Restoration of threatened/vulnerable plant species in Palani hills, Tamil Nadu
The project planned is for the restoration of some select plant/tree species found in the shola forests of Tamil Nadu’s Palani hills, in the broader landscape of the Western Ghats. The Western Ghats is one of the biodiversity hot spots of the world, with a large number of endemic plant and animal species.
Many of the higher altitude tree sepecies are slow growing, with a seed germination rate that is very low as well as extremely slow. Such factors, as also many anthropogenic influences, are reasons for the decline of many species. The present project intends to grow these species, which belong to different elevations, in nurseries located at different sites, and then plant them in places that can be regularly monitored. Certain special features of the project are: the mapping of mother-trees from where these shola seed species are collected; to find out the specific causes for the decline of individual species and to see how best to address them; the creation of posters and booklets in the local language for generating awareness in schools and the lay people; and an improvement in germination techniques of the said species.