Fire is known to have dramatic consequences on forest ecosystems around the world and on the livelihoods of forest‐dependent people. While the Eastern Ghats of India have high abundances of fire‐prone dry tropical forests, little is known about how fire influences the diversity, composition, and structure of these communities. Our study aimed to fill this knowledge gap by examining the effects of the presence and the absence of recent fire on tropical dry forest communities within the Kadiri watershed, Eastern Ghats. We sampled plots with and without evidence of recent fire in the Eswaramala Reserve Forest in 2008 and 2018. Our results indicate that even though stem density increases in the recently burned areas, species richness is lower because communities become dominated by a few species with fire resistance and tolerance traits, such as thick bark and clonal sprouting. Further, in the presence of fire, the size structure of these fire‐tolerant species shifts toward smaller‐sized, resprouting individuals. Our results demonstrate that conservation actions are needed to prevent further degradation of forests in this region and the ecosystem services they provide.
This chapter is a review of published research papers, books, book chapters, unpublished scientific reports prepared by research organisations, and expert talk about heavy metal pollution. This chapter also summarises the research studies conducted in Coimbatore and a summary of the studies says that very tiny information is available on heavy metals in soil, water, and air components. Till now heavy metals in plants, plant products, animals, animal products, bioaccumulation in humans, and its impacts are not accounted in this region. Further, these chapters identify the research gaps, and research interventions are required to assess the heavy metals contaminations in different ecosystems. It also highlights the need for long-term monitoring of heavy metals in the ground, surface water, food materials, agricultural products produced in the contaminated regions. The chapter concludes with a need for study on human health impacts, restoration, and remediation measures required in Coimbatore regions.
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