Building a grassroots constituency to conserve River Moyar in the Mysore-Nilgiri corridor

Muthu Karthick, N Care Earth Trust Chennai, www.careearthtrust.org Extracts from British Ecological Society Annual Symposium 2011

Arulagam About the study Area

• The River Moyar has its source in the Nilgiri mountain of , flowing west-east direction along the Tamilnadu and State border • One of the largest rivers in the Nilgiris, draining to Eastern Ghats, of its • Three major streams that confluences with the river basin such as Kedrahalla, Sigur and Kahanhalla are perennial Significance of Moyar valley

• Crucial link of Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats • Abodes single largest native population Crocodylus palustris in TN • Second largest population of Antelope cervicapra in TN • Two species of Endangered Gyps Vulture found in considerable numbers • Tiger population • Pristine riparian forests • Corridor for larger mammals 2 km

West 90 km East

-Pungar -Sathyamangalam FD - Peerkadavu -Thengumarahada - Nilgiris North FD - Masinakudi - Mudumalai Tiger Reserve - Mudumalai    2 km 

West 90 km East

-Pungar - Vultures - Peerkadavu -Thengumarahada - Masinakudi - Mudumalai      2 km      

West 90 km East

-Pungar - Vultures - Peerkadavu - Tiger -Thengumarahada - Masinakudi - Mudumalai   € €    € 2 km €    €  €  

West 90 km East

-Pungar - Vultures - Peerkadavu - Tiger -Thengumarahada € - Elephant - Masinakudi - Mudumalai West 90 km East

-Pungar - Peerkadavu -Thengumarahada - Masinakudi Crocodile - Mudumalai Fish Population

Reservoir West Belmeen kadavu East Belmeen kadavu

Reservoir Vegetation representation

90 km West East

-Invasive sp. impact area -Plantations -Scrub forest -Savanna-woodland -Gorge – woodland -Riparian forest -Deciduous forest Nodes of Conservation importance

• There are many functional nodes in the area – Feral Buffalo conflict sites – Subsistence fish population at Belmeen kadavu – Important Fish corridor – Native Mugger population – Crucial presence of Feral Buffalo – Undisturbed Savannah type vegetation – Riparian forest diminished by Prosopis invasion Micro planning

• Emphasis on Node based Conservation rather than single-species’ ecology focus

• Identifying and integrating the nodes of conservation is facilitated by Micro-planning Recommendations and outcomes

• Need for node based conservation – each specific locale within the reserve is crucial for each species • The Feral Buffalo has been ignored not only in studies but also considered as invasive; albeit its many years of presence • Feral Buffalo plays a vital role in ecology by being food for some carnivores • River Bhavani had been thoroughly studied for fishes which confluences with Moyar terminally • Connectivity is a major drawback in villages and people have mixed response Restoration

• Animal relocation should be in consultation with the people within the PA • No plantation in the Savanna-woodland; it may pose as a barren land, but this little area with rich grass & scrub spp. is a peculiar terrain • Planting Bamboo and other natives in the Prosopis infested area • Involvement of Panchayats Objectives for floristic study

• To inventory woody species along the river and on the abutting terrain

• To assess the plant species diversity and richness Methodology

• Linear Transects along the river-shore for 4-KM • Perpendicular to this, 1-KM linear-transects established • Woody species [GBH >2cm] recorded in the 5Mwidth range; either side of each transect

19 River Transects 23 Perpendicular Transects Methodology

Perpendicular transect 1 KM

Linear transect 4 KM River course of

• Field identification – regional Floras with Bentham Hooker’s system (1883)

• Nomenclature - as per Angiosperm Phylogeny Group II (APG II, 2003)

Vegetation classification was made using Forest map of (Pascal & Ramesh, 1995) and Champion & Seth (1968) Plant Diversity

45 Families, 100 Genera, 131 River Transect Species

Perpendicular Transect 38 Families, 85 Genera, 110 Species Forest Composition

Altitude: 400 – 850 ASL

Tropical Dry and Moist Deciduous Forests

Altitude: 200 – 400 ASL

Tropical Dry Scrub and Thorn Forests Vegetation on the lower altitudes of River course

• Dense Thicket; Discontinuous Thickets and Scrub land • Slopes of gorges: Gyrocarpus-Hardwickia-savanna- woodland or 5A/E4-Hardwickia forest • Albizia-Acacia spp. type or 6A/C-Southern thorn forest Vegetation near the origin of river

• Forest Plantations [Govt. as well as private] • Anogeissus latifolia-teak-Terminalia alata- woodland to Savanna woodland • Scrub wood land • woodland-savanna woodland Life-form composition Family Richness Families Dominating

River Transect Perpendicular Transect

Euphorbiaceae – 12 Genera & 15 Spp. Rubiaceae – 9 and 9 Rubiaceae – 8 Genera and 8 Caesalpiniaceae – 5 and 7 Euphorbiaceae – 7 and 7 Fabaceae –7 and 9 Monogeneric Moraceae represents 7 species

30 species and 25 species were encountered just once in the gallery and perpendicular transects respectively Comparison

Moyar River 1. Euphorbiaceae 2. Rubiaceae 3. Caesalpiniaceae

Chalakudy River, (Amitha, 2003) 1. Fabaceae 2. Euphorbiaceae 3. Orchidaceae

Benin rivers (Armand, 2006) 1. Fabaceae 2. Euphorbiaceae 3. Rubiaceae 4. Annonaceae Species Diversity

River Transect H’ = 2.0 – 3.27 J’ = 0.59 – 0.85

Perpendicular Transect H’ = 1.51 – 2.67 J’ = 0.53 – 0.88

H’ = Shannon-Weiner index of Species diversity J’ = Pielou index of evenness Common trees in river-transect

Syzygium cumini

• Terminalia cuneata • Pongamia pinnata • Syzygium cumini • Trewia nudiflora • Diospyros malabarica

Trewia nudiflora Common plants in perpendicular-transect

• Flueggea leucopyrus • Albizia amara

Catunaregam spinosa • Catunaregam spinosa • Prosopis juliflora • Cordia monoica • Hardwickia binata

Mundulea sericea Vegetation composition

Infested 5% Scrub Plantation 25% 13%

Deciduous 14% Riparian 32%

Savannah 11%

Total study area covered: 180 km2 Strict riparian

Vitex leucoxylon Vitex altissima

Salix tetrasperma

Phyllanthus polyphyllus Walsura trifolia Homonoia riparia Scrub-woodland species

Lantana veronicifolia Lantana camara Lantana indica

Barleria cuspidata Barleria buxifolia Barleria strigosa Observations

Invasive zone Terminalia-Pongamia-Syzygium zone

Bamboo-Mangifera zone Interesting flora

RET

Santalum album Tamilnadia ulginosa

Vanda tessellata

Oberonia sp.

Orchids Exotic plants

Asclepias curassavica

Senna didymobotrya Bixa orellana

Jatropha curcas Potential threats

Opuntia vulgaris Prosopis juliflora Future Floristic studies

• Rich herbaceous flora including grasses and sedges • Epiphytes • Cryptogams like Ferns, Bryoflora • Fungi Conclusion

• Conserving strict riparian species like Homonoia riparia, Phyllanthus polyphyllus that are endemic to this ecosystem

• Buffer zone should be protected from abutting agricultural fields

• Protecting upland, adjacent forest landscape

• Uprooting and preventing recruitment of invasive species such as Prosopis juliflora, Pterolobium hexapetalum, Mimosa intsia