Environmental Science Sunil Nautiyal Katari Bhaskar Y.D. Imran Khan Biodiversity of Semiarid Landscape Baseline Study for Understanding the Impact of Human Development on Ecosystems Environmental Science and Engineering Environmental Science Series editors Rod Allan, Burlington, Canada Ulrich Förstner, Hamburg, Germany Wim Salomons, Haren, The Netherlands More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/3234 Sunil Nautiyal • Katari Bhaskar Y.D. Imran Khan Biodiversity of Semiarid Landscape Baseline Study for Understanding the Impact of Human Development on Ecosystems 123 Sunil Nautiyal Y.D. Imran Khan Centre for Ecological Economics Centre for Ecological Economics and Natural Resources and Natural Resources Institute for Social and Economic Change Institute for Social and Economic Change Bangalore, Karnataka Bangalore, Karnataka India India Katari Bhaskar Centre for Ecological Economics and Natural Resources Institute for Social and Economic Change Bangalore, Karnataka India ISSN 1863-5520 ISSN 1863-5539 (electronic) Environmental Science and Engineering ISSN 1431-6250 Environmental Science ISBN 978-3-319-15463-3 ISBN 978-3-319-15464-0 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-15464-0 Library of Congress Control Number: 2015939167 Springer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) Foreword Arid and semiarid regions cover around 40% of terrestrial area of the planet earth and support livelihoods of two billion people, with ∼90% people living in devel- oping countries. These regions cover 10 out of 15 agroecological zones in India. The region, though is not as much species-rich and forested as biodiversity hotspots namely Western Ghats and Himalayas, does harbour a large number of unique and crucial species, ecosystems and cultural landscapes that have received only mar- ginal attention of the research community. This volume based on a 3-year-long interdisciplinary study of a vast area (2800 km2) in the state of Karnataka, India, is a significant addition to the scientific knowledge on diverse dimensions of environ- ment, development and livelihoods in drylands. The volume provides baseline information on the flora, fauna, land cover/use and spatio-temporal dynamics of resource-livelihood linkages. Authors have dealt with multiple components (plants and animals in both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems) and values of biodiversity in both qualitative and quantitative terms. Data analysis and presentation is such that the volume can serve as a reference point for assessing ecological impacts of development interventions and harmonizing multiple functions of species, eco- systems and cultural landscapes. Deductions on landscape dynamics and resource management are based on an effective integration of modern and conventional ecological monitoring techniques (remote sensing, geographic information system and intensive ground survey/sampling) and scientific knowledge and traditional ecological knowledge on resource management. The contents are thus useful for harmonizing the top-down and bottom-up policies and programmes to sustainable resource management. This contribution from Sunil Nautiyal, K. Bhaskar and Y.D. Imran Khan will be a reference point for future research and development endeavours and will provide a foundation for improving the current conservation- development policies and programmes in drylands. New Delhi, India K.G. Saxena May 2015 School of Environmental Sciences Jawaharlal Nehru University v Preface The study on “Biodiversity of Semiarid Landscape: Baseline Study for Understanding the Impact of Human Development on Ecosystems” covers the results compiled from datasets generated from rigorous empirical field studies. The study of biodiversity is meant to provide a reference point against which any future changes associated with any anthropogenic activity can be assessed and to offer information for subsequent monitoring of biodiversity performance. This research aimed to explore, survey, and quantify plant and animal specimens to document the species from aquatic and ter- restrial ecosystems. The phytosociological assessment and analysis of diversity indices of different vegetation strata, i.e., trees, shrubs, herbs, climbers, tree saplings, and seedlings across the study region, are part of the objectives of the study. The study and analysis of the conservation status, i.e., to identify and document floral and faunal species (including threatened and endemic), was taken up as a research component. The documentation of traditional knowledge related to use, conservation, and man- agement was also intended to be part of the study. The examination of land-use/ land-cover class of the region for vegetation analysis was another objective of this research. The study area is located in North-East Dry Zone of Yadgir and Gulbarga districts in Karnataka, India, and spreads over about 2800 km2. The central point of the study area is located 16° 43′ 35.40″N latitude and 76° 44′ 40.91″E near Gogi Village in Shahapur taluk (Yadgir district) with average elevation of 460 m (1510 ft.) above mean sea level. The study region falls in Deccan Plateau, mostly covered by dry deciduous plants. Two rivers flow in the study region, and 11 major lakes are also located within the boundary of the studied semiarid landscape. With reference to soil orders of Karnataka State, NBSS & LUP, Nagpur, India, the soil of the study area comprises entisols, vertisols, and inceptisols. Extreme climatic conditions are the characteristic features of the study region which is hot and receives low rainfall. The average rainfall is less than 650 mm with 40–55 rainy days in a year. The weather of the study area comprises of three seasons. Summer spans from late February to mid-June. It is followed by the southwest monsoon that ranges from late June to late September. It is then followed by dry winter weather until mid-January. The day temperature ranges from 26 °Cin winter to 42 °C in summer. vii viii Preface The study area was divided into habitat types and in each habitat 30 quadrats consisting of subgroups—trees, shrubs/climbers, and herbs with sizes of quadrats 10 × 10 m, 5 × 5 m, and 1 × 1 m, respectively were laid down for phytosociological study. When sampling trees and shrubs, the circumference and height of indi- viduals of each species were recorded. Seasonal appearance of plants like flower- ing, fruiting, and appearance of young leaves was also recorded under phenological study. To study invertebrates, line transects of variable lengths, light traps, pitfall traps, baited traps, and litter collection methods were used. The avian diversity study was done by using line transect and point count methods. Data on big mammals were recorded by sound observation and analysis of pugmarks, scats, pellets, and vocals. The fishes were surveyed and identified by net fishing in major water bodies and exploring the fish markets. Belowground biodiversity was also studied. Litter samples were collected from the field without disturbing the central 10 × 10 cm grid of the different land ecosystems and were transferred to the Berlese funnel for further cleaning and extraction of samples. For all the species, good photographs were taken. The plant species were preserved by preparing herbarium sheets using standard methods given by Botanical Survey of India. The inverte- brates and fish species collected were preserved by dry or wet methods for iden- tification and to deposit in regional centers of the Zoological Survey of India. Plants parts such as bark, roots, leaves, and fruits were also collected and preserved in the laboratory. Quantitative data on each species are described in detail. The survey was conducted in the selected villages of the region for documentation of traditional ecological knowledge and conservation and management of biodiversity. Detailed studies were carried out to explore, survey, and collect vertebrates, invertebrates, plants, zooplankton, and phytoplankton. The data collected were tabulated and used for calculating density, abundance, frequency, and importance value index (IVI). The analysis was done for preparing diversity indices such as Shannon–Wiener index, beta-diversity, concentration of dominance (Cd), and Simpson reciprocal index for different vegetation strata.