Bangalore :

Three thousand trees in parts of Kodagu are helping forest ecology studies by providing experimental evidence for various research projects.

The trees are being studied to understand how they adapt to changes in rainfall, temperature and duration of the rainy season.

This data is part of a bigger project in which tree responses to changing climates are being measured to gauge how trees react to changing weather parameters.

The trees are on two 30-hectare sample plots set up by the Forest Department in collaboration with the French Institute of Pondicherry (FIP), in low-lying wet evergreen forests in Kadamakkal reserve forest.

“My colleagues and I have found that the amount of rainfall has decreased in the last 100 years and that is why there has been less growth of tree species,” said Dr B R Ramesh, faculty at French Institute of Pondicherry.

The researchers are measuring the girth of the trees using a stainless steel tape and a Vernier scale to record their growth patterns in different climatic conditions.

Their work also focuses on long-term ecological monitoring of forests, the use of new remote-sensing data and techniques to predict biomass and structure, modelling distribution of species and biodiversity and making databases with the available information.

“New research lines are also being developed that explore the effects of landscape change on ecosystem services and potential climate change impacts on forest vegetation,” Dr Ramesh added.

These experts have also explored the environmental and social impact of restitution of tree rights to coffee planters, the Western Ghats acting as a water sink and the loss of forest cover and the extent of biodiversity in the Ghats.

Dr Ramesh and his colleagues, Dr S Prasad and Dr Anupama K, have also developed an app called Biotik which can be used to identify 600 tree species in the Western Ghats.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Papiya Bhattacharya / August 19th, 2014