Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Geospatial analysis of Tamil Nadu Eastern Ghats forest types at landscape level with reference to fragmentation and species diversity

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The present study has generated spatial databases on the vegetation type with plant biodiversity, forest fragmentation and disturbance regimes in Tamilnadu parts of Eastern Ghats (EG), India. These databases have been analysed geospatially with landscape ecology approach. The study also includes ground inventory of plant species based on Remote Sensing (RS) data stratification. The vegetation type map was generated from the visual interpretation of two season IRS LISS III data. The spatial landscape analysis of the remotely sensed interpreted images was carried out using customized software, SPLAM. This is first such study in Tamilnadu Eastern Ghats that provides a comprehensive spatial database on vegetation types, disturbance regime and plant species diversity. The study has shown that the dry deciduous and thorn forests have shown better resistance to disturbance compared to the most disturbed evergreen and semievergreen forests. The study outputs are being utilized by forest department and biodiversity boards for conservation action planning and compliance to Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ahmedullah M and Nayar MP (1987) Endemic Plants of the Indian Region. Vol.1 — Peninsular India. Botanical Survey of India, Calcutta

    Google Scholar 

  • Britto SJ and Arockiaswamy DI (2001) Mapping plant diversity in the Eastern Ghats of Tamil nadu. In final report submitted to MoEF. Centre for Natural Resources Studies, St. Joseph’s College, Tiruchirapalli

    Google Scholar 

  • Champion HG and Seth SK (1968) A Revised Survey of the Forest Types of India. Government of India Press, New Delhi, India

    Google Scholar 

  • Chauhan KPS (1998) Framework for conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity: action plan for the Eastern Ghats region. In: Proceedings of the National seminar on Conservation of Eastern Ghats, March 24–26, 1998, EPTRI — ENVIS, Andhra Pradesh, India, pp. 345–358

    Google Scholar 

  • Chittibabu CV and Parthasarathy N (2001) Liana diversity and host relationships in a tropical evergreen forest in the Eastern Ghats. Ecological Research 16: 519–529

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colwell RK (2005) Estimate S: Statistical estimation of species richness and shared species from samples. Version 7.5 URL http://purl.oclc.org/estimates

  • Flenley JR (1979) The Equatorial Rainforests: a Geological History. Butterworths, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldstein PZ (1999) Functional ecosystems and biodiversity buzzwords, Conservation Biology 13: 247–255

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goparaju L and Jha CS (2010) Spatial dynamics of species diversity in fragmented plant communities of a Vindhyan dry tropical forest in India. Tropical Ecology 51(1): 55–65

    Google Scholar 

  • Gustafson EJ (1998) Quantifying landscape spatial pattern: what is the state of the art? Ecosystems 1:143–156

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haines-Young R and Chopping M (1996) Quantifying landscape structure: a review of landscape indices and their application to forested landscapes. Progress in Physical Geography 20(4): 418–445

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horn SP and Sanford RL (1992) Holocene in Costa Rica. Biotropica 254: 354–361

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IIRS (2002) Biodiversity Characterisation at Landscape Level Using Satellite Remote Sensing and GIS. Project Manual, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Dehradun, India

    Google Scholar 

  • Jha CS, Goparaju L, Tripathi A, Gharai B, Raghubanshi AS and Singh JS (2005) Forest fragmentation and its impact on species diversity: an analysis using remote sensing and GIS. Biodiversity and Conservation 14(7): 1681–1698

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kadavul K and Parthasarathy N (2001) Population analysis of Alphonsea sclerocarpa Thw. (Annonaceae) in the Kalrayan hills of Eastern Ghats, India. International Journal of Ecology and Environmental Science 27:51–54

    Google Scholar 

  • Karlson RH and Cornell HV (2002) Species richness of coral assemblages: detecting regional influences at local scales. Ecology 83: 452–463

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lillesand TM and Keifer RW (1999) Remote Sensing and Image Interpretation. Fourth edition. John Wiley and Sons, New York, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Lovejoy T, Bierrgaard RO, Rankin JM and Schubart HOR (1983) In Ecological dynamics of tropical forest fragments. In: Tropical Rainforests: Ecology and the Management (Eds.: S L Slutton, T C Whitmore and A C Chadwick). Blackwell Scientific Publications. Oxford, England, U.K., pp. 377–84

    Google Scholar 

  • Lovejoy TE, Ranklin JM, Bierrgaard RV, Brown KS, Emmons LH and Voort ME (1984) Ecosystem decay in Amazon forest remnants. In: Extinctions (Ed.: M. H. Van der). The University of Chicago Press, Nitectc. Chicago, Illinios, U.S.A., 295–325

    Google Scholar 

  • Moloney KA and Levin SA (1996) The effects of disturbance architecture on landscape-level population dynamics. Ecology 77:375–394

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mouquet N, Munguia P, Kneitel JM and Miller TE (2003) Community assembly time and the relationship between local and regional species richness. Oikos 103: 618–626

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mouquet N and Loreau M (2002) Coexistence in metacommunities: the regional similarity hypothesis. Am Nat 159: 420–426

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nagendra H (2001) Incorporating landscape transformation into local conservation prioritization: a case study in the Western Ghats, India. Biodiversity and Conservation 10(3): 353–365

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nayar MP (1996) Hot Spots of Endemic Plants of India, Nepal and Bhutan. Tropical Botanical Garden and Research Institute, Palode, Thiruvananathapuram, Kerala, India

    Google Scholar 

  • NRSA (2007) Biodiversity characterisation at landscape level in Eastern Ghats and East Coast using Satellite Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System. Department of Space and Department of Biotechnology, India. ISBN 978- 81-7525-877-8. pp:310

    Google Scholar 

  • NRSC (2009) Standard operation manual for Forestry and Ecology Division. NRSC/RS&GIS-AA/LRG/F7ED/SOP102/R00/27022009. 31p

  • Pascal JP and Ramesh BR (1995) Forest Map of South India, Notes on the Sheet Bangalore-Salem. Publications du department d’ecologie: Institute Francais de Pondicherry, Pondicherry

    Google Scholar 

  • Rawat GS (1997) Conservation status of forests and wildlife in the Eastern Ghats, India. Environmental Conservation 24:307–315

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roy PS, Talukdar G and Joshi PK (2001) Landscape ecology approach for spatial biodiversity characterisation. The Botanica 51:1–17

    Google Scholar 

  • Roy PS and Ravan S (1996) Biomass estimation using satellite remote sensing data — an investigation on possible approaches for natural forest. Journal of Biosciences 21(4): 535–561

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roy PS (1994) Possibility of using spectral models for estimating growth conditions of Indian forests. NNRMS Bulletin 18: 26–27

    Google Scholar 

  • Shannon CE and Weaver W (1963) The mathematical theory of communication. University of Illinios Press, Urbana, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Stoms DM (1992) Effects of habitat map generalization in biodiversity assessment. Photogramm Eng Remote Sensing 58:1587–1591

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner MG and Gardner RH (1991) Quantitative Methods in Landscape Ecology. Springer-Verlag. New York, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Whittaker RH (1960) Vegetation of the Siskiyou Mountains, Oregon and California. Ecological Monographs 30: 279–338

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whittaker RH (1972) Evolution and measurement of species diversity. Taxon 21: 213–251

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to C. S. Jha.

About this article

Cite this article

Ambastha, K.R., Jha, C.S. Geospatial analysis of Tamil Nadu Eastern Ghats forest types at landscape level with reference to fragmentation and species diversity. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 38, 453–463 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12524-010-0047-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12524-010-0047-1

Keywords

Navigation