scholarly journals A comprehensive checklist of endemic flora of Meghalaya, India

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 14527-14561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aabid Hussain Mir ◽  
Krishna Upadhaya ◽  
Dilip Kumar Roy ◽  
Chaya Deori ◽  
Bikarma Singh

The geographical distribution of plants of Meghalaya show that a total of 548 plant taxa belonging to 302 genera and 100 families are endemic to northeastern India or Indo-Burma or the eastern Himalaya region.  Of these, 115 species are exclusively endemic to the state of Meghalaya.  The dominant life form is epiphytes (25.4%), followed by trees (25%), shrubs (21.7%), herbs (21%), climbers (6.6%) and parasites (0.4%).  In terms of species richness, Orchidaceae is the largest family with 146 species and Bulbophyllum is the dominant genera represented by 15 species.  The present investigation reveals that most species considered endemic to the state of Meghalaya has extended geographic distribution to neighbouring states and other countries.  Majority of the endemic taxa are restricted to protected areas such as national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, conservation reserves, and small forest patches preserved in the form of community forests or sacred groves.  Lesser known species with small populations outside the protected areas are on the verge of extinction due to a number of anthropogenic activities, hence warranting immediate conservation measures.  

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amitava Aich ◽  
Dipayan Dey ◽  
arindam roy

Presence of Eastern Hoolock Gibbon (Hoolock leuconydes) was confirmed recently in and around Mehao Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh, where the last remnant rainforest region of Eastern Himalaya still exists. A total of 13 groups of Eastern Hoolock Gibbon were located in this Lower Dibang valley in the outskirts and periferi of Mehao WLS where they coexist with humans at the non-protected agricultural landscape. The present study focuses on the recent behavioural modification of Hoolock Gibbon in the non-protected fragmented region coexisted with local population at the juxta region of agricultural landscape and groves. Satellite data indicates massive deforestation in last 30 years with a rate of 7 sq km per year leading to multiple fragmented forest patches with an average area of 200-800 sq meters. These patches are home for a family of Eastern Hoolock Gibbon consisting of with an average family size of 3.5. Agricultural expansion, developmental activities, tourism and migration of population to this part of Eastern Himalaya have significantly modify behavioural aspects of Eastern Hoolock Gibbon. Our observation shows a larger family size, descending to the ground and maize crop raiding as a result of food scarcity and habitat crunching due to the recent anthropogenic activities. The chances of human-animal conflict will expect to increase as a consequence of these behavioral changes. The conflict could be elevated due to the recent change in sociological demographics in the non-protected regions. A call for immediate action is needed for the survival of these species in the changing land use pattern over newly emerged eco-sociological dynamics.


2015 ◽  
Vol 370 (1662) ◽  
pp. 20140007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura J. Pollock ◽  
Dan F. Rosauer ◽  
Andrew H. Thornhill ◽  
Heini Kujala ◽  
Michael D. Crisp ◽  
...  

Evolutionary and genetic knowledge is increasingly being valued in conservation theory, but is rarely considered in conservation planning and policy. Here, we integrate phylogenetic diversity (PD) with spatial reserve prioritization to evaluate how well the existing reserve system in Victoria, Australia captures the evolutionary lineages of eucalypts, which dominate forest canopies across the state. Forty-three per cent of remaining native woody vegetation in Victoria is located in protected areas (mostly national parks) representing 48% of the extant PD found in the state. A modest expansion in protected areas of 5% (less than 1% of the state area) would increase protected PD by 33% over current levels. In a recent policy change, portions of the national parks were opened for development. These tourism development zones hold over half the PD found in national parks with some species and clades falling entirely outside of protected zones within the national parks. This approach of using PD in spatial prioritization could be extended to any clade or area that has spatial and phylogenetic data. Our results demonstrate the relevance of PD to regional conservation policy by highlighting that small but strategically located areas disproportionally impact the preservation of evolutionary lineages.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 14363-14367
Author(s):  
Bhavendu Joshi ◽  
Biang La Nam Syiem ◽  
Rokohebi Kuotsu ◽  
Arjun Menon ◽  
Jayanta Gogoi ◽  
...  

Northeastern India, situated within the Indo-Burma and eastern Himalaya biodiversity hotspot complex, is known for its high diversity of wild felid species.  For most of these species, however, data on distribution and population trends are limited.  Here, we present photographic records of the Marbled Cat Pardofelis marmorata and Asiatic Golden Cat Catopuma temminckii from outside protected areas in the state of Nagaland.  These records are from community forests around the Dzükou Valley in Nagaland and are some of the few records of the species from the state.  The confirmed presence of the two species highlights the pivotal role of community-managed forests in the conservation of endangered species in the region. 


2020 ◽  
Vol 642 ◽  
pp. 227-240
Author(s):  
L Lodi ◽  
R Tardin ◽  
G Maricato

Most studies of cetacean habitat use do not consider the influence of anthropogenic activities. We investigated the influence of environmental and anthropogenic variables on habitat use by humpback Megaptera novaeangliae and Bryde’s whales Balaenoptera brydei off the coast of the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. Although there are 2 marine protected areas (MPAs) in this area, few data are available on cetacean habitat use or on the overlap of different cetacean species within these MPAs. Our aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of the MPAs and propose a buffer zone to better protect the biodiversity of the study area. We conducted systematic surveys and developed spatial eigenvector generalized linear models to characterize habitat use by the species in the study area. Habitat use by humpback whales was influenced only by depth, whereas for Bryde’s whales there was the additional influence of anthropogenic variables. For Bryde’s whales, which use the area for feeding, sea surface temperature and the distance to anchorages had a major influence on habitat use. We also showed that neither of the MPAs in the study area adequately protects the hotspots of either whale species. Most of the humpback whale grid cells with high sighting predictions were located within 2 km of the MPAs, while areas of high sighting prediction of Bryde’s whales were located up to 5 km from the MPAs, closer to beaches. Our findings provide important insights for the delimitation of protected areas and zoning of the MPAs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 384
Author(s):  
Javier Martínez-López ◽  
Bastian Bertzky ◽  
Simon Willcock ◽  
Marine Robuchon ◽  
María Almagro ◽  
...  

Protected areas (PAs) are a key strategy to reverse global biodiversity declines, but they are under increasing pressure from anthropogenic activities and concomitant effects. Thus, the heterogeneous landscapes within PAs, containing a number of different habitats and ecosystem types, are in various degrees of disturbance. Characterizing habitats and ecosystems within the global protected area network requires large-scale monitoring over long time scales. This study reviews methods for the biophysical characterization of terrestrial PAs at a global scale by means of remote sensing (RS) and provides further recommendations. To this end, we first discuss the importance of taking into account the structural and functional attributes, as well as integrating a broad spectrum of variables, to account for the different ecosystem and habitat types within PAs, considering examples at local and regional scales. We then discuss potential variables, challenges and limitations of existing global environmental stratifications, as well as the biophysical characterization of PAs, and finally offer some recommendations. Computational and interoperability issues are also discussed, as well as the potential of cloud-based platforms linked to earth observations to support large-scale characterization of PAs. Using RS to characterize PAs globally is a crucial approach to help ensure sustainable development, but it requires further work before such studies are able to inform large-scale conservation actions. This study proposes 14 recommendations in order to improve existing initiatives to biophysically characterize PAs at a global scale.


Author(s):  
Moses Mulwa ◽  
Mike Teucher ◽  
Werner Ulrich ◽  
Jan Christian Habel

AbstractTropical forests suffer severe habitat destruction. Thus, tropical forests frequently consist today of only a few small remnants that are often embedded within a matrix of agricultural fields and tree plantations. Forest specialist species have experienced severe population declines under these circumstances. We studied bird communities based on census plots set up in a near-natural forest block, as well as degraded forest patches, tree plantations, and agricultural fields, across the Taita Hills in southern Kenya. We classified each bird species according its ecology and behavior. We quantified the land cover and landscape configuration around each census plot. Typical forest species were mainly observed in the near-natural forest block, and to a lower extent in degraded forest patches. Plantations were almost devoid of birds. Bird communities of small forest fragments were more similar to that of agricultural land than the near-natural forest block. Most frugivorous, insectivorous and nectarivorous birds occurred in forest habitats, while granivorous bird species dominated the bird communities of agricultural land. The surrounding landscape had a marginal impact on bird species composition at local sites. Our study showed that the preservation of near-natural cloud forest, including small forest patches, is essential for the conservation of forest-dependent species, and that plantations do not serve as surrogate habitats.


Rodriguésia ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (5) ◽  
pp. 1791-1805 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amélia C. Tuler ◽  
Tatiana T. Carrijo ◽  
Márcia F.S. Ferreria ◽  
Ariane L. Peixoto

Abstract This study presents a floristic-taxonomic treatment of Psidium in the state of Espírito Santo, and is a result of fieldwork combined with analyses of herbarium specimens. Fourteen species of the genus were recognized in Espírito Santo state (P. brownianum, P. cattleianum, P. cauliflorum, P. guajava, P. guineense, P. longipetiolatum, P. myrtoides, P. oblongatum, P. oligospermum, P. ovale, P. rhombeum, P. rufum P. sartorianum, and Psidium sp.), accounting for about 34% of the species richness estimated for the genus in the Atlantic Rainforest biome. The species occur predominantly in lowland forests up to 700 meters above sea level. These areas are highly threatened due to urbanization of coastal areas and agricultural expansion in the state Espírito Santo. Therefore, the conservation of Psidium species in this state requires the creation of more lowland protected areas.


Oryx ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guilherme Braga Ferreira ◽  
Marcelo Juliano Rabelo Oliveira ◽  
Rogério Cunha de Paula ◽  
Flávio Henrique Guimarães Rodrigues ◽  
Érica Daniele Cunha Carmo

AbstractThe bush dog Speothos venaticus, a rare Near Threatened South American canid that lives in packs, was thought to be extinct in Minas Gerais state, south-eastern Brazil, until recently. Here, we report four recent records of the species in Minas Gerais, the first in the state since the description of the species in 1842. All records are from the Cerrado ecosystem in the north and north-west of the state; two are from animals found dead, one from footprints and another from a camera trap. Three of the records were inside or close (< 10 km) to strict protected areas, in a region recognized as the Protected Areas Mosaic Sertão Veredas–Peruaçu, where we expect any new records of the bush dog to be found. We discuss the low probability of detecting the bush dog and the main regional threats to the species, and emphasize the need to protect large and interconnected natural areas and keep them free of domestic dogs to avoid the extinction of the bush dog in Minas Gerais.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cormac Walsh

AbstractNational parks and other large protected areas play an increasingly important role in the context of global social and environmental challenges. Nevertheless, they continue to be rooted in local places and cannot be separated out from their socio-cultural and historical context. Protected areas furthermore are increasingly understood to constitute critical sites of struggle whereby the very meanings of nature, landscape, and nature-society relations are up for debate. This paper examines governance arrangements and discursive practices pertaining to the management of the Danish Wadden Sea National Park and reflects on the relationship between pluralist institutional structures and pluralist, relational understandings of nature and landscape.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document