E-Paper
Maha home to 783 tree species: Study
The study does not mention the specifications of the species but does mention that on an average, there are 36.08 species endemic to the state and 32.08 species on average face threat
PUNE: Research titled ‘Trees of India’ (ToI) published in June 2023 in the scientific journal, Biodiversity and Conservation by Springer has revealed that as many as 783 tree species are found in Maharashtra and that on an average, 36.08 species are endemic to the state.
According to the study, Maharashtra, which includes part of the western ghats – one of the four biodiversity hotspots in India – is home to 783 tree species. The study does not mention the specifications of the species but does mention that on an average, there are 36.08 species endemic to the state and 32.08 species on average face threat.
Trees of India is created as a comprehensive database by a team of botanists at the University of Kashmir and is based on a critical analysis of 313 studies published between 1872 and 2022. Trees of India lists 3,708 tree species across the country and reveals that India has 609 endemic tree species and is currently home to 347 threatened species. It took nearly four years for the scientists to prepare the report which has helped reduce the information gap in the botanical field. The researchers studied various publications carrying information on the flora of Maharashtra, including Flora of Maharashtra State: Dicotyledones by Singh, N P and Karthikeyan and International Journal of Life Science and Pharma Research among others.
Lead scientist Anzar Ahmad Khuroo said that the country is home to four biodiversity hotspots but lacks complete data on tree diversity. “Our study provides the first-ever empirical estimate of a total 3,708 tree species in India. Earlier on, there was an estimate available for India under Global Tree Search (GTS). However, our study proved that GTS is a hugely underestimated study. We have added 1,199 additional tree species for India as compared to the GTS. Further in the GTS database, we found 93 species recorded as trees whereas they are shrubs/herbs.”
According to the experts, there are both natural and man-made threats to several tree species. The natural threats include floods, soil erosion, landslides, natural competition between species, biology of species mainly pollination in the absence of suitable pollinators, natural regeneration, diseases, and encroachment of alien elements, etc. While man-made threats include population explosion, deforestation, grazing and fodder, forest fires, exploitation of economically important plant species, development activities, and agriculture.
