Bryoflora of Baphalimali hill ranges in Eastern Ghats ... - Vasundhara

EASTERN GHATSISSN : 0974-2336Vol. 15, No.1, 2009OrissaKarnatakaAndhra PradeshENVIS CENTRE ON ECOLOGY OF EASTERN GHATSTamil NaduThe ENVIS Centre on Eastern Ghats is a decentralized Environmental Information Centre established by theMinistry of Environment and Forests, Government of India on thematic issue of Ecology of Eastern GhatsVolume - 15 Issue - 1January - March, 2009BRYOFLORA OF BAPHLAMALI HILL IN EASTERN GHATSOF ORISSA, INDIAEditorialThe thematic information on perennial water resources,Birds and Sacred Groves of Eastern Ghats werepresented in the previous year (Vol.14, Issues 1,2,3 &4).In this issue the status / availability of Bryoflora atBaphlamali Hills is presented. The Bryophytes are thesecond largest group of plants with about 25,000species world wide. These have phylogeneticimportance, medicinal usage and play key role in theecosystems of the world.In the name of development, various activities are goingon in the Eastern Ghats one among them is open castmining,which may be a threat to the habitat ofBryophytes, which may also lead to the change inspecies composition. Keeping this in view suitableconservation measure need to be adopted. Fewabstracts, bibliography of Bryophytes, information onForest Right Act. 2006, importance and observation ofWorld Water Day & World Forestry Day are presented.ContentsEditorial ................................................. 1Legislations ............................................. 2Bryoflora of Baphlamali Hill in Eastern Ghatsof Orissa, India ........................................ 3Abstracts ................................................. 6Biblography of Bryophytes....................... 7National & International Days .................. 8ENVIS CoordinatorENVIS CENTRE ON EASTERN GHATSENVIRONMENT PROTECTION TRAINING & RESEARCH INSTITUTE91/4, Gachibowli, Hyderabad - 500 032, A.P., IndiaPh.:+91-040-23006472, 23000489, 23001241, 23001242 Fax No: +40 - 23000361,URL: http://envis-eptri.ap.nic.in; http//www.eptri.comEmail : eptri@envis.nic.in \ envirorazia@gmail.com

EPTRI - ENVIS Newsletter Vol. 15, No.1, 2009ISSN No: 0974-2336Volume : 15, Issue : 1 Year: 2009Editorial TeamDr. Razia Sultana,Mr. I. Siva Rama Krishna,Mr. Prabhata Kumar Swain,Mr. B.L.N. Murty,Mrs. J.V.S. Prabhavati,ENVIS CoordinatorPublished bySupported bySr. Program OfficerProgram OfficerProgram AssistantEPTRI, Hyderabad.Data Entry OperatorMinistry of Environment and Forests (MoEF),Government of India, New DelhiInstructions to ContributorsENVIS Newsletter on Ecology of Eastern Ghats is aquarterly publication publishes the articles related tothe thematic area of the ENVIS Centre. Authors arerequested to send their articles, write-ups, on thethemes pertaining to Biological, Physical, Socio-Econonic Environments, Programmes & Policiesand Information Systems of Eastern Ghats.Readers are requested to kindly visit the website:http://envis-eptri.ap.nic.in.Expert Database Form and Querry Rsponse Form areavailable in the website.Experts in the above fields are requested to downloadthe Expert Database Form, fill up and send to us.Whoever intends to seek information on the ecologyof Eastern Ghats may kindly download the QuerryResponse Form, fillup and send us.The filled in forms can be sent by post to EnvisCoordinator, ENVIS Centre on Eastern Ghats,EPTRI, Gachibowli, Hyd. or Fax at 040-23000361 oremail : eptri@envis.nic.in / envirorazia@gmail.comLEGISLATIONSFOREST RIGHTS ACT, 2006After acrimonious public debate for more than a yearsince tabling in the parliament in December 2005, theScheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill,2005 which was re-christened as “The ScheduledTribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers(Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006” was passedin the parliament. The Act came into force sinceDecember 2006.The Forest Rights Act (to use its convenientshort form) provides for a series of rights forscheduled tribes (which are listed in India’sconstitution) and other traditional forest-dwellingcommunities over land that they have occupied forcultivation or residence, and also over forest produceand traditional knowledge. It gives legalempowerment to communities to manage and protectforests.The Forest Rights Act has generated debateover its social and ecological implications. Inparticular, a number of conservationists have beenvociferously opposed to it, claiming that it will be thedeath-knell of India’s forests and wildlife. Manysocial activists on the other hand feel that it will notonly provide the basic rights that forest-dwellingcommunities should have been granted decades back,but will also lead to enhanced conservation of forests.A number of groups and individuals have taken moreof a ‘middle path’, pointing out that severalprovisions of the Act could favor conservation whileothers could lead to deforestation, and that thebenefits accruing to forest-dwellers from the Actcould be substantial in some places, peripheral inothers. How precisely the Act will play will dependon a number of policy and ground-level factors,including the level of mobilization and cohesion offorest-dwelling communities in a particular area, thesensitivity of government officials administering theAct and the ecological fragility of the area.2

EPTRI - ENVIS NewsletterVol. 15, No.1, 2009BRYOFLORA OF BAPHLAMALI HILL IN EASTERN GHATS OF ORISSA, INDIA* **P.K. DASH , D.K. SAHU and D.K. SAXENA*Biodiversity Conservation Division, Vasundhara, Orissa, India**Department of Botany, Bareilly College, Bareilly, U P, India.AbstractThirty one species of bryophytes comprising 20liverworts, 9 mosses and 2 hornworts are beingreported for the first time from Baphlamali hillranges from the Eastern Ghats of India during thesurvey conducted from January 2007 to November2008. Some of the noteworthy species areConocephalum conicum, Dumortiera hirsuta,Targionia hypophylla, Pallavicinia lyelli,Lophocolea bidentata, Pellia epiphylla, Frullaniamuscicola, Frullania squarrosa and Plagiochasmaappendiculatu.IntroductionThe Eastern Ghats are isolated hill ranges inPeninsular India (Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, TamilNadu and Karnataka), harbors primarily tropicalmoist deciduous vegetation, which representsspecies of high economic, timber, medicinal0 0 0potential, lies in 11 30' to 21 0' N Latitudes and 77022' to 85 20' E Longitudes. Eastern Ghats are highlysignificant in terms of its biodiversity. Of theestimated 3,200 flowering plant taxa, there are about528 tree taxa under 271 genera belonging to 80families (Reddy et al., 2007) distributed in differentregions of Eastern Ghats. In total 454 species under243 genera and 78 families are endemic to EasternGhats. Based on geological and tectonicconsiderations, the Eastern Ghats in Orissa startsfrom North of Similipal in Mayurbhanj district andruns through Malkangiri. Seventeen districts ofOrissa come under the Eastern Ghats including 14protected areas (13 wild life sanctuaries, oneBiosphere reserve, one National Park, two tigerreserve and one Ramser Wetland). Baphlaimali issituated in the southwestern part of Orissa, falls in theNorth Eastern Ghat belt in the peninsular shield withthe highest peak of 1056 m above msl. between 19°18’ to 19° 22’ N longitude and 82° 56’ to 82° 59’ Elatitude and comes under Kashipur block ofRayagada district and rest in Koraput districts ofOrissa. Baphlimali is one of the rich bauxite depositareas in the Eastern Ghats of India. According toChampion and Seth (1968), the vegetation of the hill3is basically of tropical moist deciduous type withmany riparian evergreen elements. The averageannual rainfall is 1485 mm; the maximumtemperature goes up to 42ÚC and the minimum dropsto 5ÚC. The relative humidity is normally high duringthe monsoon and post-monsoon months sometimesbeing more than 85% which favours growth ofbryophytes in the hills. There are no surface waterbodies on the top of the platue, but many of the hillstreams are originated from the top storey of the hillsprovide amicable environment and multiple habitatfor the growth of Bryophytes. Bryophytes constitute agroup of non-flowering plants which includes mosses,liverworts and hornworts. Despite their small size,they comprise major components of the biomass andphotosynthetic production (Frego, 2007) in forestecosystems. Bryophytes are widely used asbioindicators of environment for their unique and veryspecific responses as some species are extremelysensitive to pollutants and exhibit visible injurysymptoms even in the presence of very minutequantities of pollutants (Sahu et al., 2007). Theyhave several biological features making themparticularly suited to serve as study organism inmacroevolutionary, population genetics andecological research. Bryophytes are used inmedicines, household purposes, horticulture,agriculture, fuel in industries and as ecologicalindicators throughout the world (Nath & Asthana.,2005). Bryophytes are the second largest group ofplants, with about 25,000 species worldwide (Buckand Goffinetnet, 2000). About 2000 species ofmosses, 816 species of liverworts and 34 species ofhornworts are occurring in India in the present state ofour knowledge. The plants are distributed in Easternand Western Himalayas, South India and Central India(Nath & Asthana, 2005). Despite of their diversity,phylogenetic importance, medicinal uses and key rolein the ecosystems of the world, no study has beencarried out on bryophytes of Orissa. An attempt hasbeen made for the first time to explore and documentthe Bryophytes of Eastern Ghats of Orissa.Materials and methodsThe study was undertaken from January 2005 toDecember 2007. Keeping in view of the hygrophilous

EPTRI - ENVIS NewsletterVol. 15, No.1, 2009nature of the bryophytes the sampling was conductedseasonally. The aquatic, terrestrial and epiphyticbryophytes were collected in polythene bags andbrought to the laboratory, washed and dried. Thespecimens were identified after examining thespecial features like elaters, rhizoids, sporophytediameter, etc. The doubtful specimens wereidentified by matching with the herbarium specimensat National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow.The voucher specimens were kept in bryophyteherbarium of Utkal University, Bhubaneswar withproper accession numbers.Results and discussionIn total 31 Species of bryophytes including 20liverworts, 2 hornworts and 9 mosses under 17 familyand 22 genera are reported here for the first time fromthe Baphlamali hills in the Eastern Ghats of India(Table 1). All the species reported here are newdistributional records of occurrence for the State.Species like Anthoceros angustus, Conocephalumconicum, Lophocolea bidentata, Pallavicinia lyellii,Pellia epiphylla, Polytrichum juniperinum andTargionia indica were encountered between altitudesof 550 m to 870 m, where the forest is mostly moistdeciduous type with small semi-evergreen patcheshaving closer canopy. Four species such asPhaeoceros laevis ssp. carolinianus, Asterellaangusta, Heteroscyphus argutus and Riccardialevierii were collected between altitudes of 250 m to680 m indicating its adaptation towards varyingmicro-climatic conditions. Five species like Ricciatrichocarpa, Herpetineuron toccoae, Cyathodiumcavernarum, Funaria hygrometrica and Ricciaglauca were collected from mining areas harbouringdry deciduous forest with more open canopy.Dumortiera hirsuta and Plasiochasmaappendiculatum showed a wide range ofmorphological variation along the altitudinal gradientwithin the hill ranges. Mossess like Entodontopsiswightii, Polytrichum juniperinum and Pinnatellacalcutensis were collected from high altitudes rangingfrom 750 to 900 m above msl.The present study indicates that Baphlamali hillranges are rich in bryophytes. Currently the criticalhabitat of the bryophytes is under threat against theongoing anthropogenic activities like open castmining in this region. The changes in the microhabitatof bryophytes may seriously affect the speciescomposition very rapidly and thus upset theecological balance. Keeping in view the immenseecological importance of this lower group of plantssuitable conservation measures should be taken topreserve the bryoflora of the hills. Studies are inprogress to document the Bryoflora of the NorthernEastern Ghats of India.Table 1 Checklist of Bryophytes of Baphlamali Hills along with Altitudinal Variation4

EPTRI - ENVIS Newsletter Vol. 15, No.1, 2009LL - Leafy liverworts, TL - Thallus liverworts, MS - Mosses, HW – Hornworts.Marchantia palmata NeesPlagiochasma appendiculatumlehm et LindenbPallavicinia lyellii (Hook.) CarruthPolytrichum juniperinum Hedw.5

EPTRI - ENVIS NewsletterPellia epiphylla (L.) CordaVol. 15, No.1, 2009Press, Delhi, 1968.Frego, K.A. Bryophytes as potential indicators offorest integrity. Forest Ecology andManagement., 2007, 242, 65–75.Nath, V. and Asthana, A. K. Studies on IndianBryophytes, 50 years of National BotanicalResearch Institute (eds.) P. Pushpangadan, S.Kumar & V.K. Kochhar., 2005, pp 277-288.Sahu, V., Asthana, A.K., Nath, V and Yunus, M.Bryophytes: A Useful Tool in Heavy MetalMonitoring, Archives of Enviro News,Newsletter of ISEB India Vol. 13 No. 4. 2007.Reddy, C.S., Reddy, K.N., Murthy, E.N and Raju, V.S,2009. Tree Wealth of Eastern Ghats of AndhraPradesh, India: An updated checklist. CheckList 5(2): 173–194.ABSTRACTRiccia glauca L.AcknowledgmentsThe authors are grateful to the Concern World Wide,Bangalore for providing financial support to carryout the study. The Director of Vasundhara, Orissa isthankful for his kind support and Dr. Virendra Nath,the Head of Bryology Division, NBRI, Lacknow ishighly acknowledged in identifying the doubtfulspecimens.ReferencesBuck, W.R. and Goffinet, B. Morphology andclassification of mosses. Bryophyte Biology(eds.) A. J. Shaw & B. Goffinet. CambridgeUniversity Press, University of Cambridge,UK, 2000.Champion, H.G. and Seth, S.K. A Revised Survey ofthe Forest Types of India. Govt. of IndiaPattanaik, C., C. S. Reddy and M.S.R. Murthy. 2008.An ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants usedby the Didayi tribe of Malkangiri district of Orissa,IndiaFitoterapia, 79(1): 67-71An ethnobotanical survey was carried outamong the ethnic community (Didayi) in Malkangiridistrict, Orissa. A total of 53 medicinal plant speciesbelonging to 34 families and 52 different species aredescribed under this study.Krishna Prasad, V., K.V.S. Badarinath and A. Eaturu.2008. Biophysical and anthropogenic controls offorest fires in the Deccan Plateau, India Journal ofEnvironmental Management, 86(1): 1-13Forest fires constitute one of the most seriousenvironmental problems in several forested regionsof India. In the Indian sub-continent, relatively fewstudies have focused on the assessment ofbiophysical and anthropogenic controls of forestfires at a landscape scale and the spatial aspects ofthese relationships. In this study, we used fire countdata sets from satellite remote sensing data covering78 districts over four different states of the DeccanPlateau, India, for assessing the underlying causes offires. Spatial data for explanatory variables of firespertaining to topography, vegetation, climate,6

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF BRYOPHYTESEPTRI - ENVIS Newsletteranthropogenic and accessibility factors have beengathered corresponding with fire presence/absence. Alogistic regression model was used to estimate theprobability of the presence of fires as a function of theexplanatory variables. Results for fire area estimates2suggested that, of the total fires covering 47,043kmthat occurred during the year 2000 for the entireIndian region, 29.0% occurred in the Deccan Plateau,with Andhra Pradesh having 13.5%, Karnataka14.7%, Kerala 0.1%, and Tamilnadu 1.15%. Resultsfrom the logistic regression suggest that the strongestinfluences on the fire occurrences were the amount offorest area, biomass densities, rural populationdensity (PD), average precipitation of the warmestquarter, elevation (ELE) and mean annualtemperature (MAT). Among these variables, biomassdensity (BD) and average precipitation of thewarmest quarter had the highest significance,followed by others. These results on the bestpredictors of forest fires can be used both as a strategicplanning tool to address broad scale fire riskconcerns, and also as a tactical guide to help forestmanagers to design fire mitigation measures at thedistrict level.Behera, S. K. and M. K. Misra. 2006. Abovegroundtree biomass in a recovering tropical sal (Shorearobusta Gaertn. f.) forest of Eastern Ghats, India.Biomass and Bioenergy, 30(6): 509-521Aboveground biomass of individual treespecies by component and total biomass per unit areafor four different stages of a recovering tropical drydeciduous forest stands, dominated by sal (Shorearobusta Gaertn. f.) of the Eastern Ghats, India wereinvestigated during 2001–2002. Different periods ofrecovering (2, 4, 6, and 10-year) forest stands (84°132E, 20°292 N) were selected in the Kandhamal districtof Orissa, India and sample trees of all species wereharvested. Tree species diversity was 23, 23, 21 and22 in 2, 4, 6, and 10-year recovering stands,respectively. Species-wise Ixora pavetta showed thehighest biomass in 2 and 4-year stands while Shorearobusta in 6 and 10-year stands. Component-wise, inall species, bole–wood contribution ranged between22.6% and 60.9%. Aboveground tree biomass, in allthe stands, was dominated by Shorea robusta, which”1ranged between 12.68 and 231.91 Mg ha . Totalaboveground tree biomass was 30.12, 49.21, 107.54”1and 261.08 Mg ha in 2, 4, 6 and 10-year stands,respectively.7Vol. 15, No.1, 2009BIBLIOGRAPHY OF BRYOPHYTESAhmad, S. 1942. Three new species of Riccia from India.Curr. Sci. 11: 433 – 434.Asthana, A.K. & S.C. Srivastava. 1991. Indian Hornworts(A taxonomic study). Bryophyt. Biblioth. 42: 1 –158.Asthana, G. 2001. Present status of the genus Cololejeuneain India. In: V. Nath & A.K. Asthana (ed.),Perspectives in Indian Bryology, 209 – 217.Dehra DunAsthana, G., S.C. Srivastava & A.K. Asthana 1995. Thegenus Cheilolejeunea in India. Lindbergia 20:125 – 143.Awasthi, U.S. 1986. The genus Leptolejeunea (Spruce)Steph. in India. J. Indian Bot. Soc. 65: 117 – 123.Awasthi, U.S. & R. Udar. 1984. The genus Mastigolejeunea(Spruce) Schiffn. in India. Proc. Indian Acad.Sci. (Pl. Sci.) 93: 485 – 494.Bapna, K.R. 1968. A new record of Petalophyllum indicumKash. From Western Ghats. Curr. Sci. 37: 173 –175.Bapna, K.R. & B.L. Chaudary. 1980. Contributions onIndian Hepatics I. (1951 – 1960). Misc. Bryol.Lichénol. 8: 169 – 172.Bapna, K.R. & B.L. Chaudary. 1981a. Contributions onIndian Hepatics II. (1961 – 1970). Misc. Bryol.Lichénol. 9: 18 – 23.Bapna, K.R. & B.L. Chaudary. 1981b. Contributions onIndian Hepatics III. (1971 – 1980). Misc. Bryol.Lichénol. 9: 59 – 63.Bapna, K.R. & B.L. Chaudary. 1982. Contributions onIndian Hepatics III. (1971 – 1980). Misc. Bryol.Lichénol. 9: 93 – 94.Bruehl, P. 1931. A census of Indian mosses with analyticalkeys to the genera. Rec. Bot. Surv. India 13(1): 1– 135; 13(2): 1 – 152.Chopra, R.S. 1943. A census of Indian Hepatics. J. IndianBot. Soc. 22: 237 – 260.Chopra, R.S. 1975. Taxonomy of Indian mosses. NewDelhi.Daniels, A.E.D. 1998. Ecological adaptations of somebryophytes of the Western Ghats. J. Ecobiol. 10:261 – 270.Daniels, A.E.D. 2001. Cololejeunea furcilobulata (Berrieet Jones) Schuster and Heteroscyphus argutus(Reinw. et al.) Schiffn. from Mahendragiri hillsof Kanyakumari District of South India. In:Nath, V. & A.K. Asthana (ed.), Perspectives inIndian Bryology, 301 – 307. Dehra Dun.Daniels, A.E.D. 2004. Bryophytes. In: Annamalai, R. (ed.),Tamil Nadu Biodiversity Strategy and Actionplan.Wild Plant Diversity: 49 - 70. Governmentof Tamil Nadu, Chennai.

EPTRI - ENVIS NewsletterNATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL DAYSWORLD WATER DAYWater is an astonishing substance-centre of life. Itnourishes our nations, drives our industries, washesaway our scrap, satisfies our thirst and brings beautyand pleasure into our lives. It is a paradox that theworld is in inexorably moving towards an era of watershortage despite water constituting three-fourths ofndthe earth’s surface. March 22 was first deemed asWorld Water Day in 1993 by the United NationsConference on Environment and Development(UNCED) as an international day of observance andaction to draw attention to the role that fresh waterplays in our world and lives. Emerging water scarcityhas the potential to wreak economic and ecologicalhavoc on the planet on the coming decades.Unsustainable exploitation of deep aquifers to cater togrowing population, pollution of surface waters byuntreated sewage, pesticides, fertilizers and industrialchemicals, inefficient agriculture use and the impactof climate change are all affecting the world’s wateravailability.Today’s reality is that one in eight people in the worlddon’t have access to safe water. Poor countries are atgreater risk of facing the ravage of water scarcity. TheWorld Heath organization proposed years ago thataccess to water must be made a basic human right witha duty cast on government to take targeted steps for itsrealization, that would include legislative measures tomake the right enforceable.The water is being mismanaged and unsustainablyused. India’s huge economic growth and mountingpopulation is pitting an acute strain on waterresources. The country has seventeen percent of theworld’s population, but only 2 percent of the world’sland and 4 percent of the water resources. It isestimated that 40 percent of communicable diseases inIndia are related to unsafe water. Diarrhea alonecauses more than 2000 deaths. There had already beenan alarming decline in ground water levels in manystates.In Andhra Pradesh , river pollution, depletion ofground water and land ward movement of seawaterhave been noticed. Sea water has already intrudedupto 30 km. in the coastal belt. The intrusion ofseawater in river estuaries upsetting the hydrologicalVol. 15, No.1, 2009balance in nearby villages. The ground water levels aredepleted due to indiscriminate drilling of water.The fifth World Water Forum in Istanbul (Turky)thndstarted on 15 March and ended on 22 March (onWorld Water Day), with a pledge by more than 100countries to strive to provide clean water and propersanitation. The forum is held every three years. around25,000 policymakers and grassroots workers took part.THE WORLD FORESTRY DAYWorld Forestry Day is celebrated around the world onst21 March every year as people take time to considerthe benefits of forest to the community - such ascatchments protection, providing habitat for animalsand plants, areas for recreation, education andscientific study and as a source of many productsincluding timber and honey.The concept of having a World Forestry Day originatedrdat the 23 General Assembly of the EuropeanConfederation of Agriculture in 1971. Later that year,the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organizationgave support to the idea of believing that the eventwould contribute a great deal to public awareness onthe importance of forests and agreed that it should bestobserved every year around the world on March 21 .The day is chosen to disseminate information on theimportance of forestry, its protection, production anduse for recreation.stWorld Forestry Day was observed on 21 March, 2009by officials of the Nilgiris South Forest Division at theSree Vivekananda Vidyalaya Primary School,Udhagamandalam, Tamilnadu run by the Rotary Clubof Ootacamund in Theetukkal on Saturday. Addressingthe students, the president of the Club, Mr. B.R.Bhirman, said that "Children should play an active rolein enhancing environmental awareness among varioussections of society". Planting of 50 saplings marked theoccasion.Source: The Hindu, March 22, 2009The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) inassociation with Ministry of Environment and Forestsst(MoEF) celebrated World Forestry Day on 21 March2009. The dignitaries present on the occasion were Mr.Vijai Sharma, Secretary MoEF, Padmashri Dr AnilJoshi, Mr. M.B. Lal, ADGF (Wildlife), Mr. A K Johari,DIG (RT) and Ms. Ranjana Saikia, Fellow TERI.Source: The Economic Times, March 21, 20098