Study Sites

Field collection sites (Figs 2.1-2.12) were chosen based on distance from each other, elevation and accessibility and located 13 – 21 km SW of the town of Khanapur in Karnataka state. Table 1.0 provides details of the study sites.

Table 1.0 Information of the four study sites. Temperature wind speed and

humidity data was collected during field work and an average tabulated below. Jiroli Gawali Barapedi Talewadi

Latitude N 15 º 33' 58.2'' 15° 59' 54.3" 15 º 33' 24.1'' 15 º 33' 29.5'' Longitude E 74 º 24' 41.1'' 74° 33'21.0" 74 º 13' 11.4'' 74 º 20' 12.2''

elevation at highest point 855m 835m 803m 800m

Temperature extremes:

Winter midday 24º C 35º C 30º C 30º C

Winter midnight 9º C 9º C 6º C 6º C

Summer midday 39º C 46º C 45º C 47º C

Summer midnight 24º C 16º C 17º C 16º C

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Post monsoon midnight 18º C 13º C 12º C 12º C

Average wind speed (at 1.5m):

Winter midday 1 km/h 1.3 km/h 3 km/h 4 km/h

Summer midday 4 km/h 4 km/h 9 km/h 9.8 km/h

Post monsoon midday 1.3 km/h 6 km/h 7.2 km/h 7.2 km/h

Humidity

Winter 70% 40% 20% 17.8 %

Summer 30% 28% 10% 8 %

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Fig. 2.1. View of Jiroli sada in monsoon 2009 Fig. 2.2. Constructing animal exclosure at Jiroli

Fig. 2.3. Interface between forest and sada Fig. 2.4. Interface between forest and sada

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Fig. 2.7. Talewadi sada: pits excavated for Acacia plantation June 2008

Fig. 2.8. Talewadi sada: pits excavated for Acacia plantation June 2008

Fig. 2.9. Talewadi sada: pits excavated for Acacia plantation, showing disturbance June 2008

Fig. 2.10. Jiroli sada at the end of winter

Fig. 2.11. Jiroli sada forest border Fig. 2.12. Jiroli sada at the end of winter with

evidence of large herbivores resting here

Gawali was the largest sada with an area of 2.3 acres, followed by Talewadi at 2.1, Barapedi at 1.9 and Jiroli at 1.6 acres.

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2.6 Vegetation

2.6.1 Forest

All adjacent forest species were identified by observation in the field alone. We know for a fact that the forest vegetation is distinct because all trees are tall deciduous or semi-deciduous. There is no significant ground layer cover in the forest area due to dense shading from the canopy. The ground litter layer comprises fallen foliage from the trees overhead. Chatterjee (1939) initiated the work on endemic plants of India as early as 1939, followed by Blasco (1970), Ahmedullah & Nayar (1986) and Nayar (1996), providing exhaustive lists of the endemic species of the region. However, none of these studies has emphasized the ecology of the endemics. Ramesh & Pascal (1999) provided distribution maps for endemic trees in the evergreen and semi- evergreen forests of the Western Ghats. Gopalan & Henry (2000) evaluated the status of the strict endemics of the Agasthiyamali hills, in the southern part of the Western Ghats. The most recent work on endemism of the Western Ghats is by Mishra & Singh (2001) in Endemic and threatened flowering plants of Maharashtra. From the available literature it was determined that information on endemics and their life-form type in the Goa region of the Western Ghats was altogether lacking. The study region is dominated by moist deciduous forests and plateau vegetation unlike the southern part of the Western Ghats which is predominantly evergreen and semi-evergreen forest type. (Joshi & Janarthanam, 2004).

2.6.2 Sada

Due to the harsh edaphic and microclimatic conditions, the vegetation of most sadas is clearly distinct from that of their surroundings. Barthlott et al. (1993) distinguished a number of typical vegetation types typical of sadas including monocotyledonous- mats, ephemeral flush vegetation and shallow soil-filled depressions. The plateaus in the northern part of the Western Ghats are unique, being botanically species rich with mainly herbaceous endemics. These ephemerals are closely associated with the prevailing rainfall patterns. Thus any change of moisture regime over the long-term will have an impact on the distribution of these endemics. Plateaus in the study area harbour the largest number of endemic species, especially herbs, while endemic trees are distributed in the adjacent semi-evergreen and evergreen forests (Joshi &

2-12 Janarthanam, 2004).

Hostile environmental factors have led to the convergent evolution of specific plant traits that promote their survival in such conditions. Desiccation-tolerant vascular plants (“resurrection plants”) possess particular adaptations to extreme environmental conditions. Desiccation tolerance is widespread among cryptogams but is very rare among higher plants, particularly in angiosperms. Tolerant plants can survive cycles of dehydration and rehydration without losing viability (Hartung et al. 1998). In the desiccated state they can survive the loss of up to 80–95% of their cell water. The physiological consequences of the nearly complete desiccation of tissues of

resurrection plants have been addressed by numerous authors (Hartung et al. 1998; Tuba et al. 1998; Kluge & Brulfert, 2000; Porembski & Barthlott, 2000). However, their ecology is poorly known, perhaps because most desiccation-tolerant plants occur outside the temperate zone and colonize disjunct habitats (e.g. rock outcrops) that are not easy to access (Porembski & Barthlott, 2000).

2.7 Rainfall

Rainfall during the two years of the study was within the normal range of the last decade in both annual total (Fig. 2.14) and seasonal distribution (Fig. 2.13).

Figure 2.13 Monthly rainfall data for Belgaum District for the years 2004 to 2010

(Indian Meteorological department). In my study, the three climatic seasons sampled comprise (1) summer (March – May), (2) post monsoon (September – November) and (3) winter (December to February).

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Figure 2.14 Annual rainfall data of Belgaum District for the years 2004 to 2010,

(Indian Meteorological department).