Study of flowering plant endemism of Northern Western Ghats highlights importance of plateaus in conservation plans

Study of flowering plant endemism of Northern Western Ghats highlights importance of plateaus in conservation plans

Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Environment & Biodiversity

In News:

• Scientists at the Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), Pune have published a plant data of the Northern Western Ghats.
• The institute is an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology.
• As per their data, the plateaus and the cliffs harbour most of the endemic species in these areas.
• The plateaus along with forests should be prioritized for conservation of the Northern Western Ghats.
• The study suggested that the Northern Western Ghats is the region of rapid diversification of specific herbaceous endemic genera like Ceropegia, Glyphochloa, etc.

Important value additions:

Northern Western Ghats

• The Indian Western Ghats is one of the global biodiversity hotspots due to the endemism of various flora and fauna.
• The northern part of the Ghats receives more precipitation than southern and central parts.
• Plateaus and cliffs display maximum endemic species.
• Forests harbour many non-endemic species.