Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer


Volume 64, Issue 2, December 2022

Articles

Distribution, ecology and status assessment of Hydnocarpus longipedunculatus Robi, Sasidh. & Jose (Achariaceae: Flacourtiaceae s.l.) – an endemic tree of the southern Western Ghats, Kerala, India

https://doi.org/10.20324/nelumbo/v64/2022/172342

Published 2022-12-31

  • K. Subin
    • ,
  • P. A. Jose
    • ,
  • K. V. Jithin
    • ,
  • Suma Arun Dev

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

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

K. V. Jithin
Sustainable Forest Management Division, Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi- 680 653, Kerala

Suma Arun Dev
Forest Genetics and Biotechnology Division Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi- 680 653, Kerala

Abstract

Hydnocarpus longipedunculatus Robi., Sasidh. & Jose (Achariaceae: Flacourtiaceae s.l.) is an endemic tree distributed in the Kerala part of the Southern Western Ghats, India. The population structure and diversity analysis along with demographical information enabled the understanding of the distribution pattern, age classes/ontogeny, Importance Value Index (IVI), number of adult individuals, saplings and seedlings of the species in the forest landscape. The extent of occurrence and area of occupancy of the species were found out as per IUCN guidelines. The small population size, extremely low number of seedlings, lesser extent of occurrence and area of occupancy along with lower IVI values were the major impediments of the species. We suggest the inclusion of the species in the IUCN endangered category as it meets the threshold under criterion ‘D’. The baseline study recommends immediate conservation measures including protection of the natural habitats of the species.

 

Keywords

Conservation, Distribution, Ecology, IUCN status, Kerala, Western Ghats

PDF

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

  1. BLEHER, B., O. REIK AND B.G. KATRIN 2002. Seed dispersal, breeding system, tree density and the spatial pattern of trees – A simulation approach. Basic and Applied Ecology 3: 115–123.
  2. CEPF: Critical Ecosystem Partnership fund. Western Ghats and Sri Lanka Biodiversity hotspot–Western Ghats region, 2007; Available online at [www.cepf.net]
  3. DRURY, W.H. 1974. Rare species. Biological Conservation 6: 162–169.
  4. ELLSTRAND, N.C. AND R.E. DIANE 1993. Population Genetic Consequences of Small Population Size: Implications for Plant Conservation. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 24: 217–42.
  5. IUCN 2000. IUCN Red List categories and Criteria. Version 3.1. Gland, Switzerland.
  6. JOSE, P.A. 2001. A Study on the Population structure, dynamics and conservation of two Rare and endemic trees of
  7. Western Ghats of Kerala. Ph.D. Thesis, Kerala University, Thiruvananthapuram.pp.184.
  8. JOSE, P. A., S.T. KURUVILA ANDN.M. BINOY 2016. New record of seed pest, Alcidodes sp. indet (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Cynometra beddomei Prain-an endemic, endangered legume tree of the Southern Western Ghats. Indian Journal of Forestry 39 (2):133–135.
  9. JOSE, P. A., P. SUJANAPAL, P.K. CHANDRASEKHARA PILLAI AND S. SANDEEP 2017. Ecology and restoration of Cynometra beddomei and Kingiodendron pinnatum two endemic and endangered tree legumes of Western Ghats of Kerala. KFRI Research report No. 531. 148 pp.
  10. JOSE, P.A., S.T. KURUVILA, AND N.M. BINOY 2018. Distribution and population status of Kingiodendron pinnatum (Angiosperms: Fabaceae) an endemic and endangered legume tree in southern Western Ghats, Kerala, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa10 (7):11963–11968.
  11. LAMONT, B. B., S. DOWNES AND J. E. FOX 1977. Importance–value curves and diversity indices applied to a species-rich heathland in Western Australia. Nature, 265(5593), 438–441.
  12. MOUSTAKES, A. AND R. M. EVANS 2015. Effect of growth rate, size and light availability on tree survival across life stages: a demographic analysis accounting for missing values and small sample sizes. BMC Ecology15: 6 (https://doi.org/10.1186/s12898-015-0038-8)
  13. MYERS, N., R. MITTERMEIER, C. MITTERMEIER, ET AL. 2000. Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature 403: 853–858.https://doi.org/10.1038/ 35002501
  14. NAYAR, M. P. 1996. Hot Spots of Endemic Plants of India, Nepal and Bhutan. Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute, Palode, Thiruvananthapuram.
  15. NAYAR, T.S., A.R. BEEGAM, N. MOHANAN, AND G. RAJKUMAR 2006. Flowering Plants of Kerala–A Handbook. TBGRI, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
  16. ODUM, E.P. 1971. Fundamentals of Ecology. Philadelphia, PA, USA: W.B. Saunders & Co.
  17. PARTHASARATHY, N. AND P. SETHI 1997. Trees and liana species diversity and population structure in a tropical dry evergreen forest in South India. Tropical Ecology 38(1): 19–30.
  18. PASCAL, J.P. 1988. Wet evergreen forest of the Western Ghats of India. Ecology, structure, floristic composition and succession. French Institute of Pondichery, Pondichery.
  19. RABINOWITZ, D., S. CAIRNS AND T. DILLON 1986. Seven forms of rarity and their frequency in the flora of the British Isles. In; Conservation Biology: the Science of Scarcity and Diversity (ed. Soulé, M. E., Sunderland, Massachusetts: Sinauer Associates) pp. 182–204.
  20. RAHUL JOSE, E.J. VINCENT, K. SUBIN, P.A. JOSE AND A.G. PANDURANGAN 2020. New Population Records and Ecology of Humboldtia bourdillonii (Leguminosae: Caesalpinioideae)-A Critically Endangered Tree of Southern Western Ghats, Kerala. Nelumbo 62(1):40–45.
  21. RAMACHANDRAN, V.S., K. SWARUPANANDAN AND M. SANJAPPA 2014. Status and distribution of Humboldtia bourdillonii (Leguminosae), an endangered tree species of the Western Ghats, India. Tropical Ecology 55: 85–91.
  22. ROBI, A. J., N. SASIDHARAN AND P. A. JOSE 2014. Hydnocarpus longipedunculatus (Achriaceae: Flacourtiaceae): A new species from the Western Ghats, India. Webbia : Journal of Plant Taxonomy and Geography 69: 243–247.
  23. SAHOO M. R., S.P. DHANABAL, N.J. ATUL, R. VISHALI, M. GANESH, U.V. BABU AND R. PARAMESH 2014. Hydnocarpus: An ethnopharmacological, phytochemical and pharmacological review.Journal of Ethnopharmacology 154 (1):17–25.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2014.03.029.
  24. SANIL, M. S., V.B. SREEKUMAR, K.A. SREEJITH, A.J. ROBI AND T.K. NIRMESH 2017. Notes on the taxonomy and distribution of two endemic and threatened dipterocarp trees from the Western Ghats of Kerala, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 9(12):11033–11039.
  25. SASIDHARAN, N. 2017. A Handbook on the Red listed species and their conservation status in Kerala. Final technical report. Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi.
  26. SIVARAM, M., N. SASIDHARAN, S. RAVI AND P. SUJANAPAL 2006. Computer aided inventory analysis for sustainable management of Non Timber Forest Product resources Journal of Non-timber Forest Products 13:237–244.
  27. SWARUPANANDAN, K., E.P. INDIRA, E.M. MURALIDHARAN, R.C. PANDALAI, P.A. JOSE AND M. SANJAPPA 2013. Species recovery of Dipterocarpus bourdillonii and Humboldtia bourdillonii, two critically endangered, endemic trees of Western Ghats. Final Project Report No. 463. Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi. pp.86.
  28. SUBIN, K., P. A. JOSE AND A. S. VIVEK 2022. Rarity analysis of an endangered tropical tree species of the Western Ghats, India. Current Science 123 (1): 67–72.
  29. VISUALIZATION AND ANALYSIS SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGIES 2019. Geoscience Community Analysis Toolkit. Boulder, CO: UCAR/NCAR - Computational and Informational System Lab. doi:10.5065/a8pp-4358.