Diversity and field status of lianas in Tripura, India

 

Lalawmkima Darlong 1 & Debjyoti Bhattacharyya 2

 

1,2 Plant Taxonomy and Biosystematics Laboratory, Department of Life Science and Bioinformatics, Assam University, Silchar, Assam 788011, India

1 darlong16@gmail.com, 2 debjyoti_bsi@yahoo.co.in (corresponding author)

 

 

Abstract: A checklist of lianas in Tripura, India was prepared which enumerates about 60 species of lianas in the state. In this present paper, diversity of lianas in Tripura was analyzed by field exploration from October 2010 to February 2013. Out of the total 60 species enumerated, 34 species are provided with their phenology and places of occurrence . Field photographs are also given to facilitate their easy identification. Other 26 species could not be traced in the field and are represented only by herbarium specimens.

 

 

Keywords: Checklist, diversity, lianas, Tripura.

 

 

 

 

 

doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o3575.6703-10

 

Editor: B. Ravi Prasad Rao, Sri Krishnadevaraya University, Anantapur, India. Date of publication: 26 December 2014 (online & print)

 

Manuscript details: Ms # o3575 | Received 02 April 2013 | Final received 30 June 2014 | Finally accepted 20 October 2014

 

Citation: Darlong, L. & D. Bhattacharyya (2014). Diversity and field status of lianas in Tripura, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 6(14): 6703–6710; http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o3575.6703-10

 

Copyright: © Darlong & Bhattacharyya 2014. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication.

 

Funding: University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi. [F. 14-2 (ST)/2010 (SA-III) dated 24th June 2011].

 

Competing Interest: The authors declare no competing interests.

 

Acknowledgements: The authors extend their sincere thanks to the Forest Department of Tripura for giving them permission to survey different protected areas. They are also thankful to the Head, Botanical Survey of India (ASSAM and CAL) for permitting them to consult herbaria and libraries. Thanks are also due to the head, Department of Life Science and Bioinformatics, Assam University, Silchar for providing necessary facilities.

 

 

The lianas, commonly called woody climbers, are abundantly distributed in the tropical regions of the globe.  The morphological diversity, twinning pattern and various mechanisms of seed dispersal have contributed towards their curious growth form in the plant world.  In spite of the fact, in most of the floristic studies, lianas have always been overlooked and ignored.  They germinate and produce roots in the ground and use co-existing tree species or other supports for their growth (Image 1).  In general, their basal main stems are leafless and gigantic but they form a thick and dense cover on the supporting tree canopy to get the maximum sunlight for their metabolism.  The lianas play a very important role in the composition of the plant community in tropical and subtropical forests, and the presence of lianas is one of the important physiognomic features for identifying tropical lowland and lower montane forests (Grubb 1977).

While working on the morpho-taxonomy of lianas in Tripura, India, a checklist was prepared from literature (Hooker 1875, 1879, 1882, 1885, 1890, 1894; Deb 1981, 1983) which reveals that there are about 60 species of lianas in the state.  During field visits to different places in Tripura from October 2010 to February 2013 the authors could collect only 34 species of lianas belonging to 18 families (Images 2 & 3).  From the field observations, it has been found that the maximum numbers of species are distributed at different altitudes and habitats of Jampui Hill ranges, Kanchhanpur, Longtarai Valley, Gandacherra and Shipahijala Wildlife Sanctuary.  It was noticed that the status and distribution of lianas are directly dependant both on the environmental factors and the host species.

 

 

 

 

Study area: Tripura, the second smallest state in northeastern India, is mainly a forest dominated state lying between the coordinates 23030’–23044’N & 91015’–91028’E.  The state is surrounded on three sides by a deltaic basin of Bangladesh.  Except for a portion of the eastern boundary with Mizoram and northeastern boundary with Assam, all are bounded by the international line with Bangladesh (Fig. 1).  The forests in the state are mainly tropical evergreen, semi evergreen and moist deciduous in nature.  The geographical area of the state is ca. 10,486km2 and approximately 77% of the state’s geographical area is under forest cover.  In terms of forest canopy density classes, the State has around 66.33% reserved forests, 0.03% protected areas and 33.64% unclassified forests (Anonymous 2009).  As per the classification by Champion & Seth (1968) and Anonymous (2011), the state has two broad groups of forests, viz., tropical semi evergreen forests and tropical moist deciduous forests.  The climate of the state is characterized by moderate temperature (21–38 0C in summer and 4–33 0C in winter) and high humidity with an average annual rainfall of 2109mm, which is mostly received during the south-west monsoon season.  The principal hill ranges in this state are Jampui, Sakhantlang, Langtarai, Atharomura and Baramura-Debtamura. Around 603.64km2 of area is under reserved forests in Tripura which includes two national parks and four wildlife sanctuaries (Anonymous 2011).

 

 

Materials and Methods

The present study is primarily based on extensive and intensive field visits to different areas of the study area.  Collections were made during different seasons (summer, pre-monsoon, post-monsoon, winter of 2010 to 2013) and each survey was of 10–20 days duration.  Field visits were made to different forest dominated areas of the state, viz., Gandachera and Longtarai valley (Dhalai District), Dharmanagar, Kanchanpur, Jampui hill range and Panisagar (North District), Kumarghat and Kailashahar (Unokoti District), Amarpur and Karbook (Gomati District) and Bishalghar and Sonamura (Shipahijala District).  Four different wildlife sanctuaries viz. Shipahijala, Trishna, Gomati and Rowa were also surveyed.

The collected plant materials were made into herbarium specimens following standard technique (Jain & Rao 1977; Singh & Subramaniam 2008).  After collection the flowers were dissected under Olympus SZ61 Stereo Zoom Dissecting Microscope and the plants were critically studied; identification of taxa was done following standard floras.   Identifications were confirmed by matching our collected specimens with identified specimens housed in CAL & ASSAM, and sometimes with available type and other authentic specimens, as well as by consultations of relevant taxonomic literature.  Specimens collected from the study area during the present study are housed in the herbarium of Department of Life Science & Bioinformatics, Assam University, Silchar.  Field photographs have been taken with Nikon Coolpix camera.

 

 

Results and Discussion

A checklist prepared from the literature (Hooker 1875–1890; Deb 1981–83) reveals the occurrence of 60 species of lianas in Tripura.  Of the 60, only 34 species could be located and collected in the present study (Table 1).  Among the 34 species, two species are gymnosperms; the remaining 32 species are distributed under 18 angiospermic families.  The most dominant family recorded was Papilionaceae (6), followed by Apocynaceae (4) and Combretaceae (4).  Table 2 represents a list of the other 26 species which could not be traced during the study period but have their representative specimens in CAL and ASSAM.  The largest genus was Combretum Loefl. with three species, followed by Cissus L. and Byttneria Loefl. with two species each.  Combretum punctatum Blume subsp. squamosus (Roxb. ex G. Don) Exell, Millettia pachycarpa Benth., Thunbergia grandiflora (Roxb. ex Rottl.) Roxb. and Cissus adnata Roxb. were very common throughout their habitat.  Combretum punctatum Blume subsp. squamosus (Roxb. ex G. Don) Exell and Millettia pachycarpa Benth. were also very common in the state; the former generally grows along the roadside of the forest areas and the latter in ‘Sal’ forests.  In contrast, Pueraria tuberose (Roxb. ex Willd.) DC., Uncaria sessilifructus Roxb. and Byttneria aspera Collb. could only be seen in Chawmanu, Serhmun and Betlingship areas.

Two gymnospermic species Gnetum montanum Markgraf and G. oblongum Markgraf have already been categorized as threatened in the state (Deb 1999).  

 

 

 

 

Felling of supporting/host trees for Jhum cultivation and wood commerce viz., Artocarpus chama Buch.-Ham. (Moraceae), Shorea robusta C.F.Gaertn. (Dipterocarpaceae), Tectona grandis L.f. (Lamiaceae), utilization of some lianas for ethnic uses, clearing of forests for agriculture, are identified as some of the major threats to this highly important growth form in the state.  Moreover, rubber and ‘supari’ (areca nut) plantations, tea and pineapple cultivation are the main sources of livelihood of the rural and tribal people of Tripura.  These practices are also alarming threats for different species of lianas growing in the state (Darlong & Bhattacharyya 2012).  So, proper in situ conservation is prescribed for their sustenance.  Seeds can also be collected for seed banks.  Moreover, ex situ conservation in botanic gardens is recommended.

 

 

References

 

Anonymous (2009). The State of Forest Report. Forest Survey of India, Dehradun, India, 151–153pp.

Anonymous (2011). India State of Forest Report. Forest Survey of India, Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India, 225–229pp.

Champion, H.G. & S.K. Seth (1968). A Revised Survey of the Forest Types of India. Government of India Publication, New Delhi, 404pp.

Darlong, L. & D. Bhattacharyya (2012). Some lianas in Tripura, India, demand urgent conservation efforts. Current Science 102(9): 1246.

Deb, D.B. (1981). The Flora of Tripura State. Vol 1. Today and Tomorrow’s Printers and Publishers, New Delhi, xviii+509pp.

Deb, D.B. (1983). The Flora of Tripura State. Vol. 2. Today and Tomorrow’s Printers and Publishers, New Delhi, xi+601pp.

Deb, D.B. (1999). Tripura, pp. 1511–1525. In: Mudgal, V. & P.K. Hajra (eds.). Floristic Diversity and Conservation Strategies in India - Vol. 3. Botanical Survey of India, Calcutta.

Grubb, P.J. (1977). Control of forest growth and distribution on wet tropical mountains with special reference to mineral nutrition. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 8: 83–107.

Hooker, J.D. (1875). The Flora of British India - Vol. 1. L. Reeve & Co., London, viii+1-740pp.

Hooker, J.D. (1879). The Flora of British India - Vol. 2. L. Reeve & Co., London, 792pp.

Hooker, J.D. (1882). The Flora of British India - Vol. 3. L. Reeve & Co., London, 712pp.

Hooker, J.D. (1885). The Flora of British India - Vols. 4. L. Reeve & Co., London, 780pp.

Hooker, J.D. (1890). The Flora of British India - Vols. 5. L. Reeve & Co., London, 910pp.

Hooker, J.D. (1894). The Flora of British India - Vols. 6. L. Reeve & Co., London, 793pp.

Jain, S.K. & R.R. Rao (1977). A Handbook of Field and Herbarium Methods. Today & Tomorrow’s Printers and Publishers, New Delhi, xvi+157pp.

Singh, H.B. & B. Subramaniam (2008). Field Manual on Herbarium Techniques. National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources (NISCAIR), CSIR, New Delhi, 298pp.