets and topographical maps were used for mapping the forest cover of the study area. Visual interpretation technique involving on screen digitization was used for mapping and post-classification comparison method was used for carrying out change detection process. In addition, grid wise spatial tracking was carried out for the periods of 1920-1973 and 1973-2012 to prioritize change areas. Results showed that 747.1 km 2 of forests have been lost during the period of 1920-2012. The present study demonstrates the importance of long-term land use/land cover information to examine conservation effectiveness by utilizing remote sensing and GIS techniques to carry out best management practices.
Protected areas and biodiversity conservation in India
Biological Conservation, 2019
Three well-supported generalizations in conservation biology are that developing tropical countries will experience the greatest biodiversity declines in the near future, they are some of the least studied areas in the world, and in these regions especially, protection requires local community support. We assess these generalizations in an evaluation of protected areas in India. The 5% of India officially protected covers most ecoregions and protected areas have been an important reason why India has suffered no documented species extinctions in the past 70 years. India has strong legislation favouring conservation, government investment focused on 50 Tiger Reserves, and government compensation schemes that facilitate local support, all of which brighten future prospects. However, many protected areas are too small to maintain a full complement of species, making connectivity and species use of buffer zones a crucial issue. Conservation success and challenges vary across regions according to their development status. In less developed areas, notably the biodiverse northeast Himalaya, protected areas maintaining the highest biodiversity result from locally-focused efforts by dedicated individuals. Across India, we demonstrate considerable opportunities to increase local income through ecotourism. Our evaluation confirms a lack of data, increasing threats, and the importance of local support. Research on biodiversity in buffer zones, development of long-term monitoring schemes, and assessment of cash and conservation benefits from tourism are in particular need. For policy makers, two main goals should be the development of monitoring plans for 'eco-sensitive zones' around protected areas, and a strong emphasis on preserving established protected areas.
Journal of Forestry Research, 2014
Landscape structure is often regarded as an important factor that governs the distribution and abundance of species. Therefore it is critical to understand the landscapes and their dynamics. Patterns of landscape elements strongly influence the ecological characteristics. This study was designed to document and map the current status of the tropical dry deciduous forest of the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR), Central India, (using IRS P6 LISS IV data) and to describe its landscape structure at three levels of organization viz. landscape, class, and patch.