The temporal and geological dimensions of the western ghats make it a significant study world over. The western ghats are divided in to several hill ranges, such as the sahyadris, nilgiris, anaimalai hills. These hills cover 160000 km2 62000 sq mi and form the catchment area for complex riverine drainage systems that drain almost 40% of india. This book is a valuable field guide for identifying forest trees in the western and eastern ghats, deccan plateau and mangroves in. Flowering plants of the western ghats efloraofindia. Jan 12, 2015 the western ghats is the home for about 50 million people belonging to the six states of the country. Aug 04, 2016 discover the western ghats in tamil nadu.
They have some of the finest nonequatorial tropical evergreen forests. The western ghats is a narrow strip, stretching, approximately from bombay city in the north to trivandrum in the south. It is the source of water for the entire peninsular india, and also influences the monsoons. The western ghats contain exceptional levels of plant and animal diversity and endemicity for a continental area. S retd this book contains description of all forest trees in peninsular india and most of srilanka too. The entire western ghats biogeographic region is a major genetic estate with an enormous biodiversity of ancient lineage. Schematic presentation of eastern ghats and some important localities surveyed for lichen collection in the present study. In particular, the level of endemicity for some of the 45,000. Important facts on western and eastern ghats of india are given below. The western ghats, also known as sahyadri benevolent mountains, are a mountain range. Please clean up this section with relevantinforamtion. Further south, the eastern ghats merge with the western ghats. Patel for her immediate financial support to this pilot visit to 10 villages from northern western ghats to develop a long term plan for visiting other areas both in the northern as well as southern western ghats. Neighbor joining tree was constructed using mega version 5 40.
Eastern ghats biodiversity reserves with unexplored lichen. Geographical indications and biodiversity in the western. Therefore, it is required to bring the information in various sources into one roof. Forest trees of the western ghats authored by neginhal s. The western ghat escarpment is one of the classic examples of passive margin great escarpments in the world. They are running in the northsouth direction and form the western edge of the deccan plateau. The western ghats 43 heavy precipitation, coupled with the steep westward slopes of the ghats has rendered this as an ideal location for the generation of hydroelectric power. Some useful facts on the western and eastern ghats of india. There are unjustified human interventions in natural. Exotic products of western ghats is carried to outside india through the silk route and arabian sea from ancient time onwards. The western ghats are a major physiographic region of india. The proportion of endemics in the ensembles of the western ghats ranged from 34% ensemble iv to 14% ensemble i. The western ghats is an evolutionary ecotone illustrating out of africa and out of asia hypotheses on species dispersal and vicariance. Natural resource management in indias western ghats clark labs.
Why india must protect the western ghats from getting lost it could become a model for the entire country. Western ghats are chains of hills that run along western edge of peninsular india. The natural beauty of the mountain range is unrivalled. Major gaps in the range are the goa gap, between the maharashtra and karnataka sections, and the palghat gap on the tamil nadu and kerala border between the nilgiri hills and the anaimalai hills. As in other parts of india, the western ghats too are threatened by development projects.
Located in the western ghats range, it rises to 8,842 feet 2,695 metres and is peninsular indias highest peak. Besides there are large reserves of slate, shale, sandstones. The western ghats of india harbors a rich diversity of amphibians with more. Endemism and sexual systems in the evergreen tree flora of. The western ghats, western ghauts or the sahyadri constitute a mountain range along the western side of india. Gadgil report marked out 60 percent of the western ghats as the highestpriority ecologically sensitive zone esz 1. Towards the eastern side the ghats merge with the deccan plateau which gradually slopes towards the bay of bengal. Gk, general studies, optional notes for upsc, ias, banking, civil services. The life supporting and biodiversity rich ecosystems of western ghats are threatened today due to habitat pressures. Endemic asian chytrid strain infection in threatened and endemic. Celebrations and convergence for conservation in western ghats. Western ghats project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks.
The western ghats, also known as sahyadri benevolent mountains, are a mountain range that covers an area of 140,000 square kilometres 54,000 sq mi in a stretch of 1,600 kilometres 990 mi parallel to the western coast of the indian peninsula, traversing the states of kerala, tamil nadu, karnataka, goa, maharashtra and gujarat. Pdf western ghats is one of the unique biodiversity niches, with varied flora, fauna and landscapes. Jan 18, 2016 further south, the eastern ghats merge with the western ghats. Eastern ghats biodiversity reserves with unexplored. These changes have continued today, as evidenced by the cutting of the konkan railway alignment. The limited knowledge on the varied use of the medicinal plants, their availability and extent of distribution weakens the ways to utilize these resources efficiently. Its extent is about 1600 km, from the tapi valley in the north up to kanniyakumari in the south. Celebrations and convergence for conservation in western. The data deficiency is prominent in the case of cryptogams, especially lichens. This range runs north to south along the western edge of the deccan plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the arabian sea. Western ghats receives an average of 3000 mm rainfall per annum and is a treasure house of exotic varieties of plants, a god given blessing to humanity.
Unesco world heritage site 2012, western ghats, example represents significant ongoing ecological and biological processes, significant natural habitats for insitu conservation of biological diversity. Dams and hydroelectric projects construced in the western ghat watershed basins. Serial nomination of the western ghats of india unesco world. Gadgils western ghats western ghats landscape across 1,29,037 sq km. Gadgil report and kasturirangan report on western ghats. Pdf the western ghats is a mega biodiversity region, with varied flora. A list of places in the western ghats parts of the karnataka.
Feb 04, 2012 an example is the road that connects pune from the deccan plateau to mahad on the coast via the western ghats in mulshi taluka of pune district, effectively fragmenting the forests of the western ghats in this region. Parambikulam tiger reserve, topslip, aaliyar, valparai and athirappalli falls, known for the calm, natural, scenic beauty is covered under different packages. Western ghats india the western ghats are a chain of low mountains running 1,600 kilometres parallel to indias western coast from gujarat to southern kerala between 3050 kilometres inland. The western ghats is the home for about 50 million people belonging to the six states of the country. Report of the western ghats ecology expert panel pdf. Welcome to the lush western ghats, some of the most precious heat relief in india. The isolation of the western ghats changed during the british period when large areas of virgin tropical forest were cleared for tea, coffee and spice gardens. In this synthesis chapter we combine all the data sets from. The western ghats extend from the satpura range in the north, go south past maharashtra, goa, through karnataka and into kerala and tamil nadu. Though the western ghats have shrunk by 25% over the past two decades, the environment. There are about major 50 dams along the length of the western ghats with the earliest.
They have some of the finest nonequatorial tropical evergreen forests in the world with very high levels of speciation. Yet, the western ghats had fewer species than other tropical and neotropical forests. These are comparatively slower moving and eventually merge into larger. Western ghats free pdf download art and culture studyiq. Older than the himalaya mountains, the mountain chain of the western ghats represents geomorphic features of immense importance with unique biophysical and ecological processes.
Why india must protect the western ghats from getting lost. There are about major 50 dams along the length of the western ghats with the earliest project up in 1900 near khopoli in maharashtra. Western ghats is a unique mountain system caressing five states in india covers approximately 1,60,000 sq km and runs nearly 1600 km. This section is meant to discuss about the flora and fauna of the ghats, not forts of the marathas. The beautiful green valley is home to thousands of wild animal species including at least 325 globally threatened speci. Kodagu western ghats, india, we discuss how a gi can be successfully used by local producers and what conditions are needed for it to have a positive impact on the landscape and its associated biodiversity. Land use c has undergone drastic changes over the last 30. Soda pdf merge tool allows you to combine two or more documents into a single pdf file for free. The western ghats is the home of wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, reserve forests, several hill stations, cities, waterfalls and lakes. The conclave marked 25 years of the save the western ghats march of 198788 which was a pioneering environment movement in the western ghats. Watershed mapping and land cover classification in indias western ghats.
Western ghats tourism offers you package tours with appealing itinery that covers the western ghats area of tamil nadu and kerala. They receive high rain fall due to their proximity to ocean and through orographic effect. These hills cover an area of about 160,000 sq km starting. Ghats region of the western ghats and sri lanka biodiversity hotspot.
The range starts near the border of gujarat and maharashtra, south of the tapti river, and runs approximately 1600 km through the states of maharashtra, goa, karnataka. An example is the road that connects pune from the deccan plateau to mahad on the coast via the western ghats in mulshi taluka of pune district, effectively fragmenting the forests of the western ghats in this region. Western ghats with its species diversity is a treasure house of different kinds medicinal plants. Western ghats gallery unesco world heritage centre. Though covering an area of 180,000km 2, or just under 6 per cent of the land area of india, the western ghats contain more than 30 per cent of all plant, fish, herpetofauna, bird, and mammal species found in india. No file limit, no ad watermarks a free and beautiful tool to combine your pdf files exactly the way you want it. Mar 18, 2020 the state of keralagods own country, part of the western ghats in india is blossomed with a lot of aquatic ecosystems and vegetation. But now most of the water bodies are under threat due to. The development of the tropical rain forests in the southern western ghats and the sholas in the nilgiris region are the most outstanding features of western ghats. When we think of the western ghats, we often think of kerala or karnataka, maharashtra or goa however many forget that some of the most popular hill stations and forests in tamil nadu are part of this bio diversity hotspot and unesco world heritage site. Pdf merge combinejoin pdf files online for free soda pdf. The state of keralagods own country, part of the western ghats in india is blossomed with a lot of aquatic ecosystems and vegetation. Keywords endemism, evergreen forest trees, india, sexual systems, western.
March in 198788 in the northern sector of western ghats. The western ghats lies with the sahyadri mountains ranges along the western side of india and separates the deccan plateau from a narrow coastal plain of the arabian sea. Their positioning makes the western ghats biologically rich and biogeographically unique a veritable treasure house of biodiversity. The western ghat zone is an area of spectacular scenery, rugged terrain, deep valleys, impressive waterfalls, and dense forest teeming with wildlife. Western ghats tourism best tourism in pollachi tamil nadu. Figure 1 kodagu district a is located in the western ghats of india b. The western ghats is a mega biodiversity region, with varied flora, fauna and landscapes.
It is a unesco world heritage site and is one of the eight. The western ghats or sahyadri runs north to south along the western edge of the deccan plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the arabian s. This book is a valuable field guide for identifying forest trees in the western and eastern ghats, deccan plateau and mangroves in southern india. Western ghats, enchanting kerala, kerala tourism kerala tourism. Covering only 5% of indias land surface, ghatss harbour more than 4000 including 1800 endemic plant species. The western ghats is a mega biodiversity region, with varied flora. Nilgiri langur, lion tailed macaque, nilgiri tahr, malabar grey. From this point radiate three rangesthe anaimalai to the north, the palni to the northeast, and the cardamom hills to the south. The delegates came in from all the western ghats states and worked on a crosssection of issues concerning the ecology of the western ghats. The western ghats or sahyadri runs north to south along the western edge of the deccan plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the arabian sea. A look at some of the main recommendations of the gadgil report, how these were substantially relaxed by a subsequent committee led by space scientist k kasturirangan, and whether implementation of the first report would have made any difference to the kerala crisis. Indias western ghats is one of 25 biodiversity hot spots in the world and is home to the kudremukh national park, an area characterized by rich evergreen forest and significant populations of endangered species, including the liontailed macaque and tiger. Rising like an impassable bulwark of evergreen and deciduous tangle, from north of mumbai to the tip of tamil nadu, the world heritagelisted ghats with an average elevation of 915m contain 27% of indias. Seven subclusters of the western ghats in the states of kerala, tamil nadu.
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