Forwarding pl. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Praveen J Date: 22 September 2014 14:43 Subject: Fwd: Invasive plants threaten wildlife To:
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Date: Mon, Sep 22, 2014 at 2:37 PM Subject: Invasive plants threaten wildlife To: Praveen J http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/invasive-plants-threaten-wildlife/article6433166.ece Invasive plants threaten wildlife : Wild growth of invasive alien plants such as *Senna spectabilis* (calceolaria shower), *Lantana* , *Eupatorium* and *Parthenium* is posing a threat to wildlife and indigenous plants in the forest areas of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, including the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS), a major habitat of Asiatic elephants in the country. “The spread of *Senna spectablis* is more dangerous than other exotic species owing to its quick growth,” Narendranath Veluri, North Wayanad Forest Divisional officer told *The Hindu* . “Nearly 3,000 sq km-stretch of the region, including the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, North and South Wayanad forest divisions and the adjacent Muthumalai, Bandipur and Nagarhole tiger reserves, have wild growth of the invasive plant,” he said. Survey An ongoing survey being conducted by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), in association with the Forest Department, shows that the plant is widely distributed in the Muthanga and Tholpetty range of forests under the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary. “An adult tree would grow up to 15 to 20 metres in a short period of time and its quick spread causes dearth of food for the wildlife population, especially herbivores, This would worsen the man-animal conflict in the district,” said N. Badusha, president, Wayanad Prakruthi Samrakshana Samiti. *C.K. Vishnudas*, a wildlife researcher, said no part of the tree had proved to be edible to wildlife. It would not allow the growth of other indigenous species of trees or even grass under its thick canopy. “It is suspected that the spread of the exotic species in the region began with a social forestry programme of the department in the Nineties. Eradication of the plant would not be easy, but it can be done with the active participation of environmental organisations, National Service Scheme volunteers and the public,” Mr. Badusha said. Roy P Thomas, Wildlife Warden, WWS, said the Forest Department was preparing to execute a project with the technical support of the Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi , and the WTI to eradicate the plant from the sanctuary.sa` __._,_.___ . -- With regards, J.M.Garg 'Creating awareness of Indian Flora & Fauna' <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Jmgarg1> The whole world uses my Image Resource <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:J.M.Garg> of more than a thousand species & eight thousand images of Birds, Butterflies, Plants etc. (arranged alphabetically & place-wise). You can also use them for free as per Creative Commons license attached with each image. For identification, learning, discussion & documentation of Indian Flora, please visit/ join our Efloraofindia Google e-group <https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/indiantreepix> (largest in the world- more than 2400 members & 2,00,000 messages on 9.9.14) or Efloraofindia website <https://sites.google.com/site/efloraofindia/> (with a species database of more than 10,000 species & 2,00,000 images). Winner of Wipro-NFS Sparrow Awards 2014 for efloraofindia <https://sites.google.com/site/efloraofindia/award-for-efloraofindia>. Also author of 'A Photoguide to the Birds of Kolkata & Common Birds of India'. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "efloraofindia" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/indiantreepix. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
