Assigning conservation value and identifying hotspots of endemic rattan diversity in the Western Ghats, India

Abstract

Rattans, or canes, are one of the most important non-timber forest products supporting the livelihood of many forest-dwelling communities in South and North-eastern India. Due to increased demand for rattan products, rattans have been extracted indiscriminately from the Western Ghats, a 1600-km mountain chain running parallel to the west coast of India. Extensive harvesting, loss of habitat and poor regeneration has resulted in dwindling rattan populations, necessitating an urgent attempt to conserve existing rattan resources. In this study, using niche-modelling tools, an attempt has been made to identify areas of high species richness of rattans in the Western Ghats, one of the mega-diversity regions of the world. We have also developed conservation values for 21 economically important and endemic rattans of the Western Ghats. We identified at least two to three sites of extremely high species richness outside the existing protected area network that should be prioritized for in situ conservation. This study emphasizes the need to develop strategies for the long-term conservation of rattans in the Western Ghats, India.

Studies on the phenology of some terrestrial orchids of Western Ghats, India

“…The Orchidaceae is one of the largest families of flowering plants represented by 25000-35000 species distributed in 600-800 genera in the world (1). In India, Orchidaceae is represented by about 152 genera and 1300 species (2), in which 84 species in 30 genera are endemic to Western Ghats (3). Family Orchidaceae in the state of Karnataka is represented by 203 species belonging to 59 genera, of which 17 species are terrestrial orchids in Shimoga district (4).…”

Problematic of Rattan Resource Management: Conservation and Post-harvest Concerns in Bamenda Town and Its Environs

“…Worldwide, hundreds of millions of people trade in or use rattan 1 for purposes ranging from furniture to farming activities. Rattan resources comprise of some 600 species, throughout their natural range in the Tropical forests of Asia and Africa [1]. In Africa, there are 20 species representing four genera, three of these are Laccosperma, Eremospatha and Oncocalamus, which are widespread in Africa [2].…”

“…Asia leads all the other regions of the world by far in the production and export of rattan products. Among the producer countries, Indonesia dominates in 1 Rattans are climbing spiny palms belonging to the Calamoideae, a large sub-family of Palm family (Palmae or Arecaceae). There are around 600 species of rattans belonging to 14 genera in the world (Dransfield 1981).…”

“…Away from the Asian continent, Indigenous management systems for the rattan resources in Africa are unknown, and, throughout its range, rattan are considered an "openaccess" resource; there are very few, if any there are no customary laws regulating the harvest of rattan from the wild. However, information on the geographic distribution of rattans provide a geographic perspectives of the resources thereby facilitate informed decisions to be made for the conservation and management of these extracted resources [1]. Therefore, there is a crucial need for studies of conservation supportive policies, marketing and imminent prospects of rattan to remain a sustainable treasure from nature.…”

Habenaria agasthyamalaiana (Orchidaceae), a new terrestrial orchid from the Southern Western Ghats, India

“…More than 7,000 of the plant species have been recorded from the Western Ghats with the number of endemics estimated to be 2,253 (Nayar et al 2014). The historical human presence in the Western Ghats makes it an area of high conservation interest (Joshi et al 2017). The region harbors two Biosphere Reserves, 15 National Parks, 52 Wild Life Sanctuaries, nine Tiger Reserves and 39 UNESCO World heritage sites.…”