The western ghats again find a place in the news after the announcement of the unesco world heritage site. The western ghats endemic birds are the most beautiful malabar parakeet, nilgiri woodpigeon, malabar grey horn bill, greyheaded bulbul, nilgiri flycatcher and other giant flying predators. It is mostly covered with equatorial tropical evergreen forests. The western ghats is the home for about 50 million people belonging to the six states of the country. Western ghats flora and fauna public group facebook.
Database launched on flora in peninsular india down to earth. Taxonomic and ecological database of trees of western ghats. The work started with digitising the flora of karnataka, but was later. With the help of over 7,000 of the worlds best wildlife filmmakers and photographers, conservationists and scientists, arkive. Resources library database software maps bibliographies weather. Apart from the discoveries of the worlds smallest land fern and two. Nagendran, retired professor of botany, mysore university, said on saturday that preserving the unique flora and fauna of western ghats, one of the biodiversity hotspots in. This book contains description of all forest trees in peninsular india and most of srilanka too. The mountain range that runs along the west coast of peninsular india from tamil nadu through kerala, karnataka and goa to maharashtra is known as the western ghats and is well known for its majestic. Digital herbarium of angiospermic plants of western ghats. A nature lovers delight to explore the western ghats and palni hills in india the book titled flora of the southern western ghats and palnis.
There are estimated to be over 18,000 species of flowering plants in india, which constitute some 67 percent of the total plant species in the world. But the exercise gradually expanded to include other states through which the western ghats runs, and also the eastern ghats. The western ghats are often in the news due to constant threat to their biodiversity. The western ghats, also known as the sahyadri hills, are well known for their rich and unique assemblage of flora and fauna. What are some interesting facts about the western ghats of. The western ghats, also known as sahyadri benevolent mountains, are a mountain range that covers an area of 140,000 square kilometres 54,000 sq mi in a stretch of 1,600 kilometres 990 mi parallel to the western coast of the indian peninsula, traversing the states of kerala, tamil nadu, karnataka, goa, maharashtra and gujarat. Media in category flora of the western ghats the following 3 files are in this category, out of 3 total. Important rivers include the godavari, tungabhadra, krishna, thamiraparani and kaveri. The western ghats of kerala region is thickly populated and famous for exotic food crops, spices, herbs and medicinal plants. Flora 2 is a powerful knowledge representation and reasoning system designed for building knowledgeintensive applications. Nov 04, 2016 the book titled flora of the southern western ghats and palnis.
The forest department of karnataka has declared 40 animals as endangered species in the state. The mountains of the western ghats are the second most important shelter in the world for threatened species. Ethnobotany of mangroves with particular reference to west coast of peninsular india. Wikimedia commons has media related to flora of the western ghats. Nov 01, 2015 the western ghats form one of the four watersheds of india, feeding the perennial rivers of india. Mar 01, 2016 the region the western ghats, is a mountain range that runs along the western side of india. Western ghats also known as the great escarpment of india is home to wide ranges of wild animal and bird species. It is high time we acquaint ourselves with these vanishing. Digital herbarium of angiospermic plants of western ghats of. A unique repository of information on indias biodiversity. The western ghats are a chain of hills that run along the western edge of peninsular india. Endemic tree species of western ghats there are 352 endemic tree species present in our database, click on description for the list. The flora of india is one of the richest in the world due to the wide range of climate, topology and habitat in the country.
Contains forest maps of south india, western and eastern ghats. However, the western ghats do have passes such as the bhor ghat, pal ghat, and thal ghat which makes it possible to travel through the western ghats despite the fact that they are continuous. The rainforest of india runs parallel to the arabian sea along with west coast of india and form one of the top ten hottest biodiversity hotspots in the world. Pdf medicinal plants of western ghats researchgate. The worlds most biodiversity hotspot is home to 508 species of bird,which are also found in the nilgiri biosphere reserve. In general, the mean temperature of the coldest month ranges from 25c at sea level to 11 c. The information on jah database is easy to extract data on botanical names, author citation, variety if any, family. The western ghats, owing to its richness in biodiversity, nurtures more the 5,000 species of plants, 1,700 of which are endemic. Western ghats biodiversity information system ces iisc. Western ghats biodiversity information system currently, 3500 flowering plants information can be retrieved from the flora database which includes 266 species of orchids, 350 species of. General articles a digital herbarium for the flora of. The place prioritization procedure implemented in the resnet software. Although most of the peninsular rivers drain into the bay of bengal, their origin point is the western ghats. This herbarium is recognized internationally by the acronym jcb.
The collection consists of more than 14,000 specimens of vascular plants, and lichens. Karnataka biodiversity sampling plots, western ghats, india. Species name common name common hindi name habitat details. The plant adds to the dissolved oxygen in water and thus is important for the health of the flora and fauna in the water bodies. It is based on flogic, hilog, transaction logic, and also supports defeasible reasoning. The current paper is an attempt to study the conservation assessment of rare, endangered and threatened species ret of the southern western ghats. A photographic guide to endemic woody plants of the.
A field guide, written by environment enthusiast pippa mukherjee, is one of the first books of its kind, helping the readers to identify the wildflowers of the western ghats, from southern western ghats covering karnataka, kerala and tamil nadu to palni hills in tamil nadu. Future of endemic flora of biodiversity hotspots in india. Publication or other use of content on this site is unauthorised unless that use conforms with the statement. Although endemic trees were more abundant in the forest reserve than in sacred. In cultivation it requires hot, humid, shady conditions and grows best in a fertile loam as it needs large quantities of nutrients. This book is equally useful wherever tropical evergreen, deciduous and scrub forests exist in peninsular india. The team spent four years to collect, process and upload the information on the website. Check list of endemic flowering plants of western ghats from megamalai wildlife sanctuary, tamil nadu, india. In the early years, raos team focused only on digitising the flora of karnataka. The ghats is well known for its biodiversity, where we can find a variety of flora and fauna. Did southern western ghats of peninsular india serve as. Florabase is produced by the staff of the western australian herbarium, biodiversity and conservation science, department of biodiversity, conservation and attractions.
These regions have moist deciduous forest and rain forest. The western ghats is a mega biodiversity region, with varied flora. The book titled flora of the southern western ghats and palnis. Indian institute of science houses a herbarium of a fairly large number of specimens of native and naturalized plants collected by many taxonomists and researchers from india and abroad. Flora of the western ghats a major mountain range in western south india. Vascular and non vascular flora, pathogenic and benign mycological species. The database has been screened for missing, erroneous and out of bounds entries, which. The western ghats and the forests of karnataka are habitats of different species of insects like aquatic insects, day flying insects, night flying insects, etc. The evergreen broadleaf forests in the southern western ghats are a significant bucket of moisture for rainfall over tamil nadu. These rivers flow to the east and drain out into the bay of b. The highest diversity of freshwater fishes is in deep, slowmoving waters. The amazing wildlife in the rainforests of western ghats. Apr 28, 2018 in just four months, nine new plants have been discovered in the western ghats, according to papers published in journals.
A hotspot of biodiversity in india wam team august 30, 2014 biodiversity, india, sustainable travel, travel leave a comment the western ghats. The eastern ghats are a discontinuous range of mountains that run in a northsouth alignment more or less east of the deccan plateau and pass through odisha state in the north and telanganaandhra pradesh to tamil nadu state in the south, traversing some parts of karnataka state, namely, bellary, kolar and chamarajnagar districts. The western ghats host over 400 species and 7 distinct vegetation types. Welcome to worlds first website on flora of western ghats. Flora of the western ghats a major mountain range in western south india subcategories. Larval host plants of the buterfies of the western ghats, india. A total of 28 plants in the brahma database are found in western ghats. The portal aims to aggregate data through public participation and provide open and free access to biodiversity information. Flora of western ghats, india welcome to worlds first website on flora of western ghats. Norman myers included the western ghats amongst the 25 biodiversity hotspots identified in the world the western ghats extend from the satpura range in the north, go south past goa, through karnataka and into kerala and tamil nadu end at kanyakumari embracing. Plantbased ethnic knowledge of food and nutrition in the western ghats.
The western ghats form one of the four watersheds of india, feeding the perennial rivers of india. Saxena and brahmam 1994 gave detailed account of flora of orissa, while pullaiah et al. Ginger probably originated as part of the ground flora of tropical lowland forests, where many of its wild relatives can still be found. May 04, 2018 model simulations show that the moisture supply from the western ghats is critical during the break period since it accounts for up to 50% of the total rainfall over the state of tamil nadu. The western ghats, known in india as the sahyadri hills, are a 160,000 sq. Of the total 325 globally threatened species in the western ghats, 129 are classified as vulnerable, 145 as endangered and 51 as critically endangered. It is a unesco world heritage site and is one of the eight.
The globally threatened flora and fauna in the western ghats are represented by 229 plant species, 31 mammal species, 15 bird species, 43 amphibian species, 5 reptile species and 1 fish species. What makes the western ghats a hotspot of biological diversity. It also provides solid substrate and shade for its cohabitants. The database of native and naturalized vascular plants of eastern ghats. General articles a digital herbarium for the flora of karnataka. On the identity and nomenclature of syzygium sriganesanii k ravik. There are several centers of plant endemism and species richness within the western ghats. The western ghats is a mega biodiversity region, with varied flora, fauna and landscapes. The western ghats first came under human influences during the palaeolithic or old stoneage some 12,000 years ago see table 1. Wildscreen s arkive project was launched in 2003 and grew to become the worlds biggest encyclopaedia of life on earth.
Fauna of karnataka forests karnataka wildlife karnataka. Western ghats biodiversity information system flora database. The western ghats, also called a biodiversity hotspot, has a sizeable number of woody plant species as of now, that are found nowhere else in the world endemic. Western ghats biodiversity is a significant source of. The nilgiri mountains are one of the most important centers of speciation for flowering plants in the western ghats, with 82 species restricted to this area alone. Singh, vohra, hajra, 1997 flora of india botanical survey of india. In neginhals own words forest trees are fast disappearing. A field guide, written by environment enthusiast pippa mukherjee, is one of the first books of its kind, helping the readers to identify the wildflowers of the western ghats, from southern western ghats covering karnataka, kerala and tamil nadu to. It is the source of water for the entire peninsular india, and also influences the monsoons.
Forest vegetation maps to western ghats geospatial world. Stone tools used by palaeolithic people have been excavated in the river valleys of palakkad, mallapuram and dakshina kannada districts in the western ghats. In indoburma, the future distribution is predicted to shift in the eastern and southeastern direction fig. A potential source for communitybased malaria management through endogenous approach. Preserving flora and fauna of western ghats essential. This category has the following 4 subcategories, out of 4 total. Forest trees of the western ghats authored by neginhal s. This data paper provides abundance and girth data for 768 trees and lianas of 446. Their proximity to the ocean and through orographic effect, they receive high rainfall.
The western ghats are a chain of highlands running along the western edge of the indian subcontinent, from bombay south to the southern tip of the. E longitude, along an elevational gradient of 3002700 m. Page says that around 65% 375400 species of the wet evergreen species of woody plants found in the western ghats. A species is endangered when it is threatened with extinction. Model simulations show that the moisture supply from the western ghats is critical during the break period since it accounts for up to 50% of the total rainfall over the state of tamil nadu. This book is a valuable field guide for identifying forest trees in the western and eastern ghats, deccan plateau and mangroves in. Digital herbarium of angiospermic plants of western ghats of maharashtra is a university grant commission, new delhi, funded project ugc reference no. The western ghats are the mountain groups running parallel to the western coast of the indian peninsula. Floral and faunal wealth of the tropical forests of the western ghats esp. This project covers prominent tree species and shrubs from 10 districts, located in western ghat regions of maharashtra, viz. Forest cover has declined by up to 50% in parts of uttara kannada district of karnataka and the evergreens in kerala are facing a threat of extinction. Rare, endangered and threatened ret climbers of southern. The mountain range that runs along the west coast of peninsular india from tamil nadu through kerala, karnataka and goa to maharashtra is known as the western ghats. Endemic flowering plant species of the northern western.
It is listed as an endangered species in the red data book on indian plants. The distribution and magnitude of the biodiversity that exists today is a product of over 3. Kfstat is a comprehensive statistical database on the forests of kerala prepared by kfri. Jan 12, 2015 the western ghats is the home for about 50 million people belonging to the six states of the country. It runs, about 1600 km, north to south, along the western edge of the deccan plateau. Medicinal flora and related traditional knowledge of western ghats. The region the western ghats, is a mountain range that runs along the western side of india.
What makes the western ghats a hotspot of biological. Youngia nilgiriensis is an endangered perennial herb. Some of the endangered fauna of karnataka include the. Western ghats hotspot accommodates the higher human population density than any other hotspot in the world and with only 9% of the forests under protected area network the endemic flora of western ghats is under the threat of extinction. The western ghats presents a whole range of gradients, both. The databases contain the following layers of information. The life supporting and biodiversity rich ecosystems of western ghats are threatened today due to habitat pressures. Heavy migration took place to western ghats region from the plains of kerala since 1960s and the forest flora and fauna are under severe threat and extinction. It is endemic to the sispara area of the kundah range of the nilgiri hills, tamil nadu, south india characterised by vast stretches of grasslands interrupted by numerous sholas at an altitude of around 2,060 metres 6,760 ft. Older than the himalaya mountains, the mountain chain of the western ghats represents geomorphic features of immense importance with unique biophysical and ecological processes. Among the 25 hot spots of the world, two are found in india extending into neighboring countries the western ghats sri lanka and the indoburma region covering the eastern himalayas.
Pages in category western ghats the following 2 pages are in this category, out of 2 total. In addition to high endemicity, wg exhibits substantial heterogeneity in vegetation and landscape types, as well as a distinct northsouth gradient in. Since time began, countless species have gone extinct from natural. The present study has provided geospatial database on spatial patterns of.
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