Context There are plans to uproot lantana spread over 70,000 hectares of forests in BRT Tiger Reserve and Bandipur during the course of next five years.
But there are concerns that uprooting it on such a scale will entail disturbance to the forest.
What is Lantana?
Lantana is a genus of about 150 species of perennial flowering plants.
They are native to tropical regions of the Americas and Africa.
They exist as an introduced species in numerous areas, especially in the Australian-Pacific region, South and Northeastern part of India.
Why is lantana a problem?
It is a serious economic pest to the citrus industry.
In many frost-free regions it has become an invasive nuisance, crowding out grazing lands and agricultural areas.
Lantana is toxic for most livestock to graze
About BRT Tiger Reserve
Situated between the Western and Eastern Ghats the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple (BRT) Tiger Reserve is based in south eastern Karnataka, at the border of Tamil Nadu.
It has been named after the Rangaswamy temple that is embellished with a whitish rock at the helms of the sanctuary.
It was declared as a protected reserve in the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
This unique sanctuary exhibits scrub, dry deciduous, moist deciduous, evergreen, semi evergreen and shola forests.
It is widely known for its many endemic species of plants including valuable medicinal ones.
