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Volume 65, Issue 1, July 2023

Articles

Untimely endangerment in endemic trees of Western Ghats, India: An ecological and biological perspective

https://doi.org/10.20324/nelumbo/v65/2023/170693

Published 2023-07-01

  • P. A. Jose
    • ,
  • K. Subin
    • ,
  • A. J. Robi
    • ,
  • T. K. Siju
    • ,
  • Binoy N. M.

P. A. Jose
Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi, Kerala-680 653

K. Subin
Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi, Kerala-680 653

A. J. Robi
Bishop Abraham Memorial College, Thuruthicad, Pathanamthitta, Kerala-689 597

T. K. Siju
Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi, Kerala-680 653

Binoy N. M.
Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute, Palode, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala-695 562

Abstract

The study unravels the ecological and biological parameters leading to untimely endangerment of three endemic and threatened tree species viz. Drypetes malabarica, Hydnocarpus macrocarpus and Prioria pinnata, distributed in the southern Western Ghats. Population structure and diversity along with population dynamics of the target species were explored. The reproductive constraints including insect-pest incidence, low abundance, habitat specificity along with human induced habitat threats upsurges the possibilities of rarity of these species in the Kerala part of the Western Ghats.

Keywords

Biology, Distribution, Endemic Trees, Ecology, Endangerment, Kerala, Southern Western Ghats.

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