A flowering outbreak

KANWAR YOGENDRA

The unchecked outgrowth of Lantana weed in Himachal Pradesh’s forests and farmlands is destroying biodiversity and damaging agriculture

The deadly weed:Lantana in full bloom. Photo: G. Karthikeyan

A recent survey of the Himachal Pradesh Forest Department has pointed out that the deadly weed Lantana, called Phool Lakri in local parlance, has affected the mountain bio-diversity in more than 1,800 sq km of forest lands in the State.

The weed which is a flowering exotic shrub is now found in abundance in the State and is seriously threatening the natural regeneration of majority native plant species. Though there are also other weed species found in the hill State like Parthenium (Congress Grass), Ageratum (Neela Phoolnu) and Eupatorium but the invasive Lantana is proving to be the most lethal to the rich forest biodiversity of the region.

Lantana is a genus of about 100 species of perennial flowering plantsin the verbena family, Verbenaceae, said experts. Though native to tropical regions of the Americas and Africa, they now exist as introduced species in numerous areas of Asian and Australian Pacific regions. The genus includes both herbaceous plants and shrubs (found mainly in Himachal) growing as tall as five to six feet. Lantana’s aromatic flower clusters called umbels are a mix of red, orange, yellow, blue or white florets. ‘Wild lantanas’ are plants of theunrelated genus Abronia, usually called ‘sand-verbenas’.

Lantana was introduced in India in 1809 in the Indian Botanic Garden, Kolkata as an ornamental plant due to its beautiful aromatic flowers. Prolific seed production and easy dispersal helped it in escaping cultivation and becoming a pest, with serious dimensions. Present all over Himachal Pradesh, it flowers almost throughout the year. This weed is posing serious problems to plantation forestry as it chokes all other vegetation and becomes the dominant species. In deciduous forests, Lantana is considered as a potential fire hazard and it is combustible even when green. Himachal Pradesh struggles with forest fires every summer and suffers huge losses. This weed is also dangerous in national parks and sanctuaries.

Lantana also competes with agricultural crops and has an allelopathic effect — inhibiting the growth of other plants. The Himachal Pradesh government has faced failure in uprooting this enveloping weed which has now entered the fields and orchards of the farmers. The State is yet to have any comprehensive planning to eradicate this problem which has to be done in entirety and requires massive re-plantation of other friendly species like Bamboo, Acacia Catechu (khair) and Phyllanthus Emblica (amla).

The funds allotted by the Centre for the purpose are used in a piecemeal fashion through a campaign suggested by certain environmental NGOs like the Himachal Gyan Vigyan Samiti. The organisation had run a campaign in some panchayats and blocks of the State in the past and had even destroyed the lethal weed with the help of villagers in these areas, said O.P. Bhuraita, a scientist with the organisation. The Samiti had later shifted its focus to the menace of wild animals and monkeys in the countryside, since that has become a foremost threat to the agriculture and fruit growing areas, he said. Agriculture is the mainstay in the hill State and 90 per cent population lives in rural areas.

The previous State government had accepted that the weed species have spread to large areas of forest and wastelands, with the 1999-2000 survey revealing that 136,301 hectares were covered by weeds and Lantana alone had spread to over 130,000 hectares of land. For eradicating the Lantana, the Forest Department has used two methods: mechanical and chemical. Under the mechanical method, the weed is physically removed with tools like ‘monkey jack’. This labour-intensive method has shown good results. However, the chemical methods like spraying glyphosate have environmental and ecological impact.

During 2009-2013, the weed has been removed from 6,305 hectares of forest land and the government has targeted to clear 5,000 hectares of forest land of Lantana weed during 2013-14, State Forest Minister Thakar Singh Bharmouri said. To root out Lantana, a cut-root stock method has been adopted. After clearing the weed, foliage fodder is being replanted, he said. The question as to how to eradicate Lantana and other weeds comes up every time here during the Assembly sessions, with precious little being done to help the small and marginal farmers who are forced to quit agriculture due to this problem.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-miscellaneous/tp-others/a-flowering-outbreak/article4590073.ece

Poisonous plant killed 51 cheetals in Kanha

By P Naveen, TNN | Jan 23, 2013

BHOPAL: Regular consumption of Lantana camara, a poisonous plant found in abundance in the forest areas, has been found to be the cause behind the death of 51 spotted deers (cheetals) kept in a 35 acre-enclosure at the Kanha Tiger Reserve. The deers kept as prey stock for hand-reared tiger cubs died between January 4 and 16.

Initially it was suspected that the deers died of cold and malnutrition. Consumption of Lantana camara - plant which contains pentacyclic triterpenoids (akin to steroids) - in starvation led to the death of the spotted deers revealed investigations carried out by Jabalpur veterinary college experts.

Fearing an adverse impact on big cats population, veterinary experts have asked KTR officials to not to send remaining deer's from enclosure as prey to the tigers.

"All remaining deer's in the enclosure have infected livers and offering them as prey may be dangerous to tigers also," said a veterinary expert wishing anonymity.

Chemical named triterpenes in Lantana causes liver damage in animals when enough leaves are consumed, he said adding symptoms of poisoning include muscle weakness, gastrointestinal problems, lethargy, and cardiac collapse.

The major effect of Lantana is photosensitization, in acute cases death occurs in 2 to 4 days, whereas in sub-acute cases death may occur after 1 to 3 weeks of illness and weight loss. When contacted KTR director J S Chouhan said; "Tiger cubs have nine deers in their enclosure, so we don't need to shift more," he told TOI.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Poisonous-plant-killed-51-cheetals-in-Kanha/articleshow/18142314.cms

Forest department calls for removal of exotic trees in Kodai

By Padmini Sivarajah, TNN | Jan 22, 2013

MADURAI: The Kodaikanal district forest officer (DFO) has sent a proposal to the Central government seeking permission to eradicate the exotic foreign plants such as the wattle and pine, which were endangering the ecosystem of the hills. The proposal has been a long-pending demand of the eco-conscious citizens of the hill station.

Speaking to this newspaper D Venketesh, district forest officer, Kodaikanal said man-animal conflicts, especially those between the Indian gaur and people were on rise in the region. "We get regular calls from the people complaining about the gaurs' entry in farms, school premises, market place and others. Even on Monday, this was the grievance expressed to the state government's petition committee that visited Kodaikanal by the farmers and people.

The people sought the erection of solar fences and digging of elephant trenches in various many places to prevent animals from entering their farms. These animals were destroying banana and pear orchards in large numbers.

But the DFO said this won't solve the problem. "The real problem lays in the fact is that the exotic plant species, such as wattle or acacia and pine, have invaded the shola grasslands and the animals have nowhere to look for food and started entering the private properties," he said. "I don't know why felling of these trees in the region is banned, which has resulted in the trees' invasion of about 5,000 hectares of grasslands in the upper Palani hills," he added.

"The gaur population is ever increasing. It is our duty to restore their habitat to them," he said. Venketesh is confident that the government would give a favourable answer to his proposal. Wattle and pine have also resulted in the 90% swamp area, which is the major water source for the entire Kodaikanal region and also to animals shrinking. This is a major cause of concern for the future of this fragile eco-system.

Eradicating these trees is not an easy task because the seeds spread far and can stay dormant in the soil. But the forest department has removed them to a stretch of about 10 metres on the Kodaikanal - Berijam Road and has been successful in the attempt. He said the eradication programme once approved, would take about 15 years, but it would be a beginning.

Conflicts between man and gaurs have become regular phenomenon. On Saturday, a man was attacked by an animal at Vandaravu. Chasing away these animals is not an easy task because they intimidate the people by their sheer size.

Till 1995, the trees, which are now estimated to cover about 27,000 hectares did not pose a threat because they were regularly felled for manufacturing rayon. But the ban on felling was introduced and the trees began disturbingdestroying the eco-system both space land and the ground water.

One person who is happy about the DFO's proposal, is Rajesh Mani of the Centre for Environmental Studies and Conservation said, "We took out a protest march on December 23 demanding the removal of the exotic trees from the region and also sent petitions to the DFO. We are happy with the proposal."

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Forest-department-calls-for-removal-of-exotic-trees-in-Kodai/articleshow/18125412.cms