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Annual Report 2006-2007Ni-Cd batteries on lab scale. For the first time,Cyanex 923 was used for the clear separation andrecovery of Cd from chloride leach liquors of spentbatteries containing Cd-Co-Ni. Separation andrecovery of metals from sulphate leach liquors wascarried out using P based extractants such as Cyanex301, Cyanex 272 and TOPS 99. Cyanex 301 gaveclear separation of Cd from others but strippingwas difficult and it was possible with hydrochloricacid only. This was found to be the drawback ofthe route. Cd raffinate can be treated for Coseparation by Cyanex 272 and Ni can be separatedif we take up for Ni metal production by solventextraction-stripping or simple crystallization/orprecipitation to recover it as sulphate/hydroxide.Treatment of effluent containing valuable/toxicmetal ions and its recovery by electrodialysisThe project aimed at developingelectrodialysis process with conducting spacers forthe treatment of effluents containing valuable/toxicmetal ion and its recovery by concentrating it about10 times, while treated water (with TDS less than100 ppm) recycled for further application.Interpolymer of polyethylene styrene-di-vinylbenzene copolymer based ion-exchange membranesand ion-conducting spacers were prepared andcurrent voltage experiments were carried out inwhich ion-exchange membranes were kept injuxtaposition to similar type of conductingspacers(CS) in equilibrium with differentelectrolytic solutions. An electrodialysis(ED) unitwith seven cell pairs of ion-exchange membranesand conducting spacers in treated compartmentswas fabricated and its performance was tested inNaCl, CuCl 2and NiCl 2solutions in order to explorethe effect of CS on the energy efficiency. It wasfound that concentration polarization wassuppressed, while limiting current improved withCS in comparison to non conducting spacer (NCS).ED with CS would found to be suitable processfor the recovery of heavy metal ions, present in lowconcentration.Adaptive research on improvement of naturalgrasslands in district Sirmour of HimachalPradeshThe project was undertaken to carry outadaptive research on improvement of naturalgrasslands. Types of grasslands existing in thedistrict Sirmour were studied by recordingobservations on frequency of various grasses. In midand high hills it was Themeda- Arundinella typesof grasslands with species like Heteropogon contortusChrysopogon gryllus and Rottbaellia spp. forming amajor part of the grasslands. In low hill areas, itwas Dichanthium- Cenchrus—Lasiurus type ofgrasslands which have degraded to Dichanthium-Chrysopogon fulvus - Cynodon type as these speciesform the major constituent of grass cover.Studies lead to the conclusion that Napierbajrahybrid (NB-37) can be successfully introducedin all the three environments. PSS 1 cultivar ofSetaria anceps performed well in all threeenvironments while, S-92 was good for mid hillareas only. PGG-9 of Panicum maximum can besuccessfully introduced in low and mid hills whileHima 4 of Festuca arundinacea performed well inhigh rain fall high hill areas.Good diversity in the existing natural grasseswas observed and 61 grass species belonging to 40genera were collected from the district.Insect faunal diversity of Buxa Tiger Reserve,Jalpaiguri, West BengalThe study was undertaken to providesystematic baseline data on the insects of Buxa TigerReserve, their composition, richness, diversity,biogeography, seasonal diversity, adaptive featuresand habitat specificity. Rajabhatkhawa was therichest of all the localities (habitats) in terms of taxa;Premonsoon is the best season for diversityassessment; Random sampling is the best methodof recognising taxa; Coleoptera is represented bymaximum number of individuals.A total of 465 species under 307 generabelonging to 82 families of 11 orders were collectedand reported. Of these two species are new toscience, 13 new to India, 51 new to West Bengal,22 new to the distinct Jalpaiguri, and 19 new tothe study area, insect fauna in bulk was composedof Oriental-Malayan elements.1397
Ministry of Environment & Forests140Reproductive biology and genetic diversity of threeeconomically useful forest tree species of WesternGhatsA study on pollination mechanism includingthe time of anthesis, pollinating agents antherdehiscence, in vitro pollen germination, pollen tubegrowth and stigma receptivity of Buchannanialanzan (Anacardiaceae), Terminalia chebula(Combeteraceae), Garcinia indica (Clusiaceae) andVateria indica (Dipterocarpaceae) was carried out.An attempt to assess the prevailing diversity in abovefour tree species growing in Western Ghats has beenmade. Phenology including appearance ofvegetative buds, flowering, fruiting, seed dispersaland germination of all the four selected trees wasstudied. Garcinia indica is a gynodioecious tree inwhich dehiscence occurred 15-20 minutes prior toanthesis. It is a wind pollinated species. In others,flowers opened in the mid night and continued tillmorning followed by anther dehiscence. The flowersoffer pollen and nectar for the visitors, whichinclude honeybees, butterflies, wasps and black ants.In-vitro pollen germination was highest in 15%sucrose solution (10% for V. indica). Stigma wasmost receptive at the time of anther dehiscence. InV. indica receptivity lasted for single day while inG. indica stigma became receptive one day beforeanthesis. In T. chebula and B. lanzan stigma wasreceptive for two days.Genetic diversity was observed inmorphological, economical and biochemical traitsin all plant species collected from five different sitesin Western Ghats. The fruits and seeds collectedfrom Yellapur and Calicut were richer in proteinand carbohydrate content. The GasChromatography analysis of oil extracted from seedsof B. lanzan and G. indica collected from Kankavaliand Dapoli have a higher oleic acid content andless palmitic acid. High Performance LiquidChromatographic (HPLC) analysis showed thatfruits of T. Chebula collected from Yellapur havehigher tannic acid content, than fruits samples fromother sites. HPLC was also carried out to analysehydroxy citric acid concentration in fruit rind ofG. indica from the fruit collected from various sites.Flowers collected from various sites showedvariation in size, number of stamens, petals andcarpels in B. lanzan.Litter insect dynamics with special reference toecological succession and chemical ecology alongvarying altitudes in the Wynad and Coorg forestsof Western GhatsDiversity and abundance of liter arthropodfauna in relation to the litter chemical quality wasassessed along the altitudes of Wynad forest andthe Coorg-Brahmagiri forests of Western Ghats.Succession pattern of litter insects and litterchemical quality variation during different phasesof litter decomposition and litter decompositionstudies and Coorg-regions were analysed during theimplementation of the projects.It was observed that the pattern of altitudinaldistribution, diversity and abundance of the litterinsect along elevation gradients differ widely in twogeographically closely placed regions. Acomprehensive litter faunal inventory andaltitudinal distribution of litter arthropods fromWynad & Coorg-Brahmagiri forests of WesternGhats has been prepared for the first time. Sitespecificreference to regional forest floor insectinventory of the study sites are provided and alsothe forests are ranked based on the litter qualityindicators along an elevation gradient. Lack of aconsistent pattern in the community structure ofinvertebrate communities along different altitudinalgradients has important consequences forconservation and biodiversity managementpractices indicating generalizations about thealtitudinal distribution of litter invertebrate faunain Western Ghats may not be accurate based onstudies along a few altitudinal transects.Decomposition rates were observed to befaster in the low altitudes of Wynad and highaltitudes of Coorg. There distinct phases wereobserved during litter fanual succession. Parallelrelationship between fauna and chemical loss waspresent at all regions except at Periya in Wynad andPaithalmala at Coorg region. Faunal analysis duringsuccession indicated clear differences between thelitter arthropod communities with mites andcollembolan dominating the earlier stages,coleopters, spiders and ants in the mid stages andtermites and predatory coleopterans in the late
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