Floral and avifaunal composition, richness and diversity of traditional agroforestry homegardens in

Konkan Coast of Maharashtra.

Kumarsukhadeo P. Gadekar (University of Wales, Bangor, UK)Douglas L. Godbold (University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences,

Vienna, Austria)

Tropical homegardens: multi functionality and benefits

INTRODUCTION

Agriculture Homegardens Mangrove and fishing

Mangrove Mango plantations Livestock

Grassland Casuarina beaches Moist topical forest

Causes of land-use conversion in Konkan coastof maharashtra Coconut plantation

Shrimp farming Land conversion Chira mining

Loss of Casuarina beach Fuelwood Roads

Illegal fellings

ELECTRICITY STARVED MAHARASHTRA STATE

13 power generation project along Konkan coast:

26,608 MW

Jaitapur nuclear power project := 10,000 MW

Approved by the High Court stating that “The nuclear

power project stands higher footing than biodiversity

and public opposition as it is going to supply power to

millions of peoples”.

Risks and benefits still in closed lunch box

Geographical coordinates:16˚ 30' to 16˚ 43' N latitudes

&73˚ 19' to73˚30' E longitudes

Birds

Flora

Flora: A quadrate sampling technique

Birds: A point transect method based on distance sampling

Anacardium occidentale

Artocarpus heterophyllus

Curcuma longa

Michelia champaca

Acalypha hispida

Piper nigrum Ensete superbum Dioscoria alata

Dioscoria alataHeliconia rostrata

Mucuna pruriens

Rauvolfia serpentine

Floral results Total 206 plant species Dominant: Fabaceae,

Apocynaceae, Cucurbitiaceae , Ceasalpiniaceae, Poaceae , Euphorbiaceae, Moraceae and Verbenaceae .

Fruit, medicinal plants, ornamental, timber, fuelwood, spices etc.

Tree Shrubs Herb Climber0

10203040

02040608010088

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No.

of f

amili

es

No.

ofg

spe

cies

Mode of regeneration

Cultivated + natural regeneration

Natural regeneration

Cultivated

81 72 53

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 18000

102030405060708090

100

Tree: Sobs (Mao Tau) Shrub: Sobs (Mao Tau)Herb: Sobs (Mao Tau) Climber: Sobs (Mao Tau)

Abundance

Spec

ies

rich

ness

Fig. 6

Sample based species accumulation or rarefaction curves (Sobs) for the different components of the overall plant species assemblage’s verses abundance in homegardens vegetation.

Component Shannon Weaver index (H’)

Simpsons index (λ)

Simpsons index of diversity (1-λ)

Species evenness (E)

Tree 3.82 0.04 0.96 0.85

Shrub 3.32 0.05 0.95 0.85

Herb 3.48 0.04 0.96 0.92

Climber 3.00 0.06 0.94 0.92

Overall 4.76 0.02 0.98 0.82

Cocos nucifera, Dendrocalamus strictus, Mangifera indica, Psidium guajava, Areca catechu, Anacardium occidentale, Artocarpus heterophyllus, Jatropha curcas, Musa paradisiaca, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, Gliricidia sepium, Colocasia esculenta, Hemidesmus indicus, Trichosanthes cucumerina, Piper longum, Piper nigrum and Garcinia indica, Murraya koenigii, Tectona grandis, Moringa oleifera and Manilkara zapota.

Bird study results 76 bird species Dry season (62) and monsoon season (59). There are seven bird species only occurred in Monsoon season which

never recorded in dry season (SEASONAL MIGRATORY).

jungle Crow, baya Weaver, brahminy Kite, red wattled, spotted Dove, Indian Myna, rose ringed-parakeet, red whiskered Bulbul, red vented Bulbul, Indian pied Hornbill, large gray Babbler, black Drongo, small Bee-eater, jungle bush Quail, black shouldered Kite, Indian house Crow, cattle Egret etc.

Malabar Trogon, spotted Owlet, Indian Peafowl, Hoopoe, white breasted Waterhen, black Bulbul, Indian pied Wagtail, red Munia, yellow fronted Barbet, purple Sunbird, painted Spourfowl, tickells blue Flycatcher, white spotted fantail Flycatcher, Eurasian blackbird, common Kestrel, rosy Starling, night Heron, Indian Pitta are rare bird species

0 100 200 300 400 500 6000

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Dry season: Sobs Mao TauMonsoon season: Sobs Mao Tau

Abundance

Spec

ies

richn

ess

Parameter Dry season

Monsoon season

Abundance 452 567

Bird density ha-1 35.7 42.5

Detection probability/ha

66.6 75.8

Effective detection radius for point transects

27 26

Encounter rate 4.6 5

Shannon Weaver index (H’)

3.66 3.47

Simpsons index of diversity (1-D)

0.96 0.95

Simpsons index of dominance (D)

0.036 0.046

Species evenness (E)

0.89 0.85

Predicted sample based Rarefaction curves (EstimateS 8.2.0 version) showing bird species richness verses abundance for homegardens, in the dry season. Solid lines represent species richness in the dry season and dotted lines represents species richness values in the monsoon season

Indian-Pied Hornbil

Red-Whiskered Bulbul

Lagger Falcon

Black-Hooded Oriole

Baya WeaverIndian Myna

Indian House Crow

White-Throated Kingfisher

Conclusion

The higher number of rare species in the study area is important for conservation point of view.

It is concluded that the bird analysis study site exhibits diverse homegarden habitat and is rich in bird species. The wide variety of the bird species like hornbills, woodpeckers, warblers, drongos, flycatchers, kingfishers, starlings, crows and kites indicates richness and diversity of the bird species in the study area.

Our study highlights the importance of conducting and documenting bird diversity at different land-use type. It is important to carry out repeated inventories of the Konkan coast in order to track regional and global changes in population of bird species.

The study demonstrates rich floral and avifaunal diversity of homegardens. Therefore, the priority should be given to the region for conservation and

sustainable management of floral biodiversity of homegardens, which is facing pressure from increasing population, land-use changes, deforestation and developmental activities.

The variation in species richness, dominance and diversity for homegardens vegetation components indicate dynamic nature.

Conclusion Although ornithological knowledge of the Western Ghats is significant,

understanding the avifaunal diversity is still important for conservation planning and restoring ecosystems in long term management. We therefore suggest further systematic and long term avian survey to document changes in overall species richness and diversity in Konkan coast of Western Ghats.

Being an ecological indicators as well as aesthetic reasons it is important to understand how birds are affected by human induced land-use changes. Therefore, it will help for better conservation planning of avifauna of the study area in the future.

The outcomes of our study will provide baseline data for monitoring and conserving the vegetation and avifaunal diversity of tropical homegardens vegetation and other land-use types.

The present study conclude that land clearing, land breaking and nuclear power project installation will affect the biodiversity and carbon balance. Therefore, the study suggests that it should not be started at Jaitapur for future environmental health, safety, public health, security and to avoid future hazards of loss of biodiversity.

THANKS A LOT