Myristica swamps exist as small, isolated pockets
The Hindu
Wetlands were once all along Western Ghats
Myristica swamps — tree-covered wetlands within the evergreen forests of the Western Ghats that once formed a large hydrological network all along the Western Ghats — now exist as small, isolated pockets, said a new study. Authors Priya Ranganathan, G. Ravikanth and N.A. Aravind from the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), stated that the Myristica swamps are one of the most threatened ecosystems in India due to increased human pressure. According to the researchers, even with their little-known biota, the swamps harbour several rare-relic floristic and faunal taxa comprising many endemic and threatened species, with most plant species highly restricted in their distribution. These swamps are one of the most unique and primeval ecosystems of the Western Ghats, they said. The paper, ‘A review of research and conservation of Myristica swamps, a threatened freshwater swamp of the Western Ghats, India’, was published in Wetland Ecology and Management in August.More Related News