Floral Biodiversity Surveys for Baseline Assessment at Khijadiya Wildlife Sanctuary and Gosabara Wetland Complex in Gujarat
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CMPA Technical Report Series 31 Floral Biodiversity Surveys for Baseline Assessment at Khijadiya Wildlife Sanctuary and Gosabara Wetland Complex in Gujarat August 2016 GEER Foundation Indo-German Biodiversity Programme Conservation and Sustainable Management of Coastal and Marine Protected Areas CMPA Technical Report Series No. 31 Floral Biodiversity Surveys for Baseline Assessment at Khijadiya Wildlife Sanctu- ary and Gosabara Wetland Complex in Gujarat Author Dr. Padamnabhi S. Nagar, M.S.University-Baroda Published by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Indo-German Biodiversity Programme (IGBP), GIZ-India, A-2/18, Safdarjung Enclave, New Delhi - 110029, India E-Mail: [email protected] Web: www.giz.de 2016 Responsible Director, Indo-German Biodiversity Programme Photo Credit Dr. Neeraj Khera Layout Aspire Design, Delhi Disclaimer The views expressed in this document are solely those of the authors and may not in any circumstances be regarded as stating an official position of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India, of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) or the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The designation of geographical entities and presentation of material in this document do not imply the expression or opinion whatsoever on the part of MoEFCC, BMUB or GIZ concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Reference herein to any specific organisation, consulting firm, service provider or process followed does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation or favouring by MoEFCC, BMUB or GIZ. Citation Padmanabhi Nagar. 2016. Floral Biodiversity Surveys for Baseline Assessment at Khijadiya Wildlife Sanctuary and Gosabara Wetland Complex in Gujarat. CMPA Technical Series No. 31. Indo-German Biodiversity Programme, GIZ-India, New Delhi. Pp 116. Floral Biodiversity Surveys for Baseline Assessment at Khijadiya Wildlife Sanctuary and Gosabara Wetland Complex in Gujarat Author Dr. Padamnabhi S. Nagar, M.S.University-Baroda August 2016 CMPA Technical Report Series 31 Indo-German Biodiversity Programme Conservation and Sustainable Management of Coastal and Marine Protected Areas Disclaimer This study has been financed through a contract with the Project on “Conservation and Sustainable Management of Existing and Potential Coastal and Marine Protected Areas” (CMPA), of the Indo-German Biodiversity Programme. The Project is jointly implemented by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Government of India, and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB). The information presented and the views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety, nor of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, or the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of MoEF&CC, BMUB, or GIZ concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific organisations, companies or products of manufacturers, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by MoEF&CC, BMUB, or GIZ in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. vii RESEARCH TEAM Consultant Padamnabhi Shanker Nagar Reseach Scholars Mital R. Bhatt Karan G. Rana Ajit M. Vasava viii Acknowledgement We wish to acknowledge our sincere gratitude and appreciation to: Prof. Sandhya Kiran Grage, The Head, Department of Botany, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda for providing necessary laboratory facilities. Dr. Dharmendra G. Shah and Dr. Shristuti Tatu for GIS mapping and sharing knowledge regarding Mangrooves found in study area. Dr. Rinku Desai for authentication of grasses and sedges collected and identified from study area. Dr. Nilesh Joshi, Marine Algae Dept., Fisheries Research Station, Junagadh Agriculture. University, for water analysis and phytoplankton diversity studied in study area. The Principal Investigator is highly thankful to Dr. A. P. Singh (CCF wildlife, Junagadh) and Shri Shyamal Tikadar (CCF, Jamnagar) for their kind cooperation and suggestions throughout the project. Ms. Shorbita Agrawal (DCF) for providing facilities to survey in Mokarsagar wetland, Porbandar. Shri Jadeja and shri Odedra (RFO) for providing facilities to survey in Mokarsagar wetland, Porbandar. Shri Chapla (RFO) for providing facilities to survey in Khijadiya wetland, Jamnagar. We are grateful to all Tribals, Rabaris of Gujarat who shared with us the 'nature of mother nature'. Though, this appears to be an exhaustive list, we feel it to be much deficient. Therefore, we thank all those whose names might not have appeared here but of course, their cooperation and contributions made this work possible. ix Table of Contents S.N. Content Page No. 1. INTRODUCTION 1-4 1.1 Wetland Status of India 2 1.2 Wetland Status of Gujarat 2 1.3 Study area 3 1.3.1 Mokarsagar wetland Complex 3 1.3.2 Khijadiya Wetland 3 2. OBJECTIVES 5 3. METHODOLODY 6 - 10 3.1 Ecological Assessment 6 3.1.1 Diversity Survey 6-7 3.1.2 Phytosociology 8 3.1.3 GIS Mapping 9 3.1.4 Biochemical Parameters of Soil 9 3.1.5 Biochemical Parameters of water 9 3.2 Threat assessment 10 3.3 Economically Important species 10 3.4 Threatened species and their conservation significance 10 3.5 Documentation of Local and English name 10 4 RESULTS 11 4.1 Ecological Assessment 11 4.1.1 Diversity Survey 11 - 29 4.1.1.1 Gosabara 11 - 22 4.1.1.2 Khijadiya 23 - 29 4.1.2 Phytosociology 30 - 33 4.1.2.1 Phytosociological analysis of Gosabara 30 – 31 4.1.2.2 Phytosociological analysis of Khijadiya 31 - 33 4.1.3 GIS Mapping 34 - 53 4.1.3.1 Gosabara 34 - 48 4.1.3.2 Khijadiya 49 - 53 4.1.4 Biochemical Parameters of Soil 54 - 56 x S.N. Content Page No. 4.1.4.1 Gosabara 54 - 55 4.1.4.2 Khijadiya 55 - 56 4.1.5 Biochemical Parameters of water 57 - 59 4.1.5.1 Gosabara 57 - 58 4.1.5.2 Khijadiya 58 - 59 4.2 Threat assessment 59 - 63 4.3 Economically Important species 64 - 76 4.4 Threatened species and their conservation significance 77 - 83 4.5 Invasive species 83 - 86 4.6 Documentation of Local and English name 86 - 92 4.7 Key species Interaction and their Ecological Significance 92 - 94 5 REFERENCES 95 - 98 List of Tables S.N. List of Tables Page No. 1. Floristic Diversity of Gosabara 12 - 21 2. Agricultural crops of Gosabara 21 - 22 3. Floristic Diversity of Khijadiya 24 - 29 4. Phytosociological Analysis of Gosabara 31 5. Phytosociological Analysis of Khijadiya 33 6. Soil analysis of Gosabara 55 7. Soil analysis of Khijadiya 56 8. Water analysis of Gosabara 58 9. Water analysis of Khijadiya 58 10. Species of Economic Importance 65 - 68 11. IUCN status of the species 77 - 83 12. English and Local names of the species 86 - 92 xi List of Figures S.N. List of Figure Page No. 1. Average area under different wetlands, india 2 2. Habitat Classification of Gosabara 6 3. Habitat Classification of Khijadiya 7 4. Graph showing species diversity at Gosabara wetland complex 11 5. Graph showing species diversity at Khijadiya Sanctuary 23 6. Change in Sub-habitats during Post-monsoon and Summer in 34 Gosabara 7. Change in Sub-habitats during Post-monsoon and summer in 49 Khijadiya List of Plates S.N. List of Plates Page No. 1. Purple Moorhen feeding upon Schoenoplectus tubers 69 2. Birds feeding on Aeluropus logopoides 70 3. Prosopis for Baya weaver‟s nesting 70 4. Prosopis providing shelter to the Birds 71 5. Prosopis providing shelter to the Birds 72 6. Prosopis removal from Khijadiya Sanctuary 84 7. Eichhornia invasion in Gosabara 85 8. Dry puddle species of Khijadiya wetland 99 9. Mangrooves of Khijadiya 100 10. Saline ground Species 101 11. Floating Aqautic Plants 61 12. Climbers 62 13. Partially Submerged Plants 63 xii List of Maps S.N. List of Maps Page No. 1. Mokarsagar wetland map showing all surrounding villages 3 2. Khijadiya Sanctuary map showing all surrounding villages 4 3. GIS Map of Gosabara (07/11/2015) 35 4. GIS Map of Gosabara (15/04/2016) 36 5. GIS Map of Khijadiya (07/11/2015) 50 6. GIS Map of Khijadiya (15/04/2016) 51 xiii 1 INTRODUCTION Wetlands are the area where saturation with water is dominant factor determining the nature of soil and the types of plants and animal communities living upon it. They are amongst the most productive ecosystems on the Earth (Ghermandi et al., 2008), and provide many important services to human society (Ten Brink et al., 2012). However, they are also ecologically sensitive and adaptive systems (Turner et al., 2000). Wetlands exhibit enormous diversity according to their genesis, geographical location, water regime and chemistry, dominant species, and soil and sediment characteristics (Space Applications Centre, 2011). They cover diverse and heterogeneous assemblage of habitats such as lakes (Jheels), ponds, rivers, river flood plains, inter-tidal areas, estuaries, mangrooves, coral reefs and other related ecosystems.The prolonged presence of water creates conditions that favor the growth of specially adapted plants and promote the development of characteristic wetland (hydric) soils. Wetlands were categorised into marine (coastal wetlands), estuarine (including deltas, tidal marshes, and mangroove swamps), lacustarine (lakes), riverine (along rivers and streams), and palustarine („marshy‟ – marshes, swamps and bogs) based on their hydrological, ecological and geological characteristics (devised by Cowardin et al., 1979).