Description
Background: The northern Western Ghats (NWG) – a part of the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot supports tropical forests of conservation priority, due to anthropogenic intensification. Woody species diversity and ecology in NWG is poorly studied, necessitating the knowledge of spatial variability in species and underlying environmental factors, for effective conservation.
Aims: We described woody plant community composition and related it to climate data across a latitude of 1.4 degrees to obtain information about spatial and environmental variation to support protected area planning.
Methods: To estimate abundance, importance value index, diversity indices and rank – abundance, we recorded woody species in 144 plots across 12 sites. Elevation, temperature, rainfall, humidity data were related to diversity descriptors in a canonical correspondence analysis.
Results: We recorded 10,291 trees representing 187 species of 52 families. Divergent geo-climatic factors were related to distinct plant community structures, elevation and humidity being the most influential drivers of plant diversity and density. Numerous rare species were found restricted to environmentally distinct forests.
Conclusion: The wide-ranging environment and corresponding variations in forest community composition across the narrow latitudinal range of the study area revealed the importance of including such gradients in planning future protected areas in the NWG.
Data Records
The data in this sampling event resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 144 records.
1 extension data tables also exist. An extension record supplies extra information about a core record. The number of records in each extension data table is illustrated below.
This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.
Versions
The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.
How to cite
Researchers should cite this work as follows:
Tamhane V, Kashikar A, Gole C, Bodkhe B, Gulanikar N, Hedda G, Datkhile P, Jaybhaye R, Bhargava S, Sardesai M (2025). Forest species diversity and community composition in the northern Western Ghats, India. Version 1.2. Savitribai Phule Pune University. Samplingevent dataset. https://cloud.gbif.org/asia/resource?r=nwgbiodiversity&v=1.2
Rights
Researchers should respect the following rights statement:
The publisher and rights holder of this work is Savitribai Phule Pune University. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY 4.0) License.
GBIF Registration
This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: c90cdbff-495b-49ff-9930-c493225c984a. Savitribai Phule Pune University publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by Participant Node Managers Committee.
Keywords
Dominance; forest; geoclimatic gradient; plant species assemblages; rarity; tree diversity; Observation
Contacts
- Point Of Contact
- Assistant Professor
- Department of Biotechnology
https://orcid.org/https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1456-6473
- Originator
- Assistant Professor
- Department of Statistics
- Metadata Provider ●
- Point Of Contact
- Research Scholar
- Originator
- Project Assistant
- Originator
- Project Assistant
- Department of Statistics
- Originator
- Project Assistant
- Department of Biotechnology
- Originator
- Project Assistant
- Department of Geography
- Originator
- Professor
- Department of Geography
- Originator
- Professor and Head (Retired)
- Department of Botany
- Point Of Contact
- Professsor
- Department of Botany
- Metadata Provider ●
- Point Of Contact
- Research Scholar
- Department of Botany
- +919921970339
- Point Of Contact
- Assistant Professor
- Department of Biotechnology
- +919881274395
- Point Of Contact
- Professor
- Department of Botany
- +918805075007
- Reviewer
- Research advisor
Geographic Coverage
The northern Western Ghats (NWG), India – a part of the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot
| Bounding Coordinates | South West [17.907, 73.339], North East [19.338, 73.794] |
|---|
Taxonomic Coverage
N/A
| Kingdom | Plantae |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Tracheophyta |
| Class | Magnoliopsida |
| Order | Celastrales, Santalales, Asterales, Dilleniales, Arecales, Ericales, Solanales, Laurales, Ranunculales, Poales, Malpighiales, Myrtales, Malvales, Lamiales, Gnetales, Vitales, Icacinales, Rosales, Fabales, Sapindales, Gentianales, Oxalidales |
| Family | Clusiaceae, Lamiaceae, Malvaceae, Cannabaceae, Myrtaceae, Gnetaceae, Olacaceae, Thymelaeaceae, Burseraceae, Rhamnaceae, Sapindaceae, Meliaceae, Elaeagnaceae, Rutaceae, Vitaceae, Lecythidaceae, Arecaceae, Oleaceae, Bignoniaceae, Connaraceae, Phyllanthaceae, Melastomataceae, Poaceae, Santalaceae, Rubiaceae, Fabaceae, Dilleniaceae, Icacinaceae, Lauraceae, Menispermaceae, Moraceae, Verbenaceae, Lythraceae, Rhizophoraceae, Ebenaceae, Combretaceae, Convolvulaceae, Primulaceae, Apocynaceae, Sapotaceae, Muntingiaceae, Symplocaceae, Celastraceae, Asteraceae, Salicaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Anacardiaceae |
Temporal Coverage
| Start Date / End Date | 2017-03-22 / 2018-01-17 |
|---|
Project Data
Woody species diversity assessment of crestline forests of the northern Western Ghats, Maharasahtra, India
| Title | Capacity building program in Biodiversity Assessment of Western Maharashtra, Biodiversity of Northern Western Ghats |
|---|---|
| Identifier | EV-ASIA2025DM |
| Funding | University with Potential for Excellence (UGC-UPE II); Rashtriya Ucchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA I and II) |
| Study Area Description | The study area comprises twelve sites representing crestline forests of the northern Western Ghats, India |
| Project Award |
Rashtriya Ucchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) - Biodiversity (2019-2025): Biodiversity of Northern Western Ghats - project grant to Savitribai Phule Pune University by Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Education, Government of India Rashtriya Ucchatar Shiksha Abhiyan University with Potential for Excellence (UPE) - Biodiversity (2012-19) Capacity building program in Biodiversity Assessment of Western Maharashtra - project grant to Savitribai Phule Pune University by University Grants Commission, Ministry of Education, Government of India University Grants Commission |
The personnel involved in the project:
Sampling Methods
At each site, we established 10 plots measuring 30 m × 15 m, separated by at least 100 m.
| Study Extent | We selected 12 sites over a 250 km stretch bordering Pune (11 sites) and Satara (1 site) districts, Maharashtra, India, representing relatively dense crest line forests on the eastern slopes of the northern Western Ghats (NWG). |
|---|
Method step description:
- Within each plot, we recorded all woody individuals with >3.18 cm diameter (DBH, 1.3 m; i.e. girth at breast height of >10 cm).
Bibliographic Citations
- Tamhane, V., Kashikar, A., Gole, C., Bodkhe, B., Gulanikar, N., Hedda, G., Datkhile P., Jaybhaye R., Bhargava S., Sardesai, M. (2024). Forest species diversity and community composition in the northern Western Ghats, India. Plant Ecology & Diversity, 17(1–2), 47–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/17550874.2024.2352372
Additional Metadata
| Acknowledgements | The authors acknowledge University with Potential for Excellence (UPE) - Biodiversity (2012-19) Capacity building program in Biodiversity Assessment of Western Maharashtra - project grant to Savitribai Phule Pune University by University Grants Commission, Ministry of Education, Government of India and Rashtriya Ucchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) - Biodiversity (2019-2025): Biodiversity of Northern Western Ghats - project grant to Savitribai Phule Pune University by Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Education, Government of India. All PIs and students from the participating departments of SPPU are thankful for the support. Dr. Shrinath Kawade, Dr. Varsha Nimbalkar, Mr. Mayur Bhagwat, Mr. Ashish Nerlekar, and Ms. Anita Kindre joined us during the field visits, and their help in the on-field taxonomic identification of trees is highly appreciated. |
|---|---|
| Introduction | The Western Ghats (Sahyadri) is a UNESCO World Heritage site and biodiversity hotspot runs parallel to the western border of peninsular India (Myers et al. 2000). This region plays a vital role in regulating local climate and providing ecosystem services (Osuri et al. 2020, 2020). However, as of 2014, only 41% of the estimated 164,280 km2 area remains unmodified, with just 30% of its forests intact. The rate of annual loss of dense forests in the Western Ghats was estimated to be over 0.7% from 1985 to 2005 (Panigrahy et al. 2010). The northern part of the Western Ghats (NWG) is particularly at risk of biodiversity loss, primarily due to the loss of natural habitat caused by climate change and fire, leading to high fragmentation (Kasturirangan et al. 2013; Kale et al. 2010). The NWG extends parallel to the western borders of peninsular India from south of the Tapti river, Gujarat through Maharashtra and reaching Goa representing an ecologically rich and high conservation priority area. Therefore, there is an urgent need to understand the natural and anthropogenic factors shaping forest diversity in the NWG. The tropical semi-evergreen and moist deciduous forests of the NWG are influenced by the region’s geographic and climatic complexities (Reddy et al. 2015). The diverse plant community composition hosted by the region is attributed to the range of elevation and the associated variations in temperature and humidity (Page et al. 2020). Palaeobotanical and palynological data from approximately 40,000 years ago indicate that the vegetation in the Western Ghats was predominantly wet evergreen forest type (Kumaran et al. 2013, 2014). Some relict elements from these evergreen forests are known to still occur sporadically in the NWG (Tadwalkar et al. 2012; Kulkarni et al. 2014). Drought-associated species assemblages become more prevalent in the Western Ghats with increase in latitude, accompanied by longer dry seasons (Krishnadas et al. 2016; Page et al. 2017; Tripathi et al. 2019). Furthermore, changes in land use pattern have resulted in the replacement of wet evergreen forest species with moist deciduous and dry deciduous forest species (Kasodekar et al. 2019). The floristic composition, species diversity, and demography have been extensively studied in various locations in the central and southern Western Ghats (Davidar et al. 2007, Ramesh and Gurukkal 2007; Anitha et al. 2010; Gunaga et al. 2013; Jayakumar and Nair 2013). However, literature on drivers of plant diversity and ecology in the NWG is relatively scant (but see Ghate et al. 1997; Kanade et al. 2008; Kulkarni et al. 2018; Kasodekar et al. 2019; Watve et al. 2003). This study aimed to identify the geographic and environmental factors contributing to the distinct woody species diversity and assemblages in the NWG. The diversity of trees, woody shrubs, and lianas in NWG was documented and analysed. The study was conducted at 12 sites within a 250 km transect representing a narrow latitudinal range (17.92° to 19.34°N) in Maharashtra, India. Our study concludes that the fragmented and disturbed forests of NWG harbour high woody species diversity, including rare and endemic species of the mature forest as well as introduced and invasive pioneer woody species. The diversification of tree species community composition reflects local geoclimatic conditions. NWG needs long-term monitoring of woody species diversity and an expanded protected area network for safeguarding the delicate ecosystem and the valuable services it provides to the surrounding human population. |
| Getting Started | The dataset contains Event and Occurrence data in Darwin Core format describing a sampling event. |
| Purpose | Background: The northern Western Ghats (NWG) – a part of the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot supports tropical forests of conservation priority, due to anthropogenic intensification. Woody species diversity and ecology in NWG is poorly studied, necessitating the knowledge of spatial variability in species and underlying environmental factors, for effective conservation. Aims: We described woody plant community composition and related it to climate data across a latitude of 1.4 degrees to obtain information about spatial and environmental variation to support protected area planning. Methods: To estimate abundance, importance value index, diversity indices and rank – abundance, we recorded woody species in 144 plots across 12 sites. Elevation, temperature, rainfall, humidity data were related to diversity descriptors in a canonical correspondence analysis. Results: We recorded 10,291 trees representing 187 species of 52 families. Divergent geoclimatic factors were related to distinct plant community structures, elevation and humidity being the most influential drivers of plant diversity and density. Numerous rare species were found restricted to environmentally distinct forests. Conclusion: The wide-ranging environment and corresponding variations in forest community composition across the narrow latitudinal range of the study area revealed the importance of including such gradients in planning future protected areas in the NWG. |
| Alternative Identifiers | c90cdbff-495b-49ff-9930-c493225c984a |
| https://cloud.gbif.org/asia/resource?r=nwgbiodiversity |