Eastern Ghats Research Articles

Ranunculus nilgiricus, a Replacement Name for the Illegitimate R. reniformis (Ranunculaceae)

Ranunculus reniformis Wall. ex Wight & Arn. is a rare species endemic to southern India (Western and Eastern Ghats), which is characterized by long-petiolate basal leaves with crenately dentate lamina. This species name is an illegitimate later homonym of R. reniformis Gilib. A new name, R. nilgiricus Sennikov & Val. N. Tikhom., is proposed to replace the later homonym.

Plant Species Formulations Used in Treatment of Different Ailments in Some Villages of Paderu Mandal, Eastern Ghats of India, Andhra Pradesh

Present communication deals with the Ethnomedicinal practices for treating different ailments of mankind. The present study comprises a total of 44 no of ethno-medicinal formulae which provides information in detail on the therapeutic values of 29 plant species belonging to 27 genera and 21 families and covering 32 number of different ailments. Information on botanical details, method of preparation, administration of plant formulations, dosages and other details are presented herein. This data would aid as baseline information for investigators working on ethnobotany and ethnomedicine.

Diversity of nutritional compositions in selected coffee varieties from Koraput regions of Eastern Ghats

Diversity of nutritional compositions in selected coffee varieties from Koraput regions of Eastern Ghats

Haplotype analysis based on the D-loop region of mitochondria of the fish Wallago attu (Bloch and Schneider, 1801) collected from four major river basins of the Northern Part of the Eastern Ghats, India

Haplotype analysis based on the D-loop region of mitochondria of the fish Wallago attu (Bloch and Schneider, 1801) collected from four major river basins of the Northern Part of the Eastern Ghats, India

Assessment of landslide susceptibility in the Himalayan state of Tripura, India, using a Multi-Model Approach

Landslides are the down slope mass movement of soil, rocks, and debris due to a natural or human activities resulting in widespread hazard events in India. The most affected areas comprise 15 percent of its landmass which includes Tripura and eleven Himalayan states and parts of the Western and Eastern Ghats in India. In Tripura, landslides cause road blockage and destruction of settlements, bringing economic and life losses in every year. Thus, this research is focused on identifying landslide susceptible zones and the significant causative factors behind landslides. Assessment of Landslide Susceptibility (LS) identifies fifteen major causative factors under five broad groups; topographic, geotechnical, hydrological, environmental, and anthropogenic. With application of Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP), Frequency Ratio (FR), and Random Forest (RF)-based models were performed to extract landslide susceptible zonation map for Tripura. This study reveals that the successive hill ranges formed by young sedimentary lithologic formations associated with deforestation, heavy rainfall during monsoon, and anthropogenic activities (road constructions and jhumming) are the responsible geo-conditions for triggering landslides. In this study, while the AHP and FR model show only 1.95% and 11.46% confined along the hilltop of Jampui, Sakhan, and Longtarai, the RF model designated Tripura’s 30% land area as high and very high landslide susceptible zones (LSZ), predominantly over hills, foothills, and low laying undulating land (tillas). For the accuracy assessment, the ROC curve is used, which shows that RF model appears to be the maximum accurate (0.810) one, followed by FR (0.806) and AHP (0.744).

Harvesting Rainwater and Utilizing for Supplemental Irrigation to Enhance Crop Productivity under Rainfed Conditions: A Case Study of North Eastern Ghats Zone of Odisha

Rainwater harvesting-cum-supplemental irrigation is an important strategy to enhance crop water productivity under rainfed conditions. This study was conducted to assess efficacy of farm pond in harvesting rainwater and utilizing for irrigation to okra-radish cropping sequence during 2018-19 and 2019-20 at Phulbani, Odisha. In this study, runoff harvested from a catchment area of 0.5 ha and stored in farm pond was quantified. Also, seepage and evaporation losses from the farm pond were determined along with computation of area that could be irrigated from the stored water. Three irrigation treatments were considered, namely, T1 – life-saving irrigation to okra and one protective irrigation of 5 cm to radish, T2 –life-saving irrigation to okra and two protective irrigations of 5 cm each to radish, T3 – control without any protective irrigation. Rainwater harvesting potential of the study areavariedfrom8.3% to 8.9% of rainfall. Evaporation and seepage losses from the pond varied from30.6% to27.4% and from18.21% to 17.4% during 2018 and 2019, respectively. About 26.35% and 24.8% of the harvested rainwater was utilized for providing life saving irrigations to 0.4 ha cropped area during Kharif and Rabi seasons in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Treatment T2 consisting of one life saving irrigation to okra and two irrigations to radish resulted in the highest okra equivalent yield (OEY) of 10,156 kg ha-1 and 10,228 kg ha-1during 2018 and 2019, respectively. Crop water productivity was found to be the highest, i.e.,0.63 and 0.632 kg m-3 during 2018 and 2019, respectively for treatment T2. Therefore, pond water can be used for providing life-saving irrigation to the vegetable crops, which resulted in higher returns due to increased crop yields. It will also be possible for the farmers to go for the second crop in Rabi season.

Evidence of a Proterozoic suture along the southern part of Eastern Ghats Mobile Belt: Implications for the Nuna supercontinent

Evidence of a Proterozoic suture along the southern part of Eastern Ghats Mobile Belt: Implications for the Nuna supercontinent

Forest Cover Change Detection Over North Eastern Ghat Zone of Odisha, India Using Multi-Year Landsat Data

Forest Cover Change Detection Over North Eastern Ghat Zone of Odisha, India Using Multi-Year Landsat Data

Ultraslow cooling of an ultrahot orogen

To constrain the rate of cooling of lower-crustal rocks from an ultrahot orogen, we determined both the age and equilibration temperature of metamorphic zircon from six widely spaced samples of metasedimentary garnet−sillimanite gneiss from the Eastern Ghats Province in eastern India. For the combined data set of metamorphic zircon, concordant dates decrease continuously within 2σ uncertainty from around 950 Ma to 800 Ma, consistent with ∼150 m.y. of zircon crystallization. Ti-in-zircon temperatures for each dated spot during this period decrease with age, corresponding to linear cooling rates ranging from 0.26 to 0.90 °C/m.y. We propose that retention of heat-producing elements in the lower crust of the Eastern Ghats Province and a low net erosion rate were responsible for ∼150 m.y. of ultraslow cooling.

Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility and rock magnetism of high-grade rocks from Eastern Ghats Mobile Belt, India: Constraints to tectonics

Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility and rock magnetism of high-grade rocks from Eastern Ghats Mobile Belt, India: Constraints to tectonics

Mitigation and Prevention of Landslide Hazard of Himachal Pradesh in the Lesser Himalaya

Landslides are destructive geological processes that have globally caused deaths and destruction to property worth billion dollars. Landslide occurrences are widespread and prolific in India covering more than 15 per cent of the total area. These are mostly concentrated in the Himalayan belt, parts of Meghalaya Plateau, Nilgiri Hills, Western and Eastern Ghats. The slope failure in the hilly terrain is due to geological processes and events. The frequency and magnitude of slope failure also increased due to anthropogenic activities such as road construction, deforestation and urban expansion. Keeping all these problems in mind research focuses on the Lesser Himalaya of Himachal Himalaya as it falls under very high risk zone in case of landslides and comprise of three objectives. They are: a) to analyse the spatial pattern of landslides in the Lesser Himalaya, b) to assess the causes of landslides vulnerability in the study region and c) to suggests some preventive measures to mitigate landslides. In this work an attempt has been made to collect data on landslides incidences and damage from the secondary sources like Geological Survey of India, Building Material and Technology Promotion council from Ministry of Urban Affairs. The methodologies adopted for data analysis are simple tabulations, bar diagrams, statistical and mapping techniques to represent the Landslide vulnerability of the Lesser Himalaya. The analysis of the study reveals that there is increase in the number of landslides. The spatial pattern of landslide shows linear patterns, viz. along roads, rivers or lineaments/ faults. Besides, heavy rainfall, floods and earthquakes enhance the vulnerability condition. The landslides may be part and parcel of the Himalayan landscape, but they can be mitigated by some suitable measures. Few methods of landslide prevention in the study region have been suggested.

Suturing of the Archean Bastar craton with the Eastern Ghats Province to form the Greater Indian Landmass: Insights from geochemistry, U-Pb geochronology and phase equilibria modelling

The contact between the Archean Bastar craton (BC) and Proterozoic Eastern Ghats Province (EGP), central India, is marked by a suture zone termed Terrane Boundary Shear Zone (TBSZ). BC in this area is largely composed of hornblende-biotite granite with some mafic dykes. Rocks in the TBSZ include quartzofeldspathic (leptynite) gneiss, garnet-orthopyroxene-bearing granitoid, mafic granulites (Group A of cratonic affinity, and Group B of EGP affinity), Mg-Al granulite and an isolated exposure of orthopyroxene-bearing gneiss. Detailed geochemical analysis shows remarkable similarity between Hbl-Bt granite and Grt-Opx-bearing granitoid, with A-type affinity, and between mafic dykes and Group A mafic granulites. However, the Opx-bearing gneiss is geochemically distinct having I-type affinity, similar to TTG gneisses described from BC. Metamorphic phase equilibria analysis and trace element modelling shows that (i) melting of Opx-bearing gneiss would produce a ferroan granitic melt resembling the Hbl-Bt granite, (ii) metamorphism at appropriate P-T conditions would convert the granite to Grt-Opx-bearing granitoid and the mafic dyke to Group A mafic granulite. U-Pb geochronology of zircon constrains emplacement ages of the magmatic precursors of Opx-bearing gneiss and Grt-Opx-bearing granitoid as ca. 2.73 and ca. 2.5 Ga, respectively. These rocks were subjected to an early granulite facies metamorphism, followed by an amphibolite facies metamorphism, shearing and hydrous fluid flux. Geochronological data shows that the latter event took place at ca. 0.52 Ga, while the earlier granulite facies event can only be tentatively suggested to be of late Stenian/Tonian age. Collating all the evidence (including published geophysical and geochronological data), we suggest that the initial collision between BC and EGP took place during late Stenian/Tonian time as a consequence of formation of the Greater Indian Landmass, a part of Rodinia supercontinent. The TBSZ, probably initiated due to the late Stenian/Tonian collision, was reactivated and reworked tectonothermally at ca. 0.52 Ga, caused by far field stress effect of the Kuunga orogeny, which was strong enough to obliterate most of the imprints of the late Stenian/Tonian orogeny.

A survey on wild vegetable plants used in the Southern Eastern Ghats

A survey on wild vegetable plants used in the Southern Eastern Ghats

The Eastern Ghat of India: A review on plant ecological perspectives

The Eastern Ghats, a discontinuous range of mountains spanning Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka has a humid tropical monsoon climate with moderate to high temperatures and heavy rainfall. The Eastern Ghats offer a diverse range of flora and fauna, including endemics. The vegetation is classified into various forest types, including moist deciduous, dry deciduous, dry evergreen, evergreen, semi-evergreen, scrub jungles, and savannah. Eastern Ghat reflects the healthy carrying capacity of the ecosystem. The Eastern Ghats boasts a diverse plant community, with over 3200 flowering plant species, largely due to geographic factors, high seasonality, and elevational variations. The Eastern Ghats, a significant biodiversity granary in India, has been the subject of numerous taxonomic and quantitative surveys. The eastern coast of India's eastern forest (Eastern Ghats) is facing a decline in plant diversity due to overexploitation, habitat destruction, and rampant grazing. This has led to species loss and extinction. The forest cover has also decreased due to anthropogenic pressures. However, there is a lack of significant research on plant species population dynamics, soil surveys, soil chemistry, geomorphology, geobotany, pedology, edaphology, and phytochemistry. To address this, modern science and technology approaches, such as geomorphometry and geobotanical studies using Remote Sensing and GIS techniques, are the need of the hour.

Goat weed (Ageratum conyzoides L.): A biological threat to plant diversity in Eastern Ghats of India

Goat weed (Ageratum conyzoides L.): A biological threat to plant diversity in Eastern Ghats of India

Management of Ovarian Ectopic in a Tribal Valley of Sittilingi in the Midst of the Eastern Ghats

Management of Ovarian Ectopic in a Tribal Valley of Sittilingi in the Midst of the Eastern Ghats

New records of the primarily Sri Lankan Pseudophilautus regius (Manamendra-Arachchi & Pethiyagoda, 2005) (Amphibia; Rhacophoridae) from the Eastern Ghats of India, crossing the Palk Strait saltwater barrier in the Indian Ocean

Pseudophilautus regius is a bush frog originally described from the dry zones of Sri Lanka. In the present study, P. regius is being reported from the Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh, India as a new record for the country. The Indian population of P. regius being polytypic, identity confirmation was aided by genetic data. Earlier data for the genus Pseudophilautus indicated that three endemic species were known from the Western Ghats, India and 75 endemic species occurred in Sri Lanka. This report forms the first report of a bush frog exhibiting distribution in both India and Sri Lanka across the saltwater barrier of the Palk Strait in the Indian ocean. Discussions are made regarding other lineages which have distributions across both India and Sri Lanka.

Assessment of Production and Soil Conservation Potential of Aromatic Grasses Grown Under Shifting Cultivated Degraded Hill Slopes of Eastern Ghats, India

Assessment of Production and Soil Conservation Potential of Aromatic Grasses Grown Under Shifting Cultivated Degraded Hill Slopes of Eastern Ghats, India

Taxonomical notes on Miliusa indica (Annonaceae): A little known species from Peninsular India and Sri Lanka

Miliusa indica Lesch. ex A.DC. is a tree belonging to the family Annonaceae and it grows primarily in the wet tropical biome. It is commonly known as Wooly-fruit Miliusa and locally known as Nedunaarai (Tamil). Miliusa indica is a little known species to India and Sri Lanka. In India, it’s known from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and West Bengal and from Eastern and Western Ghats in evergreen and deciduous forests. The present study provides detailed taxonomy notes and photographic of the species.

The influence of leaf vein density on yield physiology of indica rice landraces from Eastern Ghats of India

The influence of leaf vein density on yield physiology of indica rice landraces from Eastern Ghats of India