Eastern Ghats In India Research Articles

Restoration of Degraded Soil in the Nanmangalam Reserve Forest with Native Tree Species: Effect of Indigenous Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria.

Restoration of a highly degraded forest, which had lost its natural capacity for regeneration, was attempted in the Nanmangalam Reserve Forest in Eastern Ghats of India. In field experiment, 12 native tree species were planted. The restoration included inoculation with a consortium of 5 native plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB), with the addition of small amounts of compost and a chemical fertilizer (NPK). The experimental fields were maintained for 1080 days. The growth and biomass varied depending on the plant species. All native plants responded well to the supplementation with the native PGPB. The plants such as Pongamia pinnata, Tamarindus indica, Gmelina arborea, Wrightia tinctoria, Syzygium cumini, Albizia lebbeck, Terminalia bellirica, and Azadirachta indica performed well in the native soil. This study demonstrated, by using native trees and PGPB, a possibility to restore the degraded forest.

Plant diversity and associated traditional ecological knowledge of Soliga tribal community of Biligiriranga Swamy Temple Tiger Reserve (BRTTR):A biogeographic bridge for Western and Eastern Ghats, India

The Biligiriranga Swamy Temple Tiger Reserve (BRTTR) is a chain of hills and important ecosystems, which forms the biogeographic ridge between two biodiversity rich areas namely the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats of India. The hills are being resided by the Soliga tribal community for the centuries and accorded with a status of Tiger reserve in December 2010 under Project Tiger administered by National Tiger Conservation Authority. The study was done on the traditional ecological knowledge of the people in healthcare system. A total of 108 plants belonging to 51 families have been identified, which the Soliga tribal community uses for curing various ailments. The local name, part used, disease cured and prescribed dosage are properly documented while developing detailed inventory on the plant biodiversity of the region. The ecological status of the plant species is also reported to understand their conservation status at global level. The ailments listed are categorized in major and minor ailments. The results indicate that 76% people still depend on traditional health care systems to cure minor ailments. However, 04% people depend on the traditional health care system to cure major diseases. And 33% people were found to be followed traditional and allopathic treatment for curing the major ailments like arthritis, asthma, diabetes, kidney stones, tuberculosis etc. Among the recorded species 09 are found under vulnerable category, followed by endangered (07), endemic (03), low risk-least concerned (02) and data deficient (01). Keeping change in policy scenario in view there would be possibility to relocate tribal community from some of the areas in core of BRTTR to other places. This shift coupled with various other factors for example restrictions on the collection of forest resources, change in socioeconomic setup, and acculturation which is taking place in the society, the ecological and indigenous knowledge of the region would face danger of vanishing. This study support India's initiatives of protecting TEK from patent issues where non-codified information was codified for the future use. And argues that the biodiversity conservation in protected areas requires regular monitoring of various species within the purview of human interactions on ecosystems for various needs.

Vascular plant diversity in the sacred grove of Modapalli in Viskhapatnam District of Andhra Pradesh, India

Sacred groves are tracts of virgin forest with rich biodiversity, as they have been protected for centuries by the local people for their cultural and religious beliefs and taboos. Sacred groves are representatives of climax vegetation and exhibit diversity of species such as trees, climbers and other shade loving herbs. In the present investigation, an attempt was made to study the diversity of a sacred grove of Modapalli, Visakhapatnam District, which comes under the Eastern Ghats of India. A total of 207 species, 181 genera and 78 families comprising pteridophytes, gymnosperms and angiosperms were reported in the sacred grove. In this study, only one endemic species, i.e., Ophiorrhiza chandrasekharanii and a few threatened species were recorded.

Predicting the current and future suitable habitat distribution of Myristica dactyloides Gaertn. using MaxEnt model in the Eastern Ghats, India

Global biodiversity has already been altered by the climatic changes in various means like species migration, changes in habitat distribution, seasonality changes in phenology etc. In order to implement sustainable conservation or adaptation strategy, it is necessary to understand the impacts of climate change on both ecosystem and species level. Here we present an assessment on current and future habitat suitability distribution of Myristica dactyloides Gaertn. (MD), a medicinally and ecologically important tree species by using a maximum entropy (MaxEnt) species distribution model. The future predictions were done for the year 2050 and 2070 using the bioclimatic variables having 1km spatial resolution from two different models of fifth phase of the coupled model intercomparison project (CMIP5). This study was carried out in the Kolli hill, Eastern Ghats of India. The AUC values confirmed the accuracy of model prediction based on 22 occurrence points. Environmental variables’ contributions were evaluated using jackknife test. The more influencing variables will be annual temperature, annual precipitation and precipitation of wettest month. Finally, this study found that there will be a significant reduction in the habitat suitability distribution of Myristica dactyloides in the year 2050 and 2070 in the study area. Hence with the performance of the model, this study found that MaxEnt could be an effective tool for species rehabilitation and biodiversity conservation planning in the light of climate change.

Ethnoveterinary medicine of the Shervaroy Hills of Eastern Ghats, India as alternative medicine for animals

The Eastern Ghats of India is well known for its wealth of natural vegetation and Shervaroy is a major hill range of the Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu. Ethnomedicinal studies in the Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu or the Shervaroy Hills have been carried out by various researchers. However, there is not much information available on ethnoveterinary medicine in the Eastern Ghats of India. The aim of this study was to examine the potential use of folk plants as alternative medicine for cattle to cure various diseases in the Shervaroy Hills of the Eastern Ghats. Based on interactions with traditional medicine practitioners, it has been observed that a total of 21 medicinal plants belonging to 16 families are used to cure various diseases such as mastitis, enteritis, arthritis, stomatitis, salivation from the mouth, wounding, and conjunctivitis in animals. It has been observed that the traditional knowledge of ethnoveterinary medicine is now confined only among the surviving older people and a few practitioners in the tribal communities of the Shervaroy Hills. Unfortunately, no serious attempts have been made to document and preserve this immense treasure of traditional knowledge.

Free radical-scavenging activities of Homalium species – An endangered medicinal plant of Eastern Ghats of India

Three species of the genus Homalium – e.g. Homalium nepalense, Homalium tomentosum and Homalium zeylanicum (Flacourtiaceae) – are recorded in India which are confined to the Eastern Ghat hill ranges. While H. zeylanicum is the IUCN red-listed medium-sized tree, the other two are endangered species of medicinal significance. The antioxidant potential of leaf and bark of the plants was evaluated through successive extraction methods by using hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol. The extracts were subjected to in vitro assays as DPPH, hydroxyl, nitric oxide and superoxide along with its biochemical estimation. Amongst all, the ethyl acetate extracts of bark is found to be most potent compared with that of the leaves. H. nepalense has the highest amount of total phenolic and flavonoid contents followed by H. tomentosum and H. zeylanicum, respectively, and significant antioxidant behaviour.

Carbon Stock Assessment in the Vegetation of the Chitteri Reserve Forest of the Eastern Ghats in India Based on Non-Destructive Method Using Tree Inventory Data

Carbon stock assessment in the vegetation of forest ecosystems has attracted worldwide attention following their role in the mitigation of greenhouse gas and climate change. The aim of the present study was to assess the total carbon stock of trees in the Chitteri reserve forest of the Eastern Ghats in India, based on tree inventory. The entire stretch of the forest covering 742 km2 area was divided into twenty grids of 6.25 km × 6.25 km, and from each grid a transect of size 5 m × 1000 m was established. A total of 5022 live trees (≥ 9.5 cm diameter at breast height) representing 143 species were inventoried from the twenty transects (totaling 10 ha). Carbon stock of each tree was determined by a non-destructive method following standard allometric equation using the tree diameter. The total carbon stock of the tree vegetation for the 10 ha sampled in the Chitteri reserve forest was 585.50 tonnes. The average carbon stock for the twenty 0.5 ha transect was 29.28±21.7 tonne. The minimum and maximum carbon stock estimated for the 20 transects was 1.98 t/0.5 ha and 76.89 t/0.5 ha, respectively. The average carbon stock sequestered by a single tree was 0.12±0.24 t/tree. The maximum carbon value was observed for Mangifera indica (1.73 t/tree) and the minimum was for Glycosmis pentaphylla (0.01 t/tree). However, overall contribution to the total carbon stock of tree vegetation in the Chitteri reserve forest was observed greater for Memecylon edule (8.5 %), followed by Canthium dicoccum var. dicoccum (7.4 %), Anogeissus latifolia (6.4 %), Albizia amara (4.9 %) and Mangifera indica (4.4 %). A significant strong positive relationship was observed between carbon stock with tree density (R2=0.689), but not with tree diversity (R2=0.422) and with altitude (R2=0.399) of forest location.

A long-lost relic from the Eastern Ghats: Morphology, distribution and habitat of <i>Sepsophis punctatus</i> Beddome, 1870 (Squamata: Scincidae)

Sepsophis punctatus Beddome 1870, the only species of a monotypic genus, was described based on a single specimen from the Eastern Ghats of India. We rediscovered the species based on specimens from Odisha and Andhra Pradesh state, India, after a gap of 137 years, including four specimens from close to the type locality. The holotype was studied in detail, and we present additional morphological characters of the species with details on natural history, habitat and diet. The morphological characters of the holotype along with two additional specimens collected by Beddome are compared with the specimens collected by us. We also briefly discuss the distribution of other members of the subfamily Scincinae and their evolutionary affinities.

Drosera burmannii: A carnivorous plant species from eastern Ghats of India

Observations of Drosera burmannii in eastern Ghats of India.

Study on the Impact and Adoption of Soil and Water Conservation Technologies in Eastern Ghats of India

Land degradation is a serious problem world-over and need immediate attention. The eastern Ghats of India spreading over 19.8 Mha have suffered severe erosion due to shifting cultivation, deforestation, over grazing and faulty land use. Site specific soil and water conservation measures were implemented in Kokriguda watershed, a representative of the eastern Ghats of India, for monitoring their impact on resource conservation, productivity and income of tribal farmers as well as their adoption by the tribal farmers. Cost effective soil and water conservation (SWC) measures viz., contour and stone bunds, trench-cum-bunds with vegetative barriers and hedge rows, sunken ponds, loose boulder check dams etc. were constructed at suitable locations. Bio-engineering measures were generally preferred. These land treatments resulted in reduction in soil loss and runoff by 82 and 51%, respectively, rise in water table by 0.32 m, and increase in crop yield by 15 to 38% within four-year period. Irrigated area increased from 2 to 35 ha due to water resources developed. Total income from vegetable cultivation using harnessed water for the whole village increased to Rs. 1.4 lakh.year-1. Farmers’ participation in soil and water conservation activities was appreciable, and their contribution to different activities varied from 5 to 10 per cent. However, education and support services to convince the farmers about the problem of soil degradation and training on soil conservation practices is essential for large scale adoption of soil and water conservation measures.

Soil Properties of a Tropical Savannah in the Eastern Ghats of India

As an outcome of globalization and liberalization of economic policies, exploration for and mining of minerals have become one of the recent lucrative trades in India. Due to stringent environment legislations, reclamation and reforestation of the mined out sites have become obligatory. Information on distribution of nutrients before and after mining provides valuable insights while developing and executing the strategy for reclamation and revegetation of the mined out sites. Successful mine reclamation plan chiefly requires information on the soil characteristics in the area during its natural state. With this aim, investigations into spatial and temporal variations in soil nutrients and other physico-chemical parameters among three proposed bauxite mine locations near Araku valley, India were conducted. Soil samples were collected every three months for two years. At each location, samples from three sites in triplicates from four successive layers (0 - 5 cm, 5 - 10 cm, 10 - 15 cm and 15 - 20 cm depth) were collected. Concentrations of Total Organic Carbon (TOC), Total Nitrogen (TN), Total Available Phosphorous (TAP), Total Available Sulphur (TAS), C:N, C:P, and C:S decreased along the soil layers, while N:P increased. All the parameters studied varied significantly among months (GLM-ANOVA, P 0.05). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) done on the soil physico-chemical dataset showed first 5 components (Eigen Value > 1) explaining 87.3% of the total variance. Of these, the first component accounted for 21.0% and the second for 20.1% of the total variance. The principal components represented C:N/Soil N, C:P/Soil P/N:P, EC, Soil S/C:S and Soil C axes, respectively.

U–Pb geochronology of basement rocks in central Tibet and paleogeographic implications

The ages and paleogeographic affinities of basement rocks of Tibetan terranes are poorly known. New U–Pb zircon geochronologic data from orthogneisses of the Amdo basement better resolve Neoproterozoic and Cambro-Ordovician magmatism in central Tibet. The Amdo basement is exposed within the Bangong suture zone between the Lhasa and Qiangtang terranes and is composed of granitic orthogneisses with subordinate paragneisses and metasedimentary rocks. The intermediate-felsic orthogneisses show a bimodal distribution of Neoproterozoic (920–820 Ma) and Cambro-Ordovician (540–460 Ma) crystallization ages. These and other sparse basement ages from Tibetan terranes suggest the plateau is underlain by juvenile crust that is Neoproterozoic or younger; its young age and weaker rheology relative to cratonic blocks bounding the plateau margins likely facilitated the propagation of Indo-Asian deformation far into Asia. The Neoproterozoic ages post-date Rodinia assembly and magmatism of similar ages is documented in the Qaidaim–Kunlun terrane, South China block, the Aravalli–Delhi craton in NW India, the Eastern Ghats of India, and the Prince Charles mountains in Antarctica. The Amdo Neoproterozoic plutons cannot be unambiguously related to one of these regions, but we propose that the Yangtze block of the South China block is the most likely association, with the Amdo basement representing a terrane that possibly rifted from the active Yangtze margin in the middle Neoproterozoic. Cambro-Ordovician granitoids are ubiquitous throughout Gondwana as a product of active margin tectonics following Gondwana assembly and indicate that the Lhasa–Qiangtang terranes were involved in these tectono-magmatic events. U–Pb detrital zircon analysis of two quartzites from the Amdo basement suggest that the protoliths were Carboniferous–Permian continental margin strata widely deposited across the Lhasa and Qiangtang terranes. The detrital zircon age spectra of the upper Paleozoic Tibetan sandstones and other rocks deposited in East Gondwana during the late Neoproterozoic and Paleozoic are all quite similar, making it difficult to use the age spectra for paleogeographic determinations. There is a suggestion in the data that the Qiangtang terrane may have been located further west along Gondwana’s northern boundary than the Lhasa terrane, but more refined spatial and temporal data are needed to verify this configuration.

MOLECULAR AND MORPHOLOGICAL STUDIES IN VANDA TESSELLATA, AN EPIPHYTIC ORCHID FROM THE EASTERN GHATS OF INDIA

Morphological and molecular analysis of genetic variability was investigated by using SDS-PAGE and RAPD markers in Vanda tessellata (Roxb.) Hook ex G.Don., an epiphytic orchid from eastern ghats of Andhra Pradesh, India. Plants collected from two geographical areas in Eastern Ghats show variation in their morphological and molecular characters. The stomata are paracytic type and hypostomatic in distribution. A low stomatal frequency and an extensive lignification on the inner walls of the innermost layer of velamen and on the outer walls of the exodermal cells were recorded in populations located in Nallamalai forests as compared to those of Srikakulam area in Andhra Pradesh. It is interpreted to be associated with the conservation of water. RAPD and protein profile data indicate the inter population diversity between these two sites. This can be attributed to the ecological and climatic conditions prevailing in these two reference sites of Eastern Ghats of India.

Geospatial modeling of biological richness in Kuldiha wildlife sanctuary of Orissa, India

The paper presents a geospatial modeling approach for the assessment of biological richness in Kuldiha wildlife sanctuary in Orissa located in the northern tip of the Eastern Ghats in India. Indian Remote Sensing satellite data of Resourcesat-1 LISS III and field sampling were used to model biological richness at 1:50,000 scale. It was found that the sanctuary is dominated by Sal mixed dry deciduous forest. The vegetation map prepared through visual interpretation of satellite imagery was subjected to landscape analysis and assessment of biotic disturbance using SPLAM software. The disturbance index together with species richness, ecosystem uniqueness, terrain complexity and total importance value was modeled to access the biological richness in the sanctuary. A total of 3.9 per cent area was found to posses very high plant richness followed by high (21.2%), medium (42.1%) and low (32.8%) in the sanctuary. The study demonstrated the geospatial technology in conjunction with landscape analysis, ground inventory and geospatial modeling seizes good potential for rapid assessment of biological richness. The fringe areas of the sanctuary having disturbance more because most of the small villages which are relocated from sanctuary, settled in those areas.

Phallus indusiatus Vent. & Pers. (Basidiomycetes) - a new generic record for Eastern Ghats of India

A mushroom fungus Phallus indusiatus Vent. & Pers. (commonly called Long Net Stinkhorn) belonging to the order Phallales in the fungal phylum Basidiomycotina was collected from a bamboo thicket near the foothills of the Kutrumali Hill range in Koraput District of Orissa, representing a new distributional record for the Eastern Ghats of India.

Chemical characterization and antimicrobial screening of flowers of Curcuma neilgherensis from Eastern Ghats of India

Chemical characterization and antimicrobial screening of flowers of Curcuma neilgherensis from Eastern Ghats of India

Landscape-level tree diversity assessment in tropical forests of southern Eastern Ghats, India

This large-scale, landscape-level study aims to assess tree species diversity, stem density and stand structure of six major tropical hill forests of southern Eastern Ghats, India, namely, Bodamalai (BM), Chitteri (CH), Kalrayan (KA), Kolli hills (KO), Pachaimalai (PM) and Shervarayan hills (SH). The Eastern Ghats of India is relatively under-studied compared with the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot. The entire stretch of southern Eastern Ghats was divided into smaller grids of 6.25 km × 6.25 km, totaling to 120 grids. Within each grid, a belt transect of 0.5 ha (5 m × 1000 m) area was laid and all trees ≥30 cm girth at breast height (gbh) were enumerated. A total of 272 tree species (≥30 cm gbh) that belonged to 181 genera and 62 families were recorded in the total 60 ha area inventoried. Diversity indices such as Shannon, Simpson and Fisher's alpha indices were 2.44, 0.03 and 42.1, respectively, for the whole 60 ha area. One way ANOVA revealed that the species richness varied significantly across the six sites ( F (5,823) = 4.854, p < 0.0002). Also, the contribution of tree species to total species richness classified by three plant types viz. evergreen, brevi-deciduous and deciduous species varied significantly across the sites (One way ANOVA: F (2,15) = 10.05, p < 0.002). Similarity indices such as Jaccard and Sørensen showed that sites CH and KA are more similar in terms of species composition. The total stand density and basal area for the total 60 ha area were 27,412 stems (457 stems ha −1) and 1012.12 m 2 (16.9 m 2 ha −1), respectively. The stand density and basal area for the six sites ranged from 290 (in site BM) to 527 stems ha −1 (in site KA) and from 5.6 (in site BM) to 24.4 m 2 ha −1 (in site KO), respectively. Stand density and basal area of tree species varied significantly across the six hill complexes ( F (5,823) = 4.85, p < 0.0002 and F (5,823) = 2.71, p < 0.02, respectively). A positive correlation was obtained between stand density and species richness in sites PM ( r s = 0.65, p < 0.05) and SH ( r s = 0.67, p < 0.05), but not in other sites. The predominant tree species in the tropical forests of southern Eastern Ghats include Albizia amara, Euphorbia antiquorum, Canthium dicoccum var. dicoccum, Memecylon edule, Chloroxylon swietenia and Nothopegia heyneana. Taxonomically, Euphorbiaceae constituted the most diverse family with 25 species. Whereas, by tree abundance the Mimosaceae with 4126 stems enumerated from the 60 ha area formed the dominant family. Bray–Curtis cluster analysis, based on tree species composition and abundance revealed that the low-diverse site BM formed a separate entity from other hill complexes. This large-scale tree diversity inventory provides a baseline data for a variety of investigations and is expected to be useful for effective forest management and biodiversity conservation of southern Eastern Ghats region.

Chemical composition and in vitro antimicrobial activity of essential oil of Rhynchosia heynei, an endemic medicinal plant from Eastern Ghats of India

Rhynchosia heynei Wt. & Arn. (Fabaceae) is an endemic medicinal plant found in the forests of Eastern Ghats of India. The essential oil obtained from the leaves by steam distillation was studied for antimicrobial activity and chemical characterization. The essential oil exhibited a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity on eight bacterial and three fungal strains. The essential oil was characterized chemically using gas chromatography with flame ionization detector. The majority of the components of the essential oil of R. heynei are oxygenated terpenes, such as, terpineol, camphene hydrate, germacrene-D, humulene, and linalool. etc.

Chemical composition andin vitroantimicrobial activity of essential oil ofRhynchosia heynei,an endemic medicinal plant from Eastern Ghats of India

Chemical composition and<i>in vitro</i>antimicrobial activity of essential oil of<i>Rhynchosia heynei,</i>an endemic medicinal plant from Eastern Ghats of India

SHRIMP U–Pb zircon geochronology of high-grade rocks and charnockites from the eastern Amery Ice Shelf and southwestern Prydz Bay, East Antarctica: Constraints on Late Mesoproterozoic to Cambrian tectonothermal events related to supercontinent assembly

The eastern Amery Ice Shelf (EAIS) and southwestern Prydz Bay are situated near the junction between the Late Neoproterozoic/Cambrian high-grade complex of the Prydz Belt and the Early Neoproterozoic Rayner Complex. The area contains an important geological section for understanding the tectonic evolution of East Antarctica. SHRIMP U–Pb analyses on zircons of felsic orthogneisses and mafic granulites from the area indicate that their protoliths were emplaced during four episodes of ca. 1380 Ma, ca. 1210–1170 Ma, ca. 1130–1120 Ma and ca. 1060–1020 Ma. Subsequently, these rocks experienced two episodes of high-grade metamorphism at > 970 Ma and ca. 930–900 Ma, and furthermore, most of them (except for some from the Munro Kerr Mountains and Reinbolt Hills) were subjected to high-grade metamorphic recrystallization at ca. 535 Ma. Two suites of charnockite, i.e. the Reinbolt and Jennings charnockites, intrude the Late Mesoproterozoic/Early Neoproterozoic and Late Neoproterozoic/Cambrian high-grade complexes at > 955 Ma and 500 Ma, respectively. These, together with associated granites of similar ages, reflect late- to post-orogenic magmatism occurring during the two major orogenic events. The similarity in age patterns suggests that the EAIS–Prydz Bay region may have suffered from the same high-grade tectonothermal evolution with the Rayner Complex and the Eastern Ghats of India. Three segments might constitute a previously unified Late Mesoproterozoic/Early Neoproterozoic orogen that resulted from the long-term magmatic accretion from ca. 1380 to 1020 Ma and eventual collision before ca. 900 Ma between India and the western portion of East Antarctica. The Prydz Belt may have developed on the eastern margin of the Indo-Antarctica continental block, and the Late Neoproterozoic/Cambrian suture assembling Indo-Antarctica and Australo-Antarctica continental blocks should be located southeastwards of the EAIS–Prydz Bay region.