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Kerala for steps to curb alien plants’ growth in NBR
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- Kerala Forest and Wildlife department is gearing up to adopt comprehensive steps to arrest the rampant growth of invasive alien plants, especially tree species like ‘Senna Spectabilis’, in the forest areas of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR), including the Wayanad wildlife sanctuary.
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- Senna Spectabilis:
(1) Nativity: It is a plant species of the legume family (Fabaceae) in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae native to South and Central America.
(2) Grown as Ornamental : They are often grown as an ornamental in yards, parks, gardens, buildings etc. due to their bright yellow flowers that bloom during the summer months.
(3) Also known as: Golden wonder tree, American cassia, Popcorn tree, Cassia excelsa, Golden shower tree or Archibald's cassia.
(4) An adult tree grows up to 15 to 20 metres in a short period of time and every year distributes thousands of seeds after the gregarious flowering.
(5) The thick foliage arrests the growth of other indigenous species of trees and grass, and causes food shortage for the wildlife population, especially herbivores, during summer.
(6) Moreover wildlife do not feed on the leaves of the tree as it was not palatable for them
- Threat to the Forest in Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR):
(1) The spread of invasive plants, especially Senna Spectabilis, is posing a major threat to the forest areas of the reserve, owing to its quick growth and coppicing character- said Chief Conservator of Forest(Wildlife, Palakkad).
(2) Invasive nature:
(a) The tree species had been found in nearly 10 km sq area of 344.44 sq km of the sanctuary around five years ago.
(b) But now it has invaded more than 50 sq km of the sanctuary in a short span of time, which shows its high invasive nature.
(c) A recent study of the Ferns Nature Conservation Society with the support of the Forest department recorded the presence of the plant on 78.91 sq km area of the sanctuary.
(3) Tiger reserves: The plant started to invade in adjacent tiger reserves, including Bandipur and Nagarhole in Karnataka and Mudumalai tiger reserve in Tamil Nadu
(4) Wayanad Sanctuary: Earlier, it was planted as avenue trees along roadsides in Wayanad. Due to massive flowering and drying of bamboo species in Wayanad, lots of open spaces were created which were occupied by Senna Spectabilis.
- Chemical measures
Sources
The Hindu