Bangalore:

Traditionally coffee in the Western Ghats, as in other tropical regions, is grown under the shade of non-native trees.Such plantations ensure ecological continuity, providing habitat for many species outside protected reserves.

A study by Ayyapan Narayanan of the Department of Ecology, French Institute of Pondicherry, conducted in three different habitats, evaluated the impact of agro-forest management on animal diversity in the Kodagu district of Karnataka. The study was conducted in the preserved forests, coffee plantation with native trees and coffee plantations with non-native trees. Researchers said the objective of the study was to evaluate the impact of the agrosystems in comparison to the forest on local singing animal diversity by employing a passive acoustic method. For each habitat type, four locations were sampled using automatic acoustic recorders.

The acoustic data was then analysed using two indices without using species identification. Differences among habitat types were assessed by comparing the acoustic activity level with non-parametric tests and by including acoustic dissimilarities into multivariate analyses.

source: http://www.m.timesofindia.com / City> Bangalore / by Saswati Mukherjee / September 26th, 2012