2006-07 - Kerala Forest Research Institute

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Annual report 2006-07Kerala Forest Research Instituteanimal depends on 25 species of plants forfood. The more common food plants areTerminalia bellirica, Persea macrantha, Hydnocarpuspentandra, Tamarindus indica, Bombax ceiba andSchumanianthus virgatus. Its favourite food itemsinclude Piper, Theobroma cacao and Anacardiumoccidentale. Sexual dimorphism exists in the antipredatorbehaviour and females are bolder thanmales. Two distance-dependent foragingmovements are observed; less than 30 m fromthe nest and more than 30 m. Females displaylong feeding bouts during foraging movements.The feeding range of the species is about 1km. The animal spends short periods at a pointwhen the foraging is within 35 m from the nest.But when long periods are utilized for foraging,Malabar spiny dormouse....................................................................................................................................................................................they intermittently change the feeding pointsor move to areas with thick canopy. Only themales carry out the nest-hole maintenance. Allthe nests are vertical hollows opening at thebottom. The behaviour of nest-hole maintenancecan be attributed to the anti-predatorbehaviour. Lagerstroemia microcarpa is thepreferred nesting tree. Birds of prey and owlsare the main predators recorded.Modeling the microhabitat preference of thespecies indicates that it inhabits not only theevergreen forests but also the riverine patchesof the moist deciduous forests. The animal ishighly selective in choosing the nesting site.Preference for canopy cover is an antipredatorstrategy. GIS modeling showed that the Dormousepreferred the riparian forest at PepparaWildlife Sanctuary. The species is being used intribal medicine, for preparing drugs for the cureof acute asthma, and the practice is detrimentalto its survival.2. Extension/Consultancy ProjectsConservation and afforestation of theKottuli Wetland, Kozhikode. KFRI ExtensionReport No. 89. (Swarupanandan, K., Pandalai,R.C. and Menon, A.R.R., 2006).The Kottuli wetland is a 103 ha (262-acre)aquatic landscape situated within the city limitsof Kozhikode and its suburbs, inundated byseawater through Canolly canal. It is a naturalhabitat for estuarine flora and fauna includingmigrant birds and a few endangered animals.Of the 103 ha of the wetland, 65 ha are inprivate possession and 39 ha, Governmentowned.Despite the fact that the Kottuli wetlandprovides a variety of enviro-nmental servicesto the entire public, encroachment of the wetlandis very active there. Recently, traders havetargeted this environmentally fragile ecosystemfor tourism resorts and water theme park.The multi-disciplinary conservation planproposed for the wetland by CWRDM hasbeen approved and financed by the Ministryof Environment and Forests. An importantcomponent of the conservation programmeis mangrove affore-station. The plants currentlygrowing in the wetland are characteristic of themangroves; therefore, the area is suitable forafforestation with mangroves. A list of suitablemangrove species and strategies for affore-22
Kerala Forest Research InstituteAnnual report 2006-07Typical landscape of Kottuli wetland...................................................................................................................................................................................station are given in the report. In the recentpast, the extent of saltwater incursion to theKottuli wetland has been limited due toobliteration of its connectivity to the CanollyCanal. Maintenance of the Canolly Canal andcreating a number of culverts in specifiedlocations across the canal bund would facilitategrowth of mangroves.The ownership of 39 ha of the wetland is nowvested with the Kerala Water Authority. Unfortunately,it did not implement any wastewatermanagement programme there; instead, itreclaimed a portion of the land, thus limitingthe seawater incursion to the wetland. TheWater Authority does not have any ongoingprogramme or any permanent structure there.The Kerala Forest Department has establisheda temporary aid-post there recently.The Kottuli wetland is right in the heart of theKozhikode Corporation and it is best suitedfor establishing a Mangrove Information-cum-Study Centre. By virtue of the environmentalexpertise and the experience in mangroveafforestation, the Kerala Forest Department isthe most suitable agency that can establish andsustain the Study Centre. Ownership transferof the Government-owned wetland to theForest Department would facilitate the effectiveimplementation of the venture.Investigation teamMangrove afforestation in five areas ofreclaimed backwater along the proposedVallarpadam-Cheranellor Link Road,Kochi. KFRI Consultancy Report No. 105(Swarupanandan, K., Pandalai, R.C., Menon,A.R.R., Chacko, K.C. and Sharma, J.K., 2006).A high-speed road has been proposed forconnecting the International ContainerTranshipment Terminal (ICTT), Kochi and theNational Highways NH17 and NH47 - theVallarpadam-Cheranellur Link Road (the LinkRoad). As per the request of the NationalHighway Authority of India (NHAI), KFRIprepared a plan for mangrove afforestation inan area of 3.5 ha. of reclaimed backwater, incompensation to the natural mangrove patchesthat would be lost during the construction ofthe Link Road. The study recommends that thespecies for affore-station should be selectedfrom the mangroves of Kochi. The speciessuggested are Rhizophora mucronata, Avicenniaofficinalis, A. marina, Bruguiera cylindrica, B.gymnorhiza, Sonneratia caseolaris, Kandelia candel,etc. A mangrove nursery has to be raised in oraround the afforestation sites, to produce therequired planting stock. The afforestation siteshave to be provided with at least two sluiceculverts in order to maintain the regularinundation of brackish water required for thegrowth of mangroves. The identified back-23
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2006-07 - Kerala Forest Research Institute

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