Sringeri
ATREE's presence in Sringeri :
Exponentially growing human population is destroying and degrading world’s natural forests and wild habitats for his socio-economic needs. They have dramatically altered the amount, pattern, and composition of global vegetation. Forest managers, policymakers, and the public need better information about the relationship between biodiversity and the structure of forest stands and landscapes. At present, results of stand-level studies suggest that biological diversity is positively related to the structural/compositional complexity of vegetation and that biological diversity is diminished when stand structures are simplified.
A good share of natural forests of Western Ghats has been given way to plantation crops like rubber, tea, coffee, betel nut, and teak. Recently a lot of degraded land has been converted to Acacia and Eucalyptus plantations by state forest departments for aforestation purposes. But biodiversity support functions of monoculture plantations are still a matter of debate. It has also been suggested that the community-managed forests are capable of supporting as much vegetation diversity as natural forests. But very few studies have been conducted on the capacity of plantations and community managed forests to support insect diversity. Therefore we made an attempt to understand how the traditional forest management practices are effective in conserving insect diversity, determine the impact of changes in land use patterns on insect diversity, and assess the impact of Acacia plantations on the diversity of insects. This study is being carried out at Sringeri Taluk in Chikmagalur Dist. of Karnataka State where there are a diversity of both forest types and the regulations that govern their use.
Impact of land use change of uncultivated corridors on diversity and abundance of ground beetles (Carabidae: Coleoptera)
The complex habitats near to the agro-ecosystems give a proper niche for the development of the natural bio control agents. Incorporating uncultivated areas into crop fields and increasing the vegetational diversity of agro-ecosystems can increase the abundance of natural enemies and can adequately enhance the crop yield. In many parts of India there is a traditional practice of leaving uncultivated land adjacent to the farm fields. These uncultivated corridors and its floral diversity play a pivotal role in determining the health and productivity of an agro ecosystem. Growing human population is under constant pressure to convert more and more available land to grow more food and to satisfy his other socio economic needs. in this spree these vegetation corridors are also being converted into farmlands or monoculture plantations forgetting the ecological implications. In Sringeri Taluk of Chikamagalur Dist. (Karnataka) we have initiated study to assess the role of natural uncultivated corridors (Soppinabettas) and the impacts of its simplifications and land use change on natural enemy guilds and pests of paddy agro ecosystems.
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