G.R. Rao, G. Krishnakumar, M.D. Subash Chandran, … 2/rao_gr.pdf · Lake 2010: Wetlands,...

Lake 2010: Wetlands, Biodiversity and Climate Change

22nd-24th December 2010

LAST ABODES OF RELIC SPECIES IN UTTARA KANNADA-SACRED GROVES

AND THEIR SILENT EXTINCTION

G.R. Rao, G. Krishnakumar, M.D. Subash Chandran, T.V. Ramachandra

Energy and Wetlands Research Group, Centre for Ecological Sciences,

Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore-12

Abstract: Uttara Kannada once known for huge track of evergreen to semievergreen forests has been

mercilessly exploited since age of British raj and is still carried over until now. What we have been

left with is highly fragmented secondary forests in coastal and easily accessible lowland areas,

encountering some good forest patches only in hilly inaccessible areas. In midst of these human

modified landscapes are the rare paradises (Sacred groves or Kans) hosting even rarer endemic and

endangered species called ‘Relic’ species more or less absent outside these Kans. As seen from the

Important value Index (IVI), endangered, emergent trees such as Dipterocarpus indicus growing to

height of 40 m or more dominated many transects such as Karikan (117.61), Kathlekan (40.82),

Ambepal (21.70), and Attigodu (18.06). Many other relic species dominating the Kan or relic forests

include poeciloneuron indicum in Karni (71.96) and Yadanal (27.47), Vateria indica in Nilvase

(68.26), Syzygium travancoricum (33.51) in Kathlekan, and Myristica fatua in Kathlekan swamp

(15.18). Evergreen percentage was highest for relic localities with 90 and above while the non relic

forests had lower evergreen percentage. Endemic percentage was highest for all the relic transects

with highest being for Karikan sacred grove (75.53). Though many of the Non-relic transects such as

Talekere showed higher endemism than other relic-transects, these endemic species were mostly

commoner endemics such as Hopea ponga, Knema attenuate which were found throughout the

Western Ghats. Non-relic forests were less in all aspects of diversity, evergreenness and endemism

compared to Relic forests. Relic forests had a total of 47 endemic species compared to only 26

species in Non-relic transects. But the real factor of importance for sacred forests emerge in the

number of critically endangered, and rarer endemics (termed as ‘Relic species’) it harbor, and are the

last abodes of habitats for these species.

Introduction

The Western Ghats of the Indian peninsula constitute one of the 34 global biodiversity hotspots along

with Sri Lanka, on account of its exceptional levels of plant endemism and by serious levels of habitat



loss (Conservation International 2005)12,4,6. These chain of hills running for about 1600 km along

with the west coast (lat.80 and 210 N and long. 730 and 780 E) covers a total geographical area of

160,000 km2. These hills which harbor extensive tropical forests, also figures on the tropical

deforestation map of India. In midst of these highly fragmented forests and other man made

landscapes, sacred groves present an interesting example of forest conservation in the Western Ghats.

Hughes and Subhash Chandran (1998)5 define ‘sacred groves’ as segments of landscape containing

trees and other forms of life and geographical features, that are delimited and protected by human

societies believing that preserving such a patch of vegetation in a relatively undisturbed state is

necessary for expressing one’s relation to the divine or to nature. So these remain as isolated patches

of forests in the midst of agricultural landscapes. Sacred places have long and diverse histories in

human cultures and demonstrate ancient links between peoples and their environments. They are a

universal phenomenon not associated with any specific religion or world view, but they have a strong

religious context and are influenced by traditional local beliefs1. These groves harbor rich biodiversity

and play a significant role in the conservation of biodiversity. The biological resources make indirect

contributions to the welfare and stability of the local environment. Their plant wealth and

conservation potential were impressive enough to acknowledge them as ‘mini biosphere reserves’3.

However, the surveys are largely limited to enumeration of plants only, neglecting analytical studies

essential for understanding the present status of vegetation needed for evolving suitable strategies for

their conservation.

Objectives

To study the

• Floristic composition in sacred groves and other protected forests.

• Qualitative and Quantitative studies of tree vegetation structure in different Kan of Relic

forests compared to their surrounding forests.

• Threats on sacred groves and their conservation strategies.

Study area

A total of 10 Kan or Relic transects were selected and another 10 from surrounding forests (Non-

Relic(Kan)) were selected from Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka State and part of Shimoga

district (table 1 and 2). Uttara Kannada district lies between 740 9’ to 750 10’ east longitude and 130

55’ to 150 31’ north latitude and extends over an area of 10,327 sq km. It is one of the two coastal

districts of the state and stretches itself along the coastline of the Arabian sea. It extends to about 328



km north-south and about 160 km east-west. It is the richest forest districts of Karnataka, endowed

with a bountiful variety of fauna and flora.

Uttara Kannada and Shimoga district harbors following important type of forests.

1. Evergreen forests

2. Semievergreen forests

3. Moist deciduous forests

4. Dry deciduous forests

5. Scrub-Savannah and thorny forests

The evergreen forests are found in places where the rainfall is more than 225 cm and form a narrow

strip along the Western Ghats. These forests harbor more soft wooded trees. The soil types of these

evergreen forests are mostly lateritic, but along the river basin it is alluvial. The moist deciduous

forests are situated in the rainfall areas of 100 cm and more. These forests are rich in timber trees. In

areas where the rainfall is below 90 cm, the dry deciduous forests are found. The scrub and thorny

forests are found in places where the rainfall is below 60 cm.

Sl Relic or Sacred forests District 1 Ambepal-2 Uttara Kannada 2 Attigodu-2 Shimoga

3 Hessige-2 Shimoga 4 Karikan-lower slope Uttara Kannada 5 Karini Shimoga 6 Kathalekan-G8-swp with S.trav Uttara Kannada 7 Kathalekan-obove settlement Uttara Kannada 8 Niluvase Shimoga 9 Hadgeri-1 Uttara Kannada 10 Yadanal Shimoga

Table 1: Relic study localities

Study localities for Non-relic or Surrounding forests

Sl Surrounding forests District 1 Atvadi Shimoga 2 Belamakki Shimoga 3 Chikmathur Shimoga

4 Gundbala Uttara Kannada 5 Halki-2 Shimoga 6 Hongodu Shimoga 7 Joginmath-1-sidapur Uttara Kannada



8 Kagarasu-mugimane Shimoga 9 Salkodu-5 Shimoga

10 Talekere-Sidapur Uttara Kannada

Table 2: Non-Relic study localities

Materials and Method

For this study, transect with a total length of 180 m with 5 quadrats each consisting of alternate 20 x

20 m quadrats was used. In each quadrat all the trees at or above 10 cms DBH (>30 cms GBH) were

enumerated at 1.3 m height, identified, or samples collected (whenever possible) if field identification

was not possible and were pressed for herbaria for future identification. Other features like epiphytes,

climbers, parasites, any disturbances like lopping, logging etc., were also noted. Canopy cover was

noted and ground litter quantity was weighed. General information such as ground control points

using a Global Positioning System (GPS), name of the locality, range, human activities such as

lopping, logging, NTFP, fuel and litter collections, fire incidence, grazing etc. were noted down.

Results and Discussion

Floristic composition

A total of 108 tree species from 32 families were noted from relic transects and 101 species from 42

families were noted from Non-relic forests. Families with highest species number in relic forests were

Lauraceae with 10 species followed by Euphorbiaceae, and Ebenaceae, with 9 species each (figure 1

and 2).

Relic transects family species no.

2

3

3

3

34

45

6

66

77

99

10

Celastraceae

Annonaceae

Dipterocarpaceae

Flacourtiaceae

Sterculiaceae

Meliaceae

Sapotaceae

Myristicaceae

Clusiaceae

Moraceae

Rubiaceae

Anacardiaceae

Myrtaceae

Ebenaceae

Euphorbiaceae

Lauraceae

Figure 1: Family species richness in Relic transects



Non-relic transects family species no.

2

2

3

3

3

3

4

4

4

4

5

6

6

7

8

Apocynaceae

Bignoniaceae

Combretaceae

Meliaceae

Sapotaceae

Sterculiaceae

Clusiaceae

Flacourtiaceae

Myristicaceae

Rubiaceae

Moraceae

Ebenaceae

Lauraceae

Anacardiaceae

Euphorbiaceae

Figure 2: Family species richness in Non-Relic transects

Non-relic transects had family Euphorbiaceae with highest of 8 species followed by Anacardiaceae

(7) and Lauraceae and Ebenaceae with 6 species each. Families such as Dipterocarpaceae which are

sure indicators of primary forests were not present in Non-Kan transects due to the secondary nature

of the forests. Other important primary forest representing families such as Myristicaceae, and

Lauraceae showed very less species and individual diversity. Euphorbiaceae family with more of

deciduous undergrowth species were more represented in Non-Kan transects.

Species diversity

Only 3 localities Karini, Nilvase and Yadanal from relic transect had significantly more species

compared to other surrounding forest (figure 3). Others did not show much significance as deciduous

species contributed for the somewhat higher species diversity in Non-Kan forests.



0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Sp

ecie

s n

o.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Transects

Species diversityTot.spp (Relic)

Tot.spp (Non-Relic)

Figure 3: Species diversity in different Relic and Non relic transects

Forest canopy height

Canopy height was more in the relic forests compared to that of their surrounding forests. More

prominent were Diptero dominated forests such as Hadgeri (21.90) and Ambephal (19.62) etc., due to

large emergents like Dipterocarpus indicus and Syzygium gardnerii (figure 4). In Non-relic forests

such as Talekere the average height was as low as 10.6 indicating the secondary nature of the forest.

Canopy height

0

5

10

15

20

25

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Transects

He

igh

t

Aver.height(m) (Relic)

Aver.height(m) (Non-Relic)



Figure 4: Canopy height in different Relic and Non-relic transects

Tree species dominance based on Important value index (IVI)

As seen from the IVI, Dipterocarpus indicus an endangered, emergent trees growing to height of 40

m or more dominated many transects such as Karikan (117.61), Kathlekan (40.82), Ambepal (21.70),

and Attigodu (18.06). Other notable relic endemics dominating the Kan or Relic transects include

Poeciloneuron indicum in Karni (71.96) and Yadanal (27.47), Vateria indica in Nilvase (68.26),

Syzygium travancoricum (33.51) in Kathlekan, and Myristica fatua in Kathlekan-swp (15.18).

Other important trees with high IVI were Canarium strictum, Aglaia anamalayana, Hopea ponga,

Garcinia talbotii, Syzygium gardeneri, Knema attenuata, Pallaquium ellipticum, Myristica

dactyloides etc.

Non-relic transects had Olea dioca with higher IVI occurring in 6 out of 10 transects indicating the

secondary nature of the forests. Other trees with higher IVI include Knema attenuate, Holigarna

arnottiana, Hopea ponga, and Symplocos racemosa.

Basal area

Relic-transects had the highest basal area with 85.41 recorded for Karikan with huge Diptero trees,

followed by Vateria indica for Niluvase (47.47) (figure 5). Non-relic transects like Atvadi had higher

basal areas contributed by species such as Diospyros crumenata lacking rarer endemics and

endangered species which highly contributed to the relic transects.

Per hectare basal area

10.12

23.52

25.69

29.05

29.87

31.39

31.48

46.03

47.47

76.13

27.70

35.87

38.42

41.24

41.29

48.80

48.87

53.61

53.69

85.41

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Tra

ns

ec

ts

Per.hec basa.area(Non-Relic)

Per.hec basa.area(Relic)

Figure 5: Per hectare basal area in different transects



Evergreenness percentage

Evergreen percentage was highest for relic localities with 90 and above while the non relic forests had

4 transects below 90 having mixture of other deciduous species such as Terminalia sps,

Lagerstroemia microcarpa, Glochidion sps, etc., which shows the past opening up of forest canopy

(figure 6).

Evergreenness

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Transects

Everg

ren

ness p

erc

en

tag

e

%Evg (Relic)

%Evg (Non Relic)

Figure 6: Evergreeness percentage in Relic and Non-Relic transects

Shannon Diversity

Highest diversity was found in relic forests with Yadanal having 3.15 shannon value. Non-relic

forests also had higher Shannon diversity which were also contributed by other deciduous species.

Only in Talekere the Shannon value was low with 1.5 due to Hopea ponga dominance (figure 7).



Figure 7: Shannon diversity in Relic and Non-relic transects

Percentage Western Ghats

Endemic percentage was highest for all the relic transects with highest being for Karikan sacred grove

(75.53) (figure 8). Though many of the Non-Relic transects such as Talekere showed higher

endemism than other relic-transects, this higher endemism was mostly contributed by widely

distributed common endemics such as Hopea ponga, Knema attenuate found throughout the Western

Ghats. On the other hand the relic transects had endemic, rare or endangered species such as

Syzygium travancoricum, Vateria indica, Dipterocarpus indica, Pallaquium ellipticum, etc.,

contributing more to the endemic percentage (table 3).



0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80P

erc

en

tag

e e

nd

em

ism

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Transects

Percentage endemism%W Ghats (Relic)

%W Ghats (Non-Relic)

Figure 8: Percentage endemism in Relic and Non-relic transects

Locality dipind poeind palell myrfat gymcan semkat syztra vatind madbur Status Ambepal-2 + − − − − − − − − Relic attigodu-2 + − − − − − − − − Relic hadgeri-1 + − − − − − − − − Relic hessige-2 − − + − − − − − − Relic Karikan-lower slope + − − − − − − − − Relic karini − + + − − − − − − Relic Kathalekan-G4-obove settlement -slope + − + − − − − − − Relic Kathalekan-G8-swp with S.trav + − + + + + + − + Relic niluvase − − − − − − − + − Relic yadanal − + − − − − − − − Relic

atvadi − − − − − − − − − Non-Relic

belamakki − − − − − − − − − Non-Relic

chikmathur − − − − − − − − − Non-Relic

gundabala − − − − − − − − − Non-Relic

halki-2 − − − − − − − − − Non-Relic

hongodu − − − − − − − − − Non-



Relic

joginmath-1-sidapur − − − − − − − − − Non-Relic

Kagarasu-mugimane − − − − − − − − − Non-Relic

salkodu-5 − − − − − − − − − Non-Relic

Talekere-sidapur − − − − − − − − − Non-Relic

Table 3: Relic species present in different Kan and Non-Kan transects.

Discussion

Non-relic forests were less in all aspects of diversity, evergreenness and endemism compared to Relic

forests. Relic forests had a total of 47 endemic species compared to only 26 species in Non-relic

transects. But the real factor of importance for sacred forests emerge in the number of critically

endangered, and rarer endemics (termed as ‘Relic species’) it harbor, and are the last abodes of

habitats for these species. Most of the secondary evergreen forests lack these relic species and have

commoner endemics found throughout the Western Ghats. Uttara Kannada is the northern most

boundaries for most of these relic species, and they hardly occur further north. Also the rainfall and

the number of dry period months restrict most of the relic species moving further north. Most of these

primary relic forests have high water shed values harboring numerous perennial springs and streams,

compared to dry stream courses in Non-Relic forests. Hence these forests are critical for water shed

management and loss of these areas would be a death blow to the perenniality of the main river itself.

Most of these relic forests are now in state of stress due to various anthropogenic factors such as

logging, land encroachment for Areca and other crop cultivation, fire, small and large developmental

projects, etc. Many sacred groves are left with only single tree species, and one would hardly be

surprised such Diptero forest existed before (figure 9).



Figure 9: Lone Dipterocarpus indicus tree surrounded by secondary forest.

All the sacred groves surveyed had high vulnerability for extinction due to encroachment and other

land use changes (figure10, 11 and 12). Many areas have been burnt and many tree saplings are

covered with weeds such as Eupatorium, and other invasive weeds and climbers (figure 13, 14).



Figure 10: A virtual paradise (sacred grove in back ground) in no forest zone.

Figure 11: Sacred site in Kan



Figure 12: Myristica fatua tree burnt for Areca cultivation.



Figure 13: Last gasp of breath for Myristica fatua entangled and covered with climbers and

weeds.



Figure 14: Swamp forests water diverted to Areca gardens leaving swamps high and dry to die

silently.

Recommendations

• To clearly recognize and demarcate the importance of relic evergreen forests from Non-relic

evergreen forests.

• Maximum priority to be given to these relic forests as these harbor endangered and rare

endemics which once lost are lost for ever.

• To prohibit any kind of human disturbance including litter collection, pole and fuel wood

collection inside the groves.

• To declare Kans such as Karikan, Kathlekan etc., as heritage sites for their complete water

shed protection and restoration.

• To encourage and appeal resident peoples inside the relic forests for relocating outside these

forests by providing suitable compensations.



• Even small fragments of one or two relic trees present should be declared for protection as

they may be the last remaining populations of these areas.

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank Karnataka forest department and staff, Uttara Kannada and Shimoga division,

for all their assistance in carrying out the project. Thanks to, Dr. Divakar K Mesta, Mr. Sameer Ali,

Dr. Rajashree Ray, Mr. Vishnu D Mukri and Mr. Srikanth Naik for making this field work a

successful and memorable event. Finally we thank all those forest dwellers, and other peoples directly

or indirectly assisted in carrying out this project.

References

1. Anderson M. Danica., Jan Salick, Robert K. Moseley and Ou Xiaokun. 2005. Conserving the

sacred medicine mountains: a vegetation analysis of Tibetan sacred sites in Northwest

Yunnan. Biodiversity and conservation. 14:3065-3091.

2. Chandran M.D.S, D. K. Mesta, G. R. Rao, Sameer Ali, K.V. Gururaja and T.V.

Ramachandra. 2008. Discovery of Two Critically Endangered Tree Species and Issues

Related to Relic Forests of the Western Ghats.

3. Gadgil, M., & Vartak, V. D.1981. Studies on sacred groves along the Western Ghats from

Maharastra and Goa: Role of beliefs and folklore. In S. K. Jain (Ed.) Glimpses of Indian

ethnobotany (pp.271-278). New Delhi: Oxford and IBH.

4. Chandran, M.D.S., G.R.Rao, K.V.Gururaja, & T.V.Ramachandra. 2010. Ecology of the

Swampy Relic Forests of Kathlekan from Central Western Ghats, India. Bioremediation,

Biodiversity and Bioavailability. Global Science Books.

5. Hughes, J.D., & Chandran, M.D.S. 1998. Sacred groves around the Earth: An overview. In

P.S.Ramakrishnan, K.G.Saxena & U.M. Chandrashekara (Eds.) 1998. Conserving the

Sacred: For Biodiversity management (pp.101-121). New Hampshire: Science Publishers.

6. Krishnakumar, G. & H. S. Shenoy. 2006. SYZYGIUM TRAVANCORICUM GAMBLE

(MYRTACEAE) – A NEW RECORD TO KARNATAKA. J. Econ. Taxon. Bot. Vol. 30 No.

4: 900-902.

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