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 Swa<strong>in</strong>,Mr. B.L.N. Murty,Mrs. J.V.S. Prabhavati,ENVIS Coord<strong>in</strong>atorPublished bySupported bySr. Program OfficerProgram OfficerProgram AssistantEPTRI, Hyderabad.Data Entry OperatorM<strong>in</strong>istry <strong>of</strong> Environment and Forests (MoEF),Government <strong>of</strong> India, New DelhiInstructions to ContributorsENVIS Newsletter on Ecology <strong>of</strong> <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Ghats</strong> is aquarterly publication publishes the articles related tothe thematic area <strong>of</strong> the ENVIS Centre. Authors arerequested to send their articles, write-ups, on thethemes perta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g to Biological, Physical, Socio-Econonic Environments, Programmes & Policiesand Information Systems <strong>of</strong> <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Ghats</strong>.Readers are requested to k<strong>in</strong>dly visit the website:http://envis-eptri.ap.nic.<strong>in</strong>.Expert Database Form and Querry Rsponse Form areavailable <strong>in</strong> the website.Experts <strong>in</strong> the above fields are requested to downloadthe Expert Database Form, fill up and send to us.Whoever <strong>in</strong>tends to seek <strong>in</strong>formation on the ecology<strong>of</strong> <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Ghats</strong> may k<strong>in</strong>dly download the QuerryResponse Form, fillup and send us.The filled <strong>in</strong> forms can be sent by post to EnvisCoord<strong>in</strong>ator, ENVIS Centre on <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Ghats</strong>,EPTRI, Gachibowli, Hyd. or Fax at 040-23000361 oremail : eptri@envis.nic.<strong>in</strong> / envirorazia@gmail.comLEGISLATIONSFOREST RIGHTS ACT, 2006After acrimonious public debate for more than a years<strong>in</strong>ce tabl<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the parliament <strong>in</strong> December 2005, theScheduled Tribes (Recognition <strong>of</strong> Forest Rights) Bill,2005 which was re-christened as “The ScheduledTribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers(Recognition <strong>of</strong> Forest Rights) Act, 2006” was passed<strong>in</strong> the parliament. The Act came <strong>in</strong>to force s<strong>in</strong>ceDecember 2006.The Forest Rights Act (to use its convenientshort form) provides for a series <strong>of</strong> rights forscheduled tribes (which are listed <strong>in</strong> India’sconstitution) and other traditional forest-dwell<strong>in</strong>gcommunities 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 <strong>of</strong> conservationists have beenvociferously opposed to it, claim<strong>in</strong>g that it will be thedeath-knell <strong>of</strong> India’s forests and wildlife. Manysocial activists on the other hand feel that it will notonly provide the basic rights that forest-dwell<strong>in</strong>gcommunities should have been granted decades back,but will also lead to enhanced conservation <strong>of</strong> forests.A number <strong>of</strong> groups and <strong>in</strong>dividuals have taken more<strong>of</strong> a ‘middle path’, po<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g out that severalprovisions <strong>of</strong> the Act could favor conservation whileothers could lead to deforestation, and that thebenefits accru<strong>in</strong>g to forest-dwellers from the Actcould be substantial <strong>in</strong> some places, peripheral <strong>in</strong>others. How precisely the Act will play will dependon a number <strong>of</strong> policy and ground-level factors,<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g the level <strong>of</strong> mobilization and cohesion <strong>of</strong>forest-dwell<strong>in</strong>g communities <strong>in</strong> a particular area, thesensitivity <strong>of</strong> government <strong>of</strong>ficials adm<strong>in</strong>ister<strong>in</strong>g theAct and the ecological fragility <strong>of</strong> 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, <strong>Vasundhara</strong>, Orissa, India**Department <strong>of</strong> Botany, Bareilly College, Bareilly, U P, India.AbstractThirty one species <strong>of</strong> bryophytes compris<strong>in</strong>g 20liverworts, 9 mosses and 2 hornworts are be<strong>in</strong>greported for the first time from Baphlamali <strong>hill</strong><strong>ranges</strong> from the <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Ghats</strong> <strong>of</strong> India dur<strong>in</strong>g thesurvey conducted from January 2007 to November2008. Some <strong>of</strong> the noteworthy species areConocephalum conicum, Dumortiera hirsuta,Targionia hypophylla, Pallavic<strong>in</strong>ia lyelli,Lophocolea bidentata, Pellia epiphylla, Frullaniamuscicola, Frullania squarrosa and Plagiochasmaappendiculatu.IntroductionThe <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Ghats</strong> are isolated <strong>hill</strong> <strong>ranges</strong> <strong>in</strong>Pen<strong>in</strong>sular India (Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, TamilNadu and Karnataka), harbors primarily tropicalmoist deciduous vegetation, which representsspecies <strong>of</strong> high economic, timber, medic<strong>in</strong>al0 0 0potential, lies <strong>in</strong> 11 30' to 21 0' N Latitudes and 77022' to 85 20' E Longitudes. <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Ghats</strong> are highlysignificant <strong>in</strong> terms <strong>of</strong> its biodiversity. Of theestimated 3,200 flower<strong>in</strong>g plant taxa, there are about528 tree taxa under 271 genera belong<strong>in</strong>g to 80families (Reddy et al., 2007) distributed <strong>in</strong> differentregions <strong>of</strong> <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Ghats</strong>. In total 454 species under243 genera and 78 families are endemic to <strong>Eastern</strong><strong>Ghats</strong>. Based on geological and tectonicconsiderations, the <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Ghats</strong> <strong>in</strong> Orissa startsfrom North <strong>of</strong> Similipal <strong>in</strong> Mayurbhanj district andruns through Malkangiri. Seventeen districts <strong>of</strong>Orissa come under the <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Ghats</strong> <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g 14protected areas (13 wild life sanctuaries, oneBiosphere reserve, one National Park, two tigerreserve and one Ramser Wetland). Baphlaimali issituated <strong>in</strong> the southwestern part <strong>of</strong> Orissa, falls <strong>in</strong> theNorth <strong>Eastern</strong> Ghat belt <strong>in</strong> the pen<strong>in</strong>sular shield withthe highest peak <strong>of</strong> 1056 m above msl. between 19°18’ to 19° 22’ N longitude and 82° 56’ to 82° 59’ Elatitude and comes under Kashipur block <strong>of</strong>Rayagada district and rest <strong>in</strong> Koraput districts <strong>of</strong>Orissa. Baphlimali is one <strong>of</strong> the rich bauxite depositareas <strong>in</strong> the <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Ghats</strong> <strong>of</strong> India. Accord<strong>in</strong>g toChampion and Seth (1968), the vegetation <strong>of</strong> the <strong>hill</strong>3is basically <strong>of</strong> tropical moist deciduous type withmany riparian evergreen elements. The averageannual ra<strong>in</strong>fall is 1485 mm; the maximumtemperature goes up to 42ÚC and the m<strong>in</strong>imum dropsto 5ÚC. The relative humidity is normally high dur<strong>in</strong>gthe monsoon and post-monsoon months sometimesbe<strong>in</strong>g more than 85% which favours growth <strong>of</strong>bryophytes <strong>in</strong> the <strong>hill</strong>s. There are no surface waterbodies on the top <strong>of</strong> the platue, but many <strong>of</strong> the <strong>hill</strong>streams are orig<strong>in</strong>ated from the top storey <strong>of</strong> the <strong>hill</strong>sprovide amicable environment and multiple habitatfor the growth <strong>of</strong> Bryophytes. Bryophytes constitute agroup <strong>of</strong> non-flower<strong>in</strong>g plants which <strong>in</strong>cludes mosses,liverworts and hornworts. Despite their small size,they comprise major components <strong>of</strong> the biomass andphotosynthetic production (Frego, 2007) <strong>in</strong> forestecosystems. Bryophytes are widely used asbio<strong>in</strong>dicators <strong>of</strong> environment for their unique and veryspecific responses as some species are extremelysensitive to pollutants and exhibit visible <strong>in</strong>jurysymptoms even <strong>in</strong> the presence <strong>of</strong> very m<strong>in</strong>utequantities <strong>of</strong> pollutants (Sahu et al., 2007). Theyhave several biological features mak<strong>in</strong>g themparticularly suited to serve as study organism <strong>in</strong>macroevolutionary, population genetics andecological research. Bryophytes are used <strong>in</strong>medic<strong>in</strong>es, household purposes, horticulture,agriculture, fuel <strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>dustries and as ecological<strong>in</strong>dicators throughout the world (Nath & Asthana.,2005). Bryophytes are the second largest group <strong>of</strong>plants, with about 25,000 species worldwide (Buckand G<strong>of</strong>f<strong>in</strong>etnet, 2000). About 2000 species <strong>of</strong>mosses, 816 species <strong>of</strong> liverworts and 34 species <strong>of</strong>hornworts are occurr<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> India <strong>in</strong> the present state <strong>of</strong>our knowledge. The plants are distributed <strong>in</strong> <strong>Eastern</strong>and Western Himalayas, South India and Central India(Nath & Asthana, 2005). Despite <strong>of</strong> their diversity,phylogenetic importance, medic<strong>in</strong>al uses and key role<strong>in</strong> the ecosystems <strong>of</strong> the world, no study has beencarried out on bryophytes <strong>of</strong> Orissa. An attempt hasbeen made for the first time to explore and documentthe Bryophytes <strong>of</strong> <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Ghats</strong> <strong>of</strong> Orissa.Materials and methodsThe study was undertaken from January 2005 toDecember 2007. Keep<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> view <strong>of</strong> the hygrophilous