Ecology and conservation of threatened plants in
Tapkeshwari Hill ranges in the Kachchh Island, Gujarat, India
P.N. Joshi 1, Ekta B. Joshi 2 & B.K.
Jain 3
1 Sahjeevan, 175-Jalaram Society, Vijay Nagar, Bhuj, Kachchh, Gujarat 370001, India
2 Matruchhaya Kanya Vidhyalay,
Matruchhaya Road, Bhuj, Kachchh, Gujarat 370001, India
3 M.G. Science Institute, Gujarat
Uiniversity, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
Email:
joshi_pn@yahoo.com (corresponding author), noopur_pj@yahoo.co.in, bkjain_mgsc@yahoo.com
Date of
publication (online): 26 February 2012
Date of
publication (print): 26 February 2012
ISSN
0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print)
Editor:N.P. Balakrishnan
Manuscript
details:
Ms # o2410
Received 23 February 2010
Final received 03 November 2011
Finally accepted 24 January 2012
Citation: Joshi, P.N., E.B. Joshi & B.K. Jain (2012). Ecology and conservation of threatened plants in Tapkeshwari Hill
ranges in the Kachchh Island, Gujarat, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 4(2): 2390–2397.
Copyright: © P.N. Joshi, Ekta B. Joshi & B.K. Jain 2012. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTT
allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium for non-profit purposes,
reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and
the source of publication.
Author
Details: Dr.
P.N. Joshi has a research experience of 12 years and published 48
research articles on plant ecology, participatory natural resource management
and conservation. He is the
registered member of IUCN – The World Conservation Union: Species
Survival Commission Indian Subcontinent Plant Specialist Group (SSC-ISPSG) and
Indian Association for Angiosperm Taxonomy (IAAT).
Dr. Ekta B. Joshi, has a
PhD in Plant Science (Ecology, Taxonomy and Conservation). She has research
experience of five years and published eight articles in the fields of plant
taxonomy, conservation of rare and endangered plants, ethnobotany among others.
Dr. B.K. Jain,
Principal in M.G.Science Institute, Ahmedabad and has a research and teaching
experience of more than 20 years. He has published several books on vegetation
science and is doing research in various branches of botany.
Author Contribution:All author contributed in the study as well as in the current paper
Acknowledgements: Shri.
Maneklal Shah-Dada, Trustee; Mrs. Premlataben Nehlani, Principal and Mrs.
Jyotiben Chandwani, Ex-Principal, Matruchhaya Kanya Vidhyalay, Station Road,
Bhuj were the constant source of encouragement and support. We thank them for proving all facilities
in the School. We would like to thank Mr. R.L. Meena, IFS, Conservator of
Forests, Kachchh Circle; Mr. L.N. Jadeja (Former DCF-West), Mr. D.T. Vasavada,
(DCF-West), Mr. H.P. Waria (ACF) and Mr. M.B. Patel (RFO) (Kachchh West
Division), Gujarat State Forest Department (GSFD), Bhuj for giving permission
to work in the Tapkeshwari Hill Range Forests.
For
figures, images, tables -- click here
Zietsman et al. (2008)
stated that small and isolated populations often suffer from disrupted
biological interactions. Nearly 1500
species of higher plants in India are listed as threatened, most of which are
angiosperms (Daniels & Jayanthi 1996). These plants have their own ecological role in the ecosystem
and therefore, the conservation status of lesser knownplant species and isolated populations need to be assessed both within
individual populations and at the metapopulation level (Shaw & Burns
1997). There is reported
work in the past in Tapkeshwar Hill Range (THR) on threatened species,
especially their ecological requirements. This study is intended to highlight the status and distribution of the
species in the study area, the ecological characteristics necessary for their
survival, and the threats faced by some of the species designated by following
the criteria devised by WCMC and IUCN (Nayar & Sastry 1988; WCMC 1994;
Bhandari et al. 1996; GES et al. 2002).
The study area
(Tapkeshwari Hill Range - THR) of more than 140km2 (14,400ha)
covering nine villages under two taluks, i.e. Bhuj and Mundra was surveyed
(Image 1). THR is the
largest unexplored hilly tract in the district. It is close to Bhuj City, the district headquarters (7km)
and provides a high diversity of floral species in various vegetation types or
habitats like Euphorbia scrubs,Prosopis scrubs, thorn mixed
scrubs, open scrubs, thorn mixed forests with Acacia senegal,A. nilotica and Salvadoramixed (Image 2). Considering the
high floral diversity and unique vegetation assemblage of this range, it has
been suggested that, this tract and adjoining sites may be declared as
Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESA) (Joshi 2002).
The selected hill ranges
experience extremes of weather condition and have three seasons, consisting of
winter, summer and monsoon—winter (November to February; minimum averaging
100C), summer (March to
June; maximum 38.70C) and monsoon (July to September; average
394.7mm in 2007-2009 and for 16.2 days).
The survey was conducted
in the study areas wherever rare, endangered and threatened (RET) plant taxa
were said to exist, based on information in the literature (Nayar & Sastry
1988; WCMC 1994; GES et al. 2002). In addition, other adjoining areas, which had similar habitat types
where the plants were seen during the survey, were also searched. A combination of belt transects with
centred quadrates method were used for sampling. Belt transects of 5m width and
length extending to the entire width of the patch were laid. Within this belt, species specific search was carried out and once a target
species was located, a species-centred circular plot of 5m radius in the case
of shrubs and 1 to 2 m radius in the case of herbs were laid. In case of abundance of plants, belt
transects radiating from the edge of the aquatic body in eight directions were
laid to assess the number, and the extent of their spread from the main
microhabitat was used to record all other parameters as above.
IUCN- RET Plants
Reports
Thirteen plant species categorized as threatened
by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC 1994) and also listed under
various threat categories in the Red Data Book of Indian Plants (Nayar &
Sastry 1988) were surveyed in the THR. In many rare species classifications, including the Red Book listings of
the IUCN, two types of rarity—natural and induced—are not always
clearly distinguished. Some
species that are naturally rare are also ranked as threatened with
extinction. While naturally rare
species can be more vulnerable to extinction than common ones, rarity in itself
is not synonymous with extinction threat. Understanding the difference between natural and induced rarity is
important for focusing conservation efforts.
Out of the 19 RET plants recorded so far from
Kachchh (Shah 1978; Nayar & Sastry 1988; Raole 1993; WCMC 1994; GES et al.
2002), 13 taxa were located in the study area: six herbs, four undershrubs, two
shrubs and one climber. Among these, Dipcadi erythraeum,
Dactyliandra welwitschii, Indigofera caerulea var.monosperma and Pavonia
ceratocarpa had very low numbers, i.e. 9, 13, 16 and 19 individuals, respectively, and had
highly restricted distribution in THR. Commiphora wightii, Ipomoea kotschyana, Helichrysum cutchicumand Campylanthus ramosissimusshowed wider distribution and had 612, 440, 245 and 235 individuals, respectively
(Table 1). The details on abundance, habitats and threats of each taxon with
their present status mentioned by different authorities are given in Table 1.
Distribution and
age structure status
Overall
distribution status of RET taxa in the study area:
All the RET plants reported from the study area occupied eight major habitat
types, of which thorn mixed scrub, open scrub and Acacia senegalforest harbored the highest number (10 in each) of taxa. The second highest number of taxa (9)
was recorded from thorn mixed forest and Euphorbiascrub and so on (Table 2). Interestingly, thorns mixed forest harbored the
highest number of individuals (560) of all RET plants,followed by open scrub (345 individuals), Acacia senegalforest (328), thorn mixed scrub (293) and so on (Fig. 1).
Campylanthus ramosissimus,
Ipomoea kotschyana and Pavonia
ceratocarpa were restricted to a single favorable habitat,
viz., open scrub, thorn mixed forest and Euphorbiascrub respectively. Commiphora
wightii, Convolvulus stocksii, Ephedra foliata andHelichrysum cutchicum also showed more affinity to
the thorn mixed scrub (31.37%), thorn mixed forest (44.88%), thorn mixed forest
(45.45%) and Acacia senegalforest (30.20%) respectively (Table 2).
Quantification
of the reproductive stage of annual herbaceous plants is difficult when
compared to bushy perennials because of their smaller size and very short life
spans. It is further complicated
if it has restricted distribution and low abundance. Within the sample area, field observation showed that exceptHelichrysum
cutchicum, all other RET plant species are reported with
very low seedlings and regeneration ratio (Table 3) when compared with the
adult plants. In addition, low abundance of some RET plant species could be
inherent and for others it may be failure of regeneration.
Threats
faced
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