Of the total 325 globally threatened species in the western ghats, 129 are classified as vulnerable, 145 as endangered and 51 as critically endangered. The western ghats of kerala region is thickly populated and famous for exotic food crops, spices, herbs and medicinal plants. Many are endemic species, especially in the avian, amphibian and reptilian classes. Mar 31, 2018 the western ghats are located in the western part of peninsular india. 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. Larval host plants of the buterfies of the western ghats, india. The western ghats extend from the tapti river to cape comorin. Flowering plants of the western ghats efloraofindia. Though covering an area of 180,000 square kilometres, or just under 6% of the land area of india, the western ghats contain more than 30% of all plant, fish, herpetofauna, bird, and mammal species found in india. The western side of the western ghats is on the threshold of southwest monsoon and receives a rainfall of 203254 cm, and the eastern side lies in the rainshadow area of the peninsula. They lie at a distance of about 50 to 80 om the coast. The temporal and geological dimensions of the western ghats make it a significant study world over. The wet evergreen forests at high, medium and low elevations in the western ghats house a. Out of the 15,000 flowering plant species found in the country, 4,500 species are located on the western ghats shetty, 1994.
Future of endemic flora of biodiversity hotspots in india plos. It has four major forest types and 23 floristic types as well as the unique high altitude grasslands. Flora of the western ghats a major mountain range in western south india. What makes the western ghats a hotspot of biological. 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. Pdf the western ghats is a mega biodiversity region, with varied flora. State of biodiversity in maharashtra western ghats. These regions have moist deciduous forest and rain forest.
Endemic and threatened flowering plants of western ghats with special reference to konkan. The western ghats are the mountain groups running parallel to the western coast of the indian peninsula. Phylogeography of a rare and endemic tree of western ghats. Important rivers include the godavari, tungabhadra, krishna, thamiraparani and kaveri. About,000 local names in six indian languages are present in the work. Endemic and threatened flowering plants of western ghats with. Gujarat, maharashtra, goa, karnataka, tamil nadu, kerala and two union territories viz. Although most of the peninsular rivers drain into the bay of bengal, their origin point is the western ghats. Ghats two mountain systems in india running parallel to the coast on both sides of the deccan plateau. 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. Towards the eastern side the ghats merge with the deccan plateau which. Forest trees of the western ghats authored by neginhal s. Revival of traditional forest conservation practice from the northern western ghats of india. The flora of khandala on the western ghats of india are therefore of greatest.
It is a unesco world heritage site and is one of the eight. The ghats is well known for its biodiversity, where we can find a variety of flora and fauna. Welcome to worlds first website on flora of western ghats. 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. Indias western ghats is one of 25 biodiversity hot spots in the world and is home to the kudremukh national park, an area characterized by rich evergreen forest and significant populations of endangered species, including the liontailed macaque and tiger. Like other biodiversity hotspots, the western ghats has a high proportion of endemic species. The western ghats is the home for about 50 million people belonging to the six states of the country.
Nov 04, 2016 the book titled flora of the southern western ghats and palnis. The values for the western ghats were higher as compared to other island floras puerto rico 18%, taiwan 7. What is the location of the western ghats in india. Southern western ghats is one of the two mega endemic centres in western ghats 7 kerala form a major species rich part of southern western ghats harbouring a total of 4679 flowering plants out of which 1637 are endemics and 483 are listed as threatened and. Natural resource management in indias western ghats. Timber plantations, expanding agriculture and the spread of invasive species have eaten into as much as twothirds of natural grasslands in the palani hill. The globally threatened flora and fauna in the western ghats are represented by 229 plant.
Why india must protect the western ghats from getting lost. Since they are continuous without any major breaks, hence it is very difficult to pass through them. The main types of soils met with in the western ghats are red soils, laterites, black soils and humid soils. It is the source of water for the entire peninsular india, and also influences the monsoons. Flora of western ghats, india welcome to worlds first website on flora of western ghats. About 23,000 names systematically and nomenclaturally converging to over 7,400 species. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. Tourism in forest areas of western ghatsjanuary 2011. This book contains description of all forest trees in peninsular india and most of srilanka too. This book is a valuable field guide for identifying forest trees in the western and eastern ghats, deccan plateau and mangroves in. The western ghats is a mega biodiversity region, with varied flora, fauna and landscapes. The western ghats are a chain of hills that run along the western edge of peninsular india. 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 indian ocean.
This unique ecosystem has been threatened by continuously. The western ghats wg, also known by the name sahyadri, constitute a 1600km long, about 4565 million years old, mountain chain along the west coast of india, originating from south of tapti river near the border of gujarat and maharashtra, and extending up to kanyakumari, at the southernmost tip of the indian peninsula. Missing the grass for the trees in western ghats the hindu. Keeping in view, the threats ope rating in this region and a lso the importance attached to the. The western ghats, known in india as the sahyadri hills, are a 160,000 sq. Serial nomination of the western ghats of india unesco world. Western ghats, indoburma, based on a1b scenario for year 2050 and. Eastern ghats are highly significant in terms of its biodiversity. The western ghats are a major physiographic region of india. Yet knowing this, little efforts have been made to study one of the few remaining tropioal forest ecosystems in the world. Nov 01, 2015 the western ghats form one of the four watersheds of india, feeding the perennial rivers of india. Among the 25 hot spots of the world, two are found in india extending into neighboring countries the western ghatssri lanka and the indoburma region covering the eastern himalayas. The wg also contain more than 30 percent of indias plant, fish, bird and mammal species.
Western ghats through goa is blessed with such a rich flora. Western ghats is a magnificent mountain range next only to himalayas and is a biological treasure trove with a high degree of endemism 11% to 78% and scenic beauty. The western ghats, also known as sahyadri benevolent mountains, are a mountain range. The worlds most biodiversity hotspot is home to 508 species of bird,which are also found in the nilgiri biosphere reserve. Pdf on apr 1, 2012, sahyadri envis environmental information. It contains a large proportion of the countrys flora and fauna, many of which are only found in. Western ghats are also known as sahyadri in certain parts of india they run parallel to the western coast of india. Endemism and sexual systems in the evergreen tree flora of. The dry deciduous forests are found in areas having rainfall between 100 cm and 70 cm. Endemic flowering plants of northern western ghats sahyadri ranges of india. Vegetation and phytogeography of the western ghats.
The western ghats ecology expert panel report and subsequent heritage tag. The western ghats form one of the four watersheds of india, feeding the perennial rivers of india. The western ghats again find a place in the news after the announcement of the unesco world heritage site. Location is to be accurately selected in map, this will help others to know where the birds are located. General introduction biodiversity of western ghats india is recognized as one of the worlds 12 megabiodiversity nations. 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. Pdf floristic diversity in western ghats researchgate. It grows in permanent water bodies,small ponds and shallow areas of lakes and rivers, upto altitudes of 400m. Quaternary dynamics of a western ghats endemic tree. Natural resource management in indias western ghats clark labs. Wikimedia commons has media related to flora of the western ghats. It has rich and unique assemblage of flora and fauna mi ttermeier et al. Western ghats the pride of india flora biotech articles. The british colonists spread over most of the western ghats in the late seventeen hundreds and early eighteen hundreds.
The western ghats is one amongst the 25 biodiversity hotspots in the world. Flora of the western ghats a major mountain range in western south india subcategories. Vegetation and phytogeography of the western ghats springerlink. Traditional conservation practices such as sacred forests are an. The flora of karnataka is one of the richest in the country and belongs to diverse vegetation types and formations ranging from coastal land plants to montane flora of the western ghats, from fourstoried tropical evergreen monsoon forests to semiarid thorn forests and scrub. The flora of western ghats comprises about 12,000 species ranging from unicellular cyanobacteria to angiosperms rao et al, 2005. All birds seen in maharashtra, gujarat, goa, karnataka, tamilnadu and kerala states are eligible for this mission.
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. Another unique feature of the endemic flora of western ghats is the. Forest conservation in the northern western ghats, india. 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. The dry scrub vegetation occurs at the foothills, particularly along the eastern side of western ghats and these forests merge with the forests of deccaan region. The nilgiri plateau to the north and anamalais to the south of the palghat gap exceed 2000 m in many places. The entire western ghats biogeographic region is a major genetic estate with an enormous biodiversity of ancient lineage. Western ghats are home to 30% of flora and fauna species found in india. What makes the western ghats a hotspot of biological diversity. This category has the following 4 subcategories, out of 4 total. Copyright 2016 diversity of agaric mycota of western ghats. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license.
Much of the exotic flora, especially those of temperate origin, came in after this. The nilgiris were colonised only in 18 almost 2000 years after the todas did. Extensive field and literature survey of trees in eastern ghats yielded 560 tree taxa under 262 genera belonging to 80 families out of the estimated 2500 species of flowering plants in eastern ghats. State of biodiversity in maharashtra erach bharucha director bharati vidyapeeth institute of environment education and research, pune email. Distribution western ghats endemism endemic to western ghats ecology grows at the hedges of subtropical hill forests ceropegia oculata is the least concern, the cause of decline is probably due to forest cleaning and consumption of tubers by native flower colour white with dark. A checklist of endemic flowering plant species of the northern western ghats sahyadri ranges of india is provided along with their iucn threatened category. Pdf endemic flowering plants of northern western ghats. 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. The eastern ghats extend from the mahanadi river to the nilgiri hills. The western ghats is a mega biodiversity region, with varied flora. Their positioning makes the western ghats biologically rich and biogeographically unique a veritable treasure house of biodiversity. The western ghats have an average height of 900 m, with several cliffs rising over m.
Tree flora in eastern ghats of southern peninsular india. 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. Senthilarasu g, kumaresan v 2016 diversity of agaric mycota of western ghats of karnataka, india. It also provides solid substrate and shade for its cohabitants. The distribution and magnitude of the biodiversity that exists today is a product of over 3. The ecological niches in western ghats resemble islands so far as the distribution of endemic species is concerned nayar, 1996. This page was last edited on 25 february 2019, at 15.
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. Introduction the wet evergreen forests of the western ghats of india are one of the global biodiversity hotspots, being rich in biodiversity and endemic species myers et al. Bamboos, sal, shisham, sandalwood, khair, kusum, arjun, mulberry are other commercially important species. In the past, a few paleopalynological studies have recreated a preliminary vegetation and cli. Though the western ghats have shrunk by 25% over the past two decades, the environment. States and union territories under western ghats western ghats are spread in six states viz. They are more or less parallel to the western coast of india. The western ghats, also known as the sahyadri hills, are well known for their rich and unique assemblage of flora and fauna. Watershed mapping and land cover classification in indias western ghats. The western ghats are home to thousands of animal species including at least 325 globally threatened species. State of biodiversity in maharashtra western ghatsapn project. 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.
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. The regi on is a st ore house of wil d relatives of cereals and millets. Western ghats is a major genetic estate of wild relatives of crop plants with an enormous biodiversity of ancient lineage. Western ghats flora and fauna public group facebook. The western ghats is a region of high biological diversity which is complimented by diverse local cultures and traditions. The entire western ghats harbours different vegetation types like the moist deciduous forests, montane grasslands, sholas, and more importantly the precious tropical evergreen and semievergreen forests. Tourism in forest areas of western ghatsjanuary 2011equations. The book titled flora of the southern western ghats and palnis. The western ghats 40 the western ghats the western ghats also known as the sahayadaris, is one of the worlds ten hottest biodiversity hotspots. Pdf flowering plants of the western ghats, india sibi.
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