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Cartography of Vegetation and Conservation plans
B.R. Ramesh & G. Muthu SankarFrench Institute of Pondicherry
Vegetation map of the Peninsular India
Scale: 1 million
12 sheets published during 1959 -1973
In collaboration with ICAR
Our illustrious predecessors:
GausenLegrisMeher-HomjiBlascoTroysViratFontanelGuptaPascal ....
Forest Map of South India
(Pascal et al. 1982, 1984, 1992, Ramesh et al. 1997, 2002)
80,000 km2 forest area150 vegetation classes
Scale 1:250 000
Heterogeneity in vegetation:
Variability in bioclimate, soil and topography
Anthropogenic activities of different intensity
Characterization and classification of vegetation:
Based on dynamics and succession along the natural gradient and the disturbance regime
Vegetation classes
Climatic Climax
a climax is the mature, stable and optimal state of a phytocoenosis, representing the final outcome of a progressive series of successive stages of vegetation. Under a given climate, all the successions converge towards a unique climax, which is the “climatic climax” (Clements,1936)
What is an ecosystem?
Odum, 1953
Systems of biotic communities interacting with their physical environment
Ecosystem / biodiversity regulators
Human intervention (threats)Logging, grazing,Land conversion, burning,NWFP, exotics…
Effects
ResponsesStructureProcesses / Function
DistributionReproductionDispersalMigrationRegenerationTrophic dynamicsBiogeochemical process
Biodiversity / Ecosystem
Landscape levelVegetation typeFragmentationArea changeNeighborhood….
Habitat levelHabitat diversityInterior to exteriorDegradation….
Species levelSpecies diversityPopulation structureSpecies shiftExtirpation / extinction
Genetic level
Natural ProcessClimate, Soil, Topography…
Components of ecosystem assessment
Western Ghats
Great escarpment running parallel to West Coast of India - 1600 km
Best non-equatorial forests: from WetEvergreen to Dry Evergreen forestsMoist to Dry Deciduous forests andGrasslands
High rate of Endemism (45% of4000 plant species; 29% of 1153vertebrates)
High human population density (341Per km²)
One of the Biodiversity Hotspots of the World
Latitude (°N)910111213141516 8
N
Nilgiris
PalnisAnamalai
Babudangiri
LONGITUDE profile2700 m
600 m
S
LATITUDINAL profile (Latitude 12°20’N)
W0 50 100 150 km
1400 m800 m
E
Latitude (°N)910111213141516 8
N
Nilgiris
PalnisAnamalai
Babudangiri
1400 m
600 m
S
_
°C
+
Temperature decreases with altitude(Source: Pascal 1984)
Medium- (600-1400 m) and low- (< 600 m)elevation forests (tall forests)
High-elevation (> 1400 m)mountain forests (Sholas)
and grasslands
1st JUNE
15th JUNE
1st JULY
10th JUNE
5th JUNE
15th SEPTEMBER
1st SEPTEMBER
1st OCTOBER
15th OCTOBER
W0 50 100 150 km
E
MONSOONWINDS
Rainfall decreases from west to east(Source: Pascal 1982)
Precipitation
5000 mm/an
2000 mm/an
500 mm/an
W0 50 100 150 km
E
MONSOONWINDS
Rainfall(mm/an)
2000-50001500-20001200-1500
> 5000
900-1200600-900< 600
Rainfall decreases from west to east(Source: Pascal 1982, 1984)
Precipitation
5000 mm/an
2000 mm/an
500 mm/anWet evergreen forest
Deciduous
Dry deciduous forestMoist deciduous forest
MONSOON
ONSET
Dry season increases from south to north(Source: Pascal 1982)
MONSOONWITHDRAW
Latitude (°N)910111213141516 8
N
Nilgiris
PalnisAnamalai
Babudangiri
600 m
S
2700 m
Dry season increases from south to north(Source: Pascal 1982)
1-2
3-4
5-6
7-8
9-10Latitude (°N)
910111213141516 8
N
Nilgiris
PalnisAnamalai
Babudangiri
1-2 mo
7-8 mo
S
Number of dry months/yr
Number ofdry months/yr
Potential areas of 22 forest types(Source: Pascal 1984, 1988)
Latitude (°N)910111213141516 8
N
Nilgiris
PalnisAnamalai
Babudangiri
2700 m
600 m
S
D e c i d u o u s
f o r e s t s
Forest types
Rainfall(mm)
Temp ( t:C) DS(months)
DKSDDSDKHDHPDDDPDHDP* DDP*
2000-50002000-50002000-60005000-80003500-70002000-6000
>20001500-1800
>23>20>20>20>20>23
20-2323-24.5
2-32-34 -55-5.55-66-75-66-7
Wet egMediumElevation
(750-1400m)
CMPGCMPMPPPHMSA
2000-50002000-50002000-50005000-70005000-6500
16-2316-2317-2218-20
17-22.5
2-32-44-54-55-7
Wet egHigh
Elevation(>1400m)
BGLLSMSMG
3000-5000900-6000
>2000
13.5-16<13.5
13.5-17
2-30-43-6
Dryevergreen
DMMKDMMDMO
1200-15001200-15001200-1500
>23>23
16-23
4-54-64-6
Wet eg
Low
Elevation
(<800m)
Evergreen forest types (19)
+ cutting of trees
degradation
exploitation
Deciduous climax forest Evergreen climax forest
Scrub woodland
Thickets
Discontinuous thickets
Savanna woodland
Tree savanna
Shrub savanna
Dense evergreen or semi-evergreen forest, potentially linked to climax type
Evergreen or semi-evergreenforest with disturbed structureand without characteristic species of the climax forest
Secondary deciduous forest
Dense evergreen forestwith a structure close to the climax forest but with different floristiccomposition
Secondary semi-evergreen forest
heavy anthrpogenic pressure + soil degradation
exploitation Fire
Exploitation + grazing
furtherdegradation
heavybiotic pressure
moderate exploitation
heavy exploitation
over exploitation protection
protection
protection
Stages of successions derived from climax forest
Vegetation criteria
Phenology (relative percentage of evergreen and deciduous species)
•Evergreen forests: pure patches of evergreen species;
•Deciduous forests: majority of species shed their leaves during the dry season;
•Semi-evergreen forests: mixture of deciduous and evergreen species in various proportions.
Floristic types:
Floristic types are determined by-
• species abundance
• Species with bioclimatic indicator value
• both
Dipterocarpus indicus(<800 m elevation)
Cullenia exarillata(700 to 1400 m elevation)
Physiognomy:
Dense forests: >70% tree cover
Disturbed forest: 50 – 70% tree cover
Woodland: 50 – 70% tree cover and paucity in under storey trees
Savanna woodland: woodland with carpet of tall grasses
Tree savanna: scattered trees with tall grasses
Scrub woodland: thorny bushes with scattered trees
Thickets: continuous or discontinuous bushes without trees
…………….
Forest map of south IndiaSources: Pascal et al. 1982a,b, 1984, 1992, Ramesh et al. 1997, 2002)
Scale 1:250 000
Vegetation classes: classified along bioclimatic gradients and disturbance regimes
150 vegetation classes
Vegetation classes defined by:•Phenolony (evergreen / deciduous)•Physiognomy (dense, disturbed, woodland thickets, savannas)•Floristic composition (typology based on species)
Broad vegetation groups based on dynamic relationship
Climax formations in equilibrium with the prevailing condition of environment when biotic interference is minimum;
Formations potentially linked to the climax after moderate exploitation, however, may return to climax if they are protected;
Highly degraded formations with different physiognomy due to repeated logging and other biotic pressures like grazing and fire. These formations may no longer return to a climax under natural condition.
Latitude (°N)910111213141516 8
N
Nilgiris
PalnisAnamalai
Babudangiri
1400 m
600 m
S
_
°C
+
Temperature decreases with altitude(Source: Pascal 1984)
Medium- (600-1400 m) and low- (< 600 m)elevation forests (tall forests)
High-elevation (> 1400 m)mountain forests (Sholas)
and grasslands
Tea plantations
T T T
CC
Coffee plantations Hevea, Teak and Eucalyptusplantations
HTE
… … GEOGRAPHICAL GEOGRAPHICAL DATABASEDATABASE
Coastal limits
Hydrology
Physiognomic types
Floristic types
Plantations
Vegetation
Road and rail network
Habitation
Administrative boundaries
Gap Analysis, Southern Western Ghats, India
Current status of Forests in Kerala State:• 24 % (9473 km²) of total geographical area• Nearly 1000 km² loss between 1961 and 1988
(Prasad, 1998)
Primary forest types (4669 km2 – 49%)
1540
1922
374
149
194
216275 Low elevation evergreen
climax forest
Medium elevationevergreen climax forest
High elevation evergreenclimax forest
Montane evergreenforest
High elevation grassland
Primary moist decidousforest (PMD)
Primary dry deciduousforest (PDD)
(16.31%)
(20.37%)
(3.97%)
(1.57%)
(2.05%)
(2.29%)
(2.92%)
Percentage out of 9437 Km2
Disturbed / secondary / degraded
forests (4768 km² - 51%)
452
2442
1626
55
193
Secondary / disturbedevergreen forest of low,medium and high elevations
Secondary moist deciduousforest
Degraded formations oflow, medium, high elevations
Degraded formations of PMD
Degraded formations of PDD
Gap Analysis, Southern Western Ghats, India
Current status of Forests in Kerala State:• 24 % (9437 km²) of total geographical area• Nearly 1000 km² loss between 1961 and 1988
(Prasad, 1998)
Loss of forest areas in Western Ghatsof Karnataka between 1977 and 1997
(Source: Ramesh & Swaminath 1999)
Total
- 11.9%
InsideReserveForests
- 4.4%
OutsideReserveForests
- 19.0%
Kodagu loss
Proliferation of coffee plantations in Kodagu district (Source: Ramesh & Swaminath 1999)
Evergreen forests
Deciduous forestsCoffee plantations
Teak and Eucalyptus plantations
1977 1997
20 km
• PAs are the repositories of biological richness
• Kerala has high biological richness vis à vis demographic and socio-economic complexities
• whether the existing PA network is enough to protect at least the priority areas?
Priority areas derived from Biodiversity indicator values projected on vegetation classes:
• Species Richness• Endemism• Rare, Endangered and Threatened (RET)
species• Unique ecosystem
Gap analysis:Integration of spatial data of above
indicators and protected areas
Rationalization of protected area network
Gap Analysis, Southern Western Ghats, India
• Species Richness (745 tree species)• Endemic (166 tree species)• Endemic fauna (8 mammals, 16 bird species)• Density of RET mammals
(elephant, gaur, sloth bear, mouse deer, bonnet macaque and wild dog)
• Unique ecosystems (2 species based & 4 habitat based)
Gap Analysis, Southern Western Ghats, India
• Species Richness (745 tree species)• Endemic (166 tree species)• Endemic fauna (8 mammals, 16 bird species)• Density of RET mammals
(elephant, gaur, sloth bear, mouse deer, bonnet macaque and wild dog)
• Unique ecosystems (2 species based & 4 habitat based)
Gap Analysis, Southern Western Ghats, India
• Species Richness (745 tree species)• Endemic (166 tree species)• Endemic fauna (8 mammals, 16 bird species)• Density of RET mammals
(elephant, gaur, sloth bear, mouse deer, bonnet macaque and wild dog)
• Unique ecosystems (2 species based & 4 habitat based)
Gap Analysis, Southern Western Ghats, India
• Species Richness (745 tree species)• Endemic (166 tree species)• Endemic fauna (8 mammals, 16 bird species)• Density of RET mammals
(elephant, gaur, sloth bear, mouse deer, bonnet macaque and wild dog)
• Unique ecosystems (2 species based & 4 habitat based)
Gap Analysis, Southern Western Ghats, India
• Species Richness (745 tree species)• Endemic (166 tree species)• Endemic fauna (8 mammals, 16 bird species)• Density of RET mammals
(elephant, gaur, sloth bear, mouse deer, bonnet macaque and wild dog)
• Unique ecosystems (2 species based & 4 habitat based)
Gap Analysis, Southern Western Ghats, India
• Species Richness (745 tree species)• Endemic (166 tree species)• Endemic fauna (8 mammals, 16 bird species)• Density of RET mammals
(elephant, gaur, sloth bear, mouse deer, bonnet macaque and wild dog)
• Unique ecosystems (2 species based & 4 habitat based)
Gap Analysis, Southern Western Ghats, India
9794Total
515009High (high + high medium)
302908Medium
191877Low(low + low medium)
%Area (km2)Conservation value
Conservation value areas
Gaps in conservation
3889
(78%)
1119
(22%)
High
2303605Medium
1520357Low
Non PA(km2)
PA(km2)
Conservation value
Principles for creating Protected Area Network
The selection and design of PAs should be based on three basic principles:
•Representativity (all ecosystems, HCV, unique habitats, cultural value…)
•Ecological integrity (viable areas where all ecosystem components and their interactions are represented and functioning)
•Contiguity (PAs that are isolated from each other are prone to species loss; smaller the PA and more isolated it is, then the greater the risk; contiguity among PA network must be maintained to facilitate gene flow and migration of animals)