CONTENTS…………………………………………………………………………………………i-ii Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................ iii 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Significance of Biodiversity Inventory……………………………………………………...1 1.2 Utility and Purpose of this study…………………………………………………………….1 1.3 Conservation Values and Why To Assess Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary?……………...3 1.4 Objectives……………………………………………………………………………………3 2 Study Area ..................................................................................................................................... 4 3 Methods Used ................................................................................................................................ 6 3.1 Secondary Information………………………………………………………………………6 3.2 Mapping the Landcover/ Land use and Forests……………………………………………...6 3.3 Field Data Collection………………………………………………………………………...6 4 Mapping of Physical Features .................................................................................................... 12 4.1 Vegetation Mapping………………………………………………………………………..12 4.2 Mapping of Aspects………………………………………………………………………...12 4.3 Mapping of Slope Classes………………………………………………………………….15 5 Inventory of Biodiversity ............................................................................................................ 17 5.1 Secondary Information – Literature Survey………………………………………………..17 5.2 Floral and Faunal Status based on Primary Information – Present Study………………….20 5.3 Overall Status of Flora……………………………………………………………………...23 5.4 Overall Status of Fauna…………………………………………………………………….24 5.5 Threatened Species…………………………………………………………………………25 6 Biodiversity in Different Forest Types: Quantitative Approach ............................................ 29 6.1 Lower Plants………………………………………………………………………………..29 6.2 Higher Plants……………………………………………………………………………….30 6.3 Butterflies in different forest types…………………………………………………………33 6.4 Herpetofauna……………………………………………………………………………….34 6.5 Birds………………………………………………………………………………………..34 6.6 Mammal……………………………………………………………………………………35 7 Biodiversity - Indigenous Knowledge Based Status of Natural Resources and Threats ...... 37 7.1 Past and Present Availability of Forest Resource…………………………………………..37 8. Mapping of Biodiversity and Other Related Components ...................................................... 41 i 8.1 Mapping of Status of Floral Diversity……………………………………………………..41 8.2 Mapping of Status of Regeneration………………………………………………………..43 8.3 Mapping of Recruitment Status……………………………………………………………45 8.4 Mapping of Status of Grass Cover…………………………………………………………47 8.5 mapping Status of Faunal Diversity………………………………………………………..49 8.6 Mapping of the Status of Threatened Species Richness……………………………………51 8.7 Mapping of Biodiversity Status…………………………………………………………….53 8.8 Mapping of the Status of Disturbance Threats……………………………………………..55 8.9 mapping Areas of Conservation Priority…………………………………………………...57 9 Conservation Action Plan ........................................................................................................... 61 9.1 Summary – Conservation Action Plan……………………………………………………..61 9.2 Detailed Conservation Action -Ecological Systems – Areas of Conservation Priority……65 9.3 Species conservation – Leopard…………………………………………………………....67 9.4 Species Conservation - Sloth Bear – Seed Disperser & Flagship species………………….68 9.5 Species - Pied Tit…………………………………………………………………………...69 9.6 Species - Grey Jungle Fowl………………………………………………………………...70 9.7 Species - Boswellia serrata………………………………………………………………...70 9.8 Species -Sterculia urens……………………………………………………………………71 9.9 Research & Monitoring…………………………………………………………………….72 9.10 Conservation Actions for Villages Inside PA……………………………………………..73 9.11 Conservation Actions For Villages Outside PA……………………………………………73 9.12 Detailed Monitoring Protocol………………………………………………………………75 10 Reference ..................................................................................................................................... 80 ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Biodiversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. This includes all the plants and animals that live and grow on the Earth, all the habitats in which they survive, and all the natural processes of which they are a part. The earth supports an incredible array of biodiversity. Unfortunately, the earth’s biodiversity is disappearing, with an estimated 1,000 species per year becoming extinct. Conserving biodiversity is especially crucial in developing countries where people’s livelihoods are directly dependent on natural resources such as forests, fisheries and wildlife. Any strategy to slow the loss of biodiversity and to enhance its contribution to development must integrate three essential elements: conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of its components and the equitable sharing of benefits. This would need on priority to know the actual biodiversity surviving in an area. Species inventories will remain perhaps the largest part of assessment and are of value in the selection of protected and threatened areas and of ecologically and economically sensitive areas. Foundation for Ecological Security (FES) working with village communities in eco-restoration, watershed development, strong institutional building, realized the need of a comprehensive and sound ecological data for conserving biodiversity of the PA and managing the natural resource that would ensure long term and sustainable livelihood benefits to the local stakeholders and ensure their support for conservation. Additionally, it was also thought that, since most of the areas where FES works are degraded and lies close to the forest or a Protected Area (PA), it would be vital to know the stock of biodiversity around the villages both inside and outside that serves as buffer to the PA. In view of this, a study was taken up by Foundation for Ecological Security to assess the biodiversity of Kumbhalgarh, which is spread over Udaipur, Pali and Rajsamand Districts, in the southern Aravallis largely to come up with information that would aid in developing a more systematic biodiversity conservation plan and mainly to work towards a larger biodiversity conservation unit or Southern Aravallis Biodiversity Conservation Unit. Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary forms the major part of the Aravalli hills in southern Rajasthan and act as barrier stopping the spread of Thar Desert to the east that is more fertile. Significantly this sanctuary also acts as a distribution limit for many of species that has moved from Himalayas, and African regions, in addition to the elements from Western Ghats. Thus it becomes very imperative to gain knowledge on the biodiversity and its distribution of this ecologically and geologically significant PA located in the widest part of Aravallis. The approach adopted was an integrated method that included ecological, social, cultural factors to the biodiversity in addition to biological factors. The methodology was thus a combination of all these components that focused on biodiversity prevailing in the landscapes and to assess changes in composition and structure of forest vegetation or natural resource due to disturbance caused by various factors. This study was carried out in three steps: i. Collation of existing secondary information. ii. Mapping of landcover / forest and other related parameters. iii. Field survey both rapid and intensive with group specific methods was also collected i.e. information on biodiversity, which also include the resource availability and use in and around the villages inside and along the fringes (1km belt form the boundary) of the PA. Biodiversity assessment was carried out using well accepted scientific methods like plots, point count, area search, perambulation, opportunistic survey in addition to line, belt and vehicle transect. The entire area (vegetation map) of the WLS was divided into 30” x 30” (c. > 800m x 800m) grids. Based on the extent of each vegetation / forest types, five per cent of the area or the total girds in the specific vegetation type was sampled in three different season for the biodiversity (flora and fauna) assessment. The assessment of biodiversity was carried out for two years, in order to capture the between year variation also. iii Overall biodiversity assessment resulted in 603 species of higher plants, 52 species of lower plant, 93 species of butterflies, 12 of spiders, 12 species of amphibians, 38 species of reptile, 258 species of birds and 39 species of mammals in Kumbhalgarh WLS. This sanctuary harbors 26 species of higher plants, five species of reptiles, nine species of birds and six species of mammals of conservation significance. Overall Scenario of various species in this PA present in Aravalli Hills showed presence of many threatened species in this oldest hill system of India, which include flora like Commiphora wightii, Sterculia urens, Sterculia villosa, Boswellia serrata, Tecomella undulata, Rhus mysurensis, Leptadenia reticulata, and Gloriosa superba, and fauna such as Indian Rock Python, Indian Starred Tortoise, Common Indian Monitor Lizard, Fresh Water Crocodile in Herpetofauna; Long-billed Vulture, White-naped Tit, Grey Junglefowl, Indian White-backed Vulture, Egyptian Vulture, Tytler's Leaf Warbler, Open-billed Stork in Avifauna and Rusty-spotted Cat, Indian Wolf, Common leopard, Sloth Bear, Indian Pangolin