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C ti S i f Conservation Services of Sacred GrovesSacred Groves
Debal DebDebal Deb
Centre for Interdisciplinary StudiesCentre for Interdisciplinary Studies
Barrackpore
www.cintdis.orgg
Ancient Sacred Groves: Last Bastions of Biodiversity
20/12/10
Destruction of Sacred Groves: Wood Theft &
State Forestry Operationy p
Once Upon A Time... There was A Grove in This Sacred Site!
Gaps in SG Literature
No records of mosses fungi & lichens• No records of mosses, fungi & lichens.
• No inventory of fauna.No inventory of fauna.
• No assessment of conservation status of taxa
Consequently, information about regional distribution
and abundance of a huge portion of biodiversity is yet
unavailable.
Inventory of Sacred Groves and Floral Compositions
MAYURESWAR-I
SONAMUKHI
MAYURESWAR-I
SANTURI
BISHNUPUR
NETURIA
SANTURI
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
No. of SGs No. of Spp.
Area of Groves
100
120
NETURIA
SANTURI
80
100 SANTURI
BISHNUPUR
MAYURESWAR I
60No. of SGs
SONAMUKHI
20
40
0
20
<1 1 2 2 4 4 6 6 8 >8<1 1-2 2-4 4-6 6-8 >8
SG Area (in thousand sq.m.)
Species-Area Relationship (Bankura District)
S = 1.23 A 0.31
R2 0 32
100
R2 = 0.32pp
.
10
No.
of S
pN
11 10 100 1000 10000
SG Area (sq.m.)
Tree Community Size and No. of SGs
BNP
4000
3000
MYR
SNM
2000
o. of Tre
es
SNM
SNR
NTR1000
No
00 50 100 150
No. of SG
A Fragmented Sacred Grove at Chhandar, Housing a Rare & Endangered Tree
Vitex glabrata, a Critically Endangered Tree Discovered from a Fragmented Sacred Grove in Bankura
Casearia varica, a Rare Tree from a Sacred Grove in Bengal
Ventilago madras-patala, a Rare Liana in a Sacred Grove, Bankura
Larger and older SGs are more likely to
function as the last habitats of rare taxa,
which might have disappeared elsewhere.
However, small and derelict SGs may also
th l t b ti f l Rserve as the last bastions of several Rare
and Endangered organisms with limitedand Endangered organisms with limited
distribution ranges. g
A 700-Year Old Sacred Grove in Bankura with > 40 Angiosperms
Findings from Research in Fauna of Sacred Groves
Reports Location Author
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
N i / dNew species/ record
Philautus sanctisilvaticus Amarkantak SG, Madhya Pradesh Das & Chanda (1997)
Leptololax khasiorum Mawphlong, Meghalaya Das et al. (2010)
Preferred habitat of fauna
4 resident birds Medinipur district, West Bengal Deb et al. (1997); p g ( )Spadoni & Deb (2005)
Rare fauna
Poecilobdella masiliensis Madana than SG, West Bengal Deb & Bersier (in press)20/12/10
Limitations & Constraints
Failed to identify many invertebrates (e.g. caddis flies, nematodes,
mites) due to
the unavailability of taxonomic expertise
Enlisting services of taxonomists for identifying specimens of even
the common taxa like fungi and nematodes was prohibited by
Fi i l t i t Financial constraints
Collection of spcies abundance data for birds and butterflies in Collection of spcies abundance data for birds and butterflies in
most of the SGs was incomplete … owing to
Resource constraint Resource constraint
Tasks for Future Concerted SG Research
• Enlist the Services of Endangered Specialists –the Taxonomists.
• Expand the research focus to encompass Poorly Understood Taxa (e.g. Lichens, Nematodes))
• Inventory Representative Fauna (e.g. Lepidoptera and Vertebrates)
• Financial Support for Taxonomic Inventory of 20/12/10
• Financial Support for Taxonomic Inventory of SG Inhabitants
References
Das, I. & S K Chanda 1997. Philautus sanctisilvaticus (Anura: Rhacophoridae), a new frog from the sacred grove of Amarkantak, central India. Hamadryad 22: 21-27.y
Das, I, R L Tron, D Rangad & R N K Hooroo 2010. A new species of Leptololax (Anura: Megophryidae) from the sacred groves of Mawphlong, Meghalaya north-eastern India Zootaxa 2339: 44-56Meghalaya, north eastern India. Zootaxa 2339: 44 56.
Deb, D., K Deuti & K C Malhotra 1997. Sacred grove relics as bird refugia. Curr. Sci. 73: 815-817.
Deb, D. & L-F. Bersier (in press). Instances of fauna conserved in two sacred habitats of West Bengal. Soc. Nat. Res.
Spadoni, M & D. Deb 2005. Ethnoecology of sacred grovesin West Bengal, India. In: Himalaya: Environment, Culture and Sustainable Development. Cooperazione Italiana/ Zoological Museum. Rome, pp. 143-160.
Lake 2010 DD