C ti S i f Conservation Services of Sacred GrovesSacred Groves

Debal DebDebal Deb

Centre for Interdisciplinary StudiesCentre for Interdisciplinary Studies

Barrackpore

www.cintdis.orgg

Ancient Sacred Groves: Last Bastions of Biodiversity

20/12/10

Destruction of Sacred Groves: Wood Theft &

State Forestry Operationy p

Once Upon A Time... There was A Grove in This Sacred Site!

Gaps in SG Literature

No records of mosses fungi & lichens• No records of mosses, fungi & lichens.

• No inventory of fauna.No inventory of fauna.

• No assessment of conservation status of taxa

Consequently, information about regional distribution

and abundance of a huge portion of biodiversity is yet

unavailable.

Inventory of Sacred Groves and Floral Compositions

MAYURESWAR-I

SONAMUKHI

MAYURESWAR-I

SANTURI

BISHNUPUR

NETURIA

SANTURI

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

No. of SGs No. of Spp.

Area of Groves

100

120

NETURIA

SANTURI

80

100 SANTURI

BISHNUPUR

MAYURESWAR I

60No. of SGs

SONAMUKHI

20

40

0

20

<1 1 2 2 4 4 6 6 8 >8<1 1-2 2-4 4-6 6-8 >8

SG Area (in thousand sq.m.)

Species-Area Relationship (Bankura District)

S = 1.23 A 0.31

R2 0 32

100

R2 = 0.32pp

.

10

No.

of S

pN

11 10 100 1000 10000

SG Area (sq.m.)

Tree Community Size and No. of SGs

BNP

4000

3000

MYR

SNM

2000

o. of Tre

es

SNM

SNR

NTR1000

No

00 50 100 150

No. of SG

A Fragmented Sacred Grove at Chhandar, Housing a Rare & Endangered Tree

Vitex glabrata, a Critically Endangered Tree Discovered from a Fragmented Sacred Grove in Bankura

Casearia varica, a Rare Tree from a Sacred Grove in Bengal

Ventilago madras-patala, a Rare Liana in a Sacred Grove, Bankura

Larger and older SGs are more likely to

function as the last habitats of rare taxa,

which might have disappeared elsewhere.

However, small and derelict SGs may also

th l t b ti f l Rserve as the last bastions of several Rare

and Endangered organisms with limitedand Endangered organisms with limited

distribution ranges. g

A 700-Year Old Sacred Grove in Bankura with > 40 Angiosperms

Findings from Research in Fauna of Sacred Groves

Reports Location Author

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

N i / dNew species/ record

Philautus sanctisilvaticus Amarkantak SG, Madhya Pradesh Das & Chanda (1997)

Leptololax khasiorum Mawphlong, Meghalaya Das et al. (2010)

Preferred habitat of fauna

4 resident birds Medinipur district, West Bengal Deb et al. (1997); p g ( )Spadoni & Deb (2005)

Rare fauna

Poecilobdella masiliensis Madana than SG, West Bengal Deb & Bersier (in press)20/12/10

Limitations & Constraints

Failed to identify many invertebrates (e.g. caddis flies, nematodes,

mites) due to

the unavailability of taxonomic expertise

Enlisting services of taxonomists for identifying specimens of even

the common taxa like fungi and nematodes was prohibited by

Fi i l t i t Financial constraints

Collection of spcies abundance data for birds and butterflies in Collection of spcies abundance data for birds and butterflies in

most of the SGs was incomplete … owing to

Resource constraint Resource constraint

Tasks for Future Concerted SG Research

• Enlist the Services of Endangered Specialists –the Taxonomists.

• Expand the research focus to encompass Poorly Understood Taxa (e.g. Lichens, Nematodes))

• Inventory Representative Fauna (e.g. Lepidoptera and Vertebrates)

• Financial Support for Taxonomic Inventory of 20/12/10

• Financial Support for Taxonomic Inventory of SG Inhabitants

References

Das, I. & S K Chanda 1997. Philautus sanctisilvaticus (Anura: Rhacophoridae), a new frog from the sacred grove of Amarkantak, central India. Hamadryad 22: 21-27.y

Das, I, R L Tron, D Rangad & R N K Hooroo 2010. A new species of Leptololax (Anura: Megophryidae) from the sacred groves of Mawphlong, Meghalaya north-eastern India Zootaxa 2339: 44-56Meghalaya, north eastern India. Zootaxa 2339: 44 56.

Deb, D., K Deuti & K C Malhotra 1997. Sacred grove relics as bird refugia. Curr. Sci. 73: 815-817.

Deb, D. & L-F. Bersier (in press). Instances of fauna conserved in two sacred habitats of West Bengal. Soc. Nat. Res.

Spadoni, M & D. Deb 2005. Ethnoecology of sacred grovesin West Bengal, India. In: Himalaya: Environment, Culture and Sustainable Development. Cooperazione Italiana/ Zoological Museum. Rome, pp. 143-160.

Lake 2010 DD