Environment

Myristica swamps exist as isolated pockets

·        Myristica swamps — tree ¬covered wetlands within the evergreen forests of the Western Ghats that when formed a huge hydrological community all alongside the Western Ghats — now exist as small, isolated pockets, stated a brand new observe.

·        Myristica swamps are one of the most threatened ecosystems in India due to increased human pressure.

·        According to the researchers, inspite of their little-recognised biota, the swamps harbour several rarerelic floristic and faunal taxa comprising many endemic and threatened species, with most plant species noticeably restricted in their distribution.

·        These swamps are one of the most unique and primeval ecosystems of the Western Ghats.

·        Critical inland swamp habitats of India are the Myristica swamps, the Elaeocarpus swamps and the Hadlus, all of which are forested wetland ecosystems that are invariably freshwater in character.

·        Myristica swamps have the characteristic tendencies of a dense evergreen closed wooded area, presence of considerable knee roots protruding from waterlogged soil, soils with excessive humus content material, and are wet or inundated throughout the year.

·        The ancient swamp forests are endemic to the Western Ghats and a The historic swamp forests are endemic to the Western Ghats and a smaller distribution exists inside the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

·        There are 60¬odd swamps reported from Kerala and there may be many smaller ones, which are either not mapped or reported.

·        An strive has been made to map the swamps in Karnataka and a few research have focused on swamps in Goa and Sindhudurga, the northernmost limit of swamps in Maharashtra.

·        In current years, many Myristica swamps in the vital and southern Western Ghats are threatened by way of the growing agricultural call for and are regularly converted to paddy fields, or areca nut and teak plantations.

·        This is especially actual of those swamps existing outdoor included forest tracts in the Western Ghats landscape.

·        While wetlands have been given prioritisation in the past, swamps in India have been relatively ignored by scientists and policymakers.

·        Myristica swamps, just like the floral plateaus of the northern Western Ghats and the Shola grassland mosaics, face a higher danger of destruction than other evergreen woodland types.

·        The Biodiversity Act of 2002 pronounces vital biodiversity areas, including Myristica swamps, as Biodiversity Heritage Sites.

·        many swamps are in reserve forests or sacred groves/community conservation landscapes, which do not grant them safety from land-use conversion, and also are extraordinarily fragmented and isolated.

·        As of February 2021, 58 clinical research had been carried out at the floristic components and plant life of Myristica swamp forests and in line with them, there are at least seventy-nine tree species, 26 shrubs, 27 climbers, and forty four herb species recorded.

·        Any loss of the swamps will even result in the extinction of associated species.