Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 August 2019 | 11(10): 14334–14348

 

 

Multivariate analysis of elements from the microhabitats of selected plateaus in the Western Ghats, Maharashtra, India

 

Priti Vinayak Aphale 1, Dhananjay Chintaman Meshram 2, Dnyaneshwar Maruti Mahajan 3, Prasad Anil Kulkarni 4  & Shraddha Prasad Kulkarni 5

 

1,5 Department of Environmental Sciences, Fergusson College, Shivajinagar, Pune, Maharashtra 411004, India.

2 Department of Geology, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune, Maharashtra 411007, India.

3 Department of Botany, Baburaoji Gholap College, Sangvi, Pune, Maharashtra 411027, India.

4 Post graduate Research Centre in Environmental Sciences, Department of Applied Sciences, College of Engineering, Wellesely Road, Shivajinagar, Pune, Maharashtra 411005, India.

1 aphale.priti@gmail.com (corresponding author), 2 dcmeshram@gmail.com, 3 mahajandm@gmail.com,

4 prasaadkulkarni@gmail.com, 5 shraddhakarikar@gmail.com

 

 

 

Abstract: The Western Ghats represents a small part of the Deccan Traps continental flood basalt province that erupted about 65 million years ago.  It is an area of outstanding scenic beauty and has attracted the attention of geologists, naturalists and geomorphologists for over a century.  One of the unique habitats in the Western Ghats are the rocky plateaus.  Previous studies have covered plant species composition, geological and geomorphological status of the rocky plateaus.  An analytical study of microhabitats and associated therophytes of four rocky plateau sites was conducted.  The study sites were Durgawadi Plateau, Naneghat Plateau which are basalt outcrops and Zenda plateau and Amba Plateau, which are laterite outcrops on the escarpment of the northern Western Ghats.  The results revealed a correlation between basalt and lateritic rock outcrops as well as ephemeral plant elements.  All four outcrops are similar in their nutrient status but the microhabitats of these plateaus are extremely different from each other.

 

Keywords: Basalt, ephemeral, geology, laterite, Rock outcrop, therophytes.

 

 

 

doi: https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.4980.11.10.14334-14348   

 

Editor: Aparna Watve, Biome Foundation, Pune, India.    Date of publication: 26 August 2019 (online & print)

 

Manuscript details: #4980 | Received 30 March 2019 | Final received 04 August 2019 | Finally accepted 11 August 2019

 

Citation: Aphale, P.V., D.C. Meshram, D.M. Mahajan, P.A. Kulkarni & S.P. KulKarni (2019). Multivariate analysis of elements from the microhabitats of selected plateaus in the Western Ghats, Maharashtra, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 11(10): 14334–14348. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.4980.11.10.14334-14348

 

Copyright: © Aphale et al. 2019. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.  JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and distribution of this article in any medium by adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publication.

 

Funding: The study is funded by Board of University and College Development (BCUD), Savitribai Phule, Pune University, Pune.

 

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

 

Author details: Ms. Priti Vinayak Aphale—associated with Department of Environmental Science, Fergusson College, Pune. Interested in habitat ecology studies and conservation related research. Baseline data collected for sacred groves of Maval Tahsil, Pune since 2012 with special reference to community participation in conservation. Current studies include impact assessment of developmental activities on plateaus and geomrphological and geochemical characterization of plateaus in Western Ghats.  Dr. Dhananjay Chintaman Meshram—Professor in Geology, associated with Department of Geology, SPPU, Pune. Interested in Geochemistry, characterization of river sediments, characterization of Basalt.  Dr. Dnyaneshwar Maruti Mahajan—Associate Professor with over 24 years of teaching experience and 27 years of research experience. Interested in plant diversity, wetland Ecology, phytoremediation ,ecological restoration, habitat modification and its impact, urban ecology, biomass carbon sequestration and exotic and invasive species.  Dr. Prasad Anil Kulkarni—associated with Post Graduate Research Center in Environmental Sciences Department of Applied Sciences, College of Engineering, Pune.  Interested in change detection mapping of Mangrove Ecosystem of Raigad Coast, Maharashtra and in ecosystem monitoring and its conservation related research.  Dr. Shraddha Prasad Kulkarni—associated with Department of Environmental Science, Fergusson College, Pune. Interested in ecosystem monitoring and its conservation related research. Baseline data collected for Ujjani Wetland, Maharashtra, India since 2010 with special reference to preferential habitat utilization of wetland by bird communities. Habitat monitoring and association of communities were analysed by applying various statistical models.

 

Author contribution: PVA—contributed in research idea development and experiment design as well as implementation on field, sample collection and analysis; DCM—suggested and contributed in geochemical and geomrphological characterization of plateaus and interpretation of the data; DMM—contributed in identification of species and microhabitats from the plateau ecosystem; PAK—supported in plateau Ecosystem monitoring, field data collection and technical aspects; SPK—supported in statistical analysis for various tests applied to the data and result interepretaion.

 

Acknowledgements: We owe many thanks to our family members, for being constant companions in all the hard field work and writing of this study. We gratefully acknowledge help of Dr. Aparna Watve, for taking a personal interest in guiding us about all the scientific work on rocky outcrop habitats and constant support and encouragement in the initial research which was crucial for this study. We are indebted to funding agencies, mentioned above; the reviewers; Dr. Mandar Datar, Agharkar Research Institute for his guidance, Biosakshat team for statistical analysis.  And most importantly, all those who have directly as well as indirectly helped us in the present study.

 

 

 

Introduction

 

The Sahyadri Range is one of the spectacular geographic features of the Indian subcontinent.  Documenting the plant species was necessary to understand the nature of vegetation (Sambhaji 2015). A compilation with commentary of landmark papers by the Geological Society of India’s (Gunnell & Radhakrishna 2001) findings till date gives us an idea about its uniqueness.  One of the distinctive aspects of the geomorphology of the Sahyadri Range is the presence and preservation of two “paleosurfaces” indicated by laterite (Fox 1923; Widdowson & Cox 1996; Widdowson 1997).  Cliffs, isolated hills, and platforms of rocks formed due to landscape level activities of weathering are the types of outcrops seen commonly in India, whereas “rock outcrops” is the term recognized by IUCN as a category of habitats wherein some portions of freely exposed bedrock project above the soil level due to natural reasons (Porembski & Watve 2005).  According to Porembski (2007) well-known rocky outcrops in the world are inselbergs, barrens, cedar glades, cliffs, serpentine, ultramafic, limestone, and gypsum outcrops.  He also suggested that each of these are known to harbor highly specialized vegetation rich in microhabitat-specific and endemic plants.  Rock outcrop habitats are generally of small extent within a region and present particular habitat limitations, e.g., greater exposure to sun and scarcity of soil.  The microenvironment at the rock surface ranges from very hot and arid in dry season to water logged in the wet season.  Hence edaphically controlled herbaceous plant communities are characteristic of rock outcrops.  Rock outcrops are very well known throughout the world for their uniqueness, but are less studied habitats.  Most studies are from African, American and Australian outcrops (Porembski et al. 1994, 2000; Burke 2005a,b; Jacobi et al. 2007) describing the habitat types and associated vegetation composition.  In India, relatively very few reports exist about vegetation on these special habitats (Porembski & Watve 2005; Watve 2008, 2013; Lekhak & Yadav 2012; Bhattarai et al. 2012).

The rock outcrops in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra are of two types based on the rock formation and soil type developed from it: (i) Lateritic—lateritic rock cover is well preserved over the parent basalt rock and soil rich in iron, and (ii) Basaltic—having black hard rock and soil.  Durgawadi and Naneghat plateaus from the northwestern corner of Pune District are entirely basaltic but have some lateritic soil due to weathering.  They have a diversity of micro-habitats and are rich in flora and fauna.  Trees or shrubs are less in number, but herbaceous angiosperms, algae, mosses, ferns and lichens are generally abundant in these habitats.  Many of the endemic ephemerals, herbaceous angiosperms, pteridophytes and lichens, however, are restricted to these special habitats (Watve 2008).  Species composition patterns and outcrop communities are influenced by multiple environmental factors like soil type, elevation, aspect of that rock outcrop and micro-environments (Watve 2013).  Moreover, transect studies of plateaus in northern Western Ghats region conducted by Watve (2008 & 2013) discuss the vegetation composition and pattern of some microhabitats on the plateaus.  A comprehensive botanical study of two rock outcrops, Durgawadi Plateau (DP) and Naneghat Plateau (NP), on the escarpment of northern Western Ghats revealed a very high plant diversity within the sites and between the sites (Rahangdale & Rahangdale 2014).  Herbaceous vegetation of high-level lateritic plateaus of southwestern Maharashtra have been studied by Lekhak & Yadav (2012).  These studies have revealed the importance of microhabitats as this plateau vegetation has unique microhabitats that support distinct plant communities depending primarily on soil, depth of the soil and moisture availability.  None of these studies describe the interrelationship between nutrient status and plant communities.  Hence, the present study was carried out to find out the correlation between nutrient status of selected microhabitats and associated plant communities with the following objectives.

Identification and RS & GIS based mapping of microhabitats at plateau ecosystem

Sampling and analysis of trace and major elements of rock as well as soil from microhabitats

Identification and selection of ephemerals in plateau ecosystem

Sampling and analysis of trace and major elements of selected plant communities

Understanding correlation among elements, microhabitats and plant communities as well as plateaus using statistical methods

 

 

Study Area

 

Durgawadi Plateau (Image 1): It is located 60km from Junnar Town at 1,200m altitude.  The plateau top can be reached after a steep climb from Inglun Village at 19.1930N, 73.6950E & 19.2170N, 73.6420E.  The road passes through the villages of Ambe, Hatwij, and Kathewadi and ends at the sacred grove of Durgawadi, which overlooks the Konkan area.  Adjacent to it is the plateau of Warsubai Temple.  The Durgawadi Plateau is floristically very important because a number of new taxa are described from this region or adjacent region.  According to Rahangdale (2009), Yadav (2010), Aitawade & Yadav (2012), and Rahangdale & Rahangdale (2012) all new taxa described from the location are endemic to Durgawadi.

Naneghat Plateau (Image 2): It is located 26km away from Junnar Town at 19.2710N,73.7200E & 19.2980N,73.6720E, 700m.  The rocky hills of this region are well known forts.  There is a tar road from Junnar to Naneghat (Ghatghar Village).  The basalt is exposed as a broad expanse at a low altitude and bounded by sacred groves, reserve forest patches, rice fields and vertical slopes.  The outcrop and its surroundings are affected by biotic pressures.  Hemadri (1980) and Rahangdale (2009) denoted that Naneghat Plateau area is rich in plant diversity.

Amba Plateau (Image 3): Amba plateau is located at 16.9850N, 73.7840E & 16.9870N, 73.7970E, 740m, and overlooks the Amba Ghat which is a famous monsoon tourist destination.  The plateau top can be reached from a forested path through Amba village.

Zenda plateau (Image 4): Zenda-Dhangarwada Plateau is a least disturbed outcrop located at 16°55’5.50”N, 16.9180N, 73.7970E & 16.9040N, 73.8490E, 1025m.  The plateau is known as Zenda Hill and is located between Manoli-Gajapur-Dhangarwada villages near Amba Ghat.  The plateau top on Manoli side can be approached from a forested footpath branching from Amba to Vishalgad road (Images 5 & 6).

 

 

Methods

 

Maharashtra possesses characteristic habitats called high level plateaus (Watve 2007).  Many of them represent lateritic, basaltic as well as sandy characteristics.  Of the four plateaus which were found least disturbed, the ones representing basalt and laterite were selected for the said research.  All of these are located in the Western Ghats at Pune and Kolhapur regions.  These were specifically selected after referencing existing literature and after conducting several field surveys.

 

GIS mapping – tools and techniques

The research area was surveyed extensively to mark the boundaries of the plateaus.  Exact latitudes and longitudes were recorded and marked by using Garmin 5 handheld GPS.  These lat-longs were then calibrated with Google Earth version 6.2 (http://www.Google.com/earth/index.html) to get .kmz images as a reference database.  For freshly captured images, satellite data was procured from NRSC, Hyderabad.  The data was further used to mark each microhabitat at each plateau (Table 1) on ArcGIS … and ERDAS 9.1 platform.  Each plateau as well as each microhabitat was GPS marked.

In all, three field study visits were carried out during different seasons: pre-monsoon (March–May), monsoon (June–October), and winter (November–February) to understand the seasonal variations from 2013 to 2017.

 

Sampling and analysis of soil and rock

Rock and soil sampling was done from the microhabitats marked using GIS; wherever soil was accumulated in microhabitats soil samples were collected from 100cm depth.  For habitats like boulders and exposed rock surfaces, the intact rocks were broken and samples were collected.  These samples were analyzed using x-ray fluorescence spectrophotometry (XRF).  It is a non-destructive analytical technique used to determine the elemental composition of materials.  XRF analyzers determine the chemistry of a sample by measuring the fluorescent (or secondary) x-ray emitted from a sample when it is excited by a primary x-ray source.  The method is used extensively to analyze trace and major elements of rock as well as soil in a powdered form.  Nutrients, Nitrogen by Kjeldahl’s method and organic Carbon by Walkley & Black method.  The data of XRF analysis is heterogenously distributed over 50 elements around two rock types from four locations distributed over 10–11 microhabitats.  Dimensions of which are 2*4*11*50 and types of measurements are percentage and part-per-million.

The statistical analysis was carried out using R v3.3.3 and ggplot2 v2.2.0 package

 

Identification of micro habitats at plateau ecosystem

Plants on the plateaus are adapted to various microhabitats and each of these is unique in its edaphic properties, water availability and species composition (Porembski & Barthlott 2000).  According to Jacobi et al. (2007) and Watve & Thakur (2006)  the most common habitat types observed on plateaus have been identified by following an established categorization for rock outcrops.

 

Identification and selection of ephemerals at plateau ecosystem

A comprehensive list of plants has been prepared for each microhabitat classified as per Raunkiaer (1934).  Phenology was recorded and all the specimens collected were therophytes.  An analysis reveals that nearly 70% of the species associated with plateau ecosystem are therophytes (Porembski 2000).  The species found in abundance were collected by direct uprooting method along with all parts including roots to flowers.  Care was taken to avoid disturbing species nearby.  Identification of species was done using regional flora of Kolhapur and Pune and the literature available.  Collected plant specimens were processed at the herbarium using standard techniques.  All herbarium specimens were deposited in Agharkar Research Institute, Pune for authentication.  This was recorded as a first set of samples.  The second set of samples were carefully dried in shade.  Soil particles from the roots were carefully removed from the plants, and the sample plants were powdered with mortar and pestle.  Further, these set of samples were analyzed by XRF to understand trace and major elements (Table 2).  Kjeldahl’s and Walkley & Black methods were used for nutrients like Nitrogen and organic Carbon, respectively.  Multivariate statistical analysis was done using software like PAST and R.  This was done to understand correlation among elements, microhabitats and plant communities as well as plateaus (Shtangeeva & Alber 2009).  Interrelationship among elements was also identified.  Table 1 shows the details of the samples collected and processed.

 

 

Results and Discussion

 

The multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was carried out between the selected elements of plants and rocks across four regions (Durgawadi, Naneghat, Amba, and Zenda) for 10 nutrient elements.  The p-values were estimated using multivariate Pillai–Bartlett test statistic.

The overall MANOVA, carried out across all the regions, indicated a significant difference in the content of all the nutrient elements between rocks and plants (p-value = 2.2e-16; <0.001) (Fig. 1).

In the case of Durgawadi region, based on the MANOVA it was observed that there was significant difference in the content of nutrient elements between rocks and plants (p-value = 1.795e-12; <0.001).  Further investigations revealed that except Zinc, all other elements were significantly contributing towards the differences in nutrients of rocks and plants in the Durgawadi (Fig. 2) plateau.

Similar to Durgawadi, the Naneghat region also showed a significant difference in the content of nutrient elements between rocks and plants (p-value = 4.761e-09; < 0.001).  Copper, however, did not contribute significantly towards the differences between rocks and plants in the Naneghat (Fig. 3) region.

When Amba region was analysed using MANOVA it revealed that there was significant difference in the content of nutrient elements between rocks and plants (p-value = 5.667e-10; <0.001).  Further investigation revealed that except Zinc, all other elements significantly contributed towards the differences in nutrients of rocks and plants in the Amba region, which is similar to Durgawadi (Fig. 4)

In case of Zenda region, based on the MANOVA it was observed that there was significant difference in the content of nutrient elements between rocks and plants (p-value = 1.31e-06; <0.001).  Closer inspection showed that the elements Calcium, Manganese, Zinc and Copper did not contribute towards the significant differences in plants and rocks of Zenda region (Fig. 5).  It shows that the nutrient profiles of plant and rocks in Zenda region is characteristically different from other regions.

 

MANOVA between Plants and Rocks

The Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was carried out between plants and rocks across four regions (Durgawadi, Naneghat, Amba and Zenda) for ten nutrient elements. The p-values were estimated using multivariate Pillai–Bartlett test statistic.

In case of the Durgawadi region, based on the MANOVA it was observed that there was significant difference in the content of nutrient elements between rocks and plants (p-value = 1.795e-12; <0.001). Further investigation revealed that except Zinc, all other elements were significantly contributing towards the differences in nutrients of rocks and plants in the Durgawadi (Fig. 1: Durgwadi_manova_boxplot.png) region.

Similar to Durgawadi, the Naneghat region also showed significant difference in the content of nutrient elements between rocks and plants (p-value = 4.761e-09; <0.001). However, Copper did not contribute significantly towards the differences between rocks and plants in the Naneghat (Fig. 2: Naneghat_manova_boxplot.png) region.

When Amba region was analyzed using MANOVA it revealed that there was significant difference in the content of nutrient elements between rocks and plants (p-value = 5.667e-10; <0.001). Further investigation revealed that except Zinc, all other elements were significantly contributing towards the differences in nutrients of rocks and plants in the Amba region, which is similar to Durgawadi (Fig. 3: Amba_manova_boxplot.png).

In case of Zenda region, based on the MANOVA it was observed that there was significant difference in the content of nutrient elements between rocks and plants (p-value = 1.31e-06; <0.001). Closer inspection shows that the elements Calcium, Manganese, Zinc and Copper do not contribute towards the significant differences in plants and rocks of Zenda region (Fig. 4: Zenda_manova_boxplot.png). It shows that the nutrient profiles of plant and rocks in Zenda region is characteristically different from the other regions.

The overall MANOVA, carried out across all the regions, also indicated the significant difference in the content of all the nutrient elements between rocks and plants (p-value = 2.2e-16; < 0.001) (Fig. 5: Combined_manova_boxplot.png).

 

 

Conclusion

 

The overall results show that nutrients, trace and major elements under study in all four selected plateaus are significantly different.  The Zenda Plateau, the least disturbed plateau in all four plateaus, shows characteristically different nutrient and element content.  As Calcium, Manganese, Zinc, and Copper do not contribute towards significant differences in plants and rocks of Zenda region.  Each of these areas is different and needs to be studied in detail to understand the dynamics of the ecosystem.  Except Zinc, similarity was observed in all elements when samples were analyzed from rocks as well as plants at  Durgawadi- Basalt and Amba-Lateritic plateaus. For understanding the causes of such similarities more such studies are needed.  The environmental exceptionality, high diversity, lack of studies and speedy destruction of these ecosystems pose an abrupt challenge for their conservation.  These should not be considered as wastelands as they are ecologically significant and a hold scientifically unknown facts.

 

Table 1. Samples collected from microhabitats across the plateaus.

 

Microhabitat

Durgawadi

Naneghat

Amba

Zenda

Cliffs

Rock

Rock

Rock

Rock

Exposed rock surfaces

Rock

Rock

Rock

Rock

Ephemeral pools

Soil

Soil

Soil

Soil

Sacred groves

Soil

Soil

NA

NA

Soil covered areas

Soil

Soil

Soil

Soil

Seasonal ponds

Soil

Soil

Soil

Soil

Rock crevices

Rock

Rock

Rock

Rock

Boulders

Rock

NA

Rock

Rock

Soil richareas

Soil

Soil

Soil

Soil

Soil filled depressions

Soil

Soil

Soil

Soil

Plateau tree cover

Soil

Soil

Soil

Soil

 

 

Table 2. Selection of elements for XRF and nutrient analysis of ephemeral plants.

 

Type of element

Name of the element

Reason for selection

Method of estimation

Nutrients

Organic Carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorous, Potassium

Essential nutrients

OC (Walkley & Black),

Nitrogen (Kjeldahl’s),

Phosphorous & Potassium (XRF)

Major elements

Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Manganese

Selected as per t-test results across the regions

XRF method

Trace elements

Zinc, Copper

Selected as per t-test results across the regions

XRF method

 

 

 

Appendix 1. Species recorded from four plateaus.

 

 

Species

Family

Durgawadi microhabitat

Naneghat microhabitat

Amba microhabitat

Zenda microhabitat

1

Acanthospermum hispidum DC.

Asteraceae

-

CE

-

-

2

Acmella paniculata (Wall. ex DC.) R.K. Jansen

Asteraceae

-

-

SCA

-

3

Adenocaryum coelestium (Lindl.) Brand

Commelinaceae

+

SCA

 -

SCA

4

Adenoon indicum Dalzell

Asteraceae

 -

 -

 -

 SFD

5

Adiantum sp.

Adiantaceae

 -

 -

 -

 B

6

Alysicarpus belgaumensis Wight

Fabaceae

 -

 -

 -

 SFD

7

Antraxon jubatus Hack

Poaceae

 CE, SCA, PTC

 CE, SCA, PTC

 -

 CE, SCA, PTC

8

Antraxon lanceolatus var meeboldi (stapf) welzen

Poaceae

 -

 -

 -

 SFD

9

Argemone mexicana L.

Papaveraceae

 SFD

 -

 -

 -

10

Argyreia cuneata Ker Gawl.

Convolvulaceae

 SG

 -

 PTC

 -

11

Argyreia sericea Dalzell

Convolvulaceae

 SG

 SG

 -

 PTC

12

Arisaema murrayi (Graham) Hook.

Araceae

 SRA,B

 SRA,B

 SRA,B

 SRA,B

13

Arundinella ciliata

Poaceae

 -

 SFD

 -

 

14

Arundinella pumila (Hochst. ex A. Rich.) Steud

Poaceae

 -

 -

 SRA

 -

15

Asystasia dalzelliana Sant.

Acanthaceae

 CE, RC, SG

 CE, RC, SG

 CE, RC

 CE, RC

16

Begonia crenata Dryand.

Begoniaceae

 CE, B

 CE

 CE, B

 CE, B

17

Bidens biternata (Lour.) Merr. & Sherff.

Asteraceae

 -

 ERS

 -

 -

18

Biophytum sensitivum (L.) DC.

Oxalidaceae

 SRA

 -

 -

 -

19

Blepharis maderaspatensis B. Heyne ex Roth

Acanthaceae

 -

 ERS, RC

 -

 -

20

Blumea malcolmii Hook.f.

Asteraceae

 CE, RC

 CE, RC

 

 CE, RC

21

Buchnera hispida Buch.-Ham.

Scrophulariaceae

 SCA

 -

 -

 -

22

Burmannia coelestis

Burmanniaceae

 -

 -

 SRA

 -

23

Canscora diffusa (Vahl) R. Br. ex Roem. & Schult.

Gentianaceae

 CE, RC

 CE, RC

 CE, RC

 CE, RC

24

Carvia callosa (Nees) Bremek.

Acanthaceae

 -

 B, SG, SCA

 -

 -

25

Catharanthus pusillus (Murr.) G.Don

Apocynaceae

 -

 ERS,SRA

 -

 -

26

Celosia argentea L

Amaranthaceae

 B, CE

 CE

 B, CE

 -

27

Ceropegia rollae Hemadri

Asclepiadaceae

 RC, SFD

 -

 -

 RC, SFD

28

Chlorophytum glaucoides Blatt.

Anthericaceae

 SRA

 -

 -

 SRA

29

Chlorophytum laxum R.Br.

Anthericaceae

 -

 SCA

 -

 -

30

Chrysopogon polyphyllus Blatt. & McC.

poaceae

 SCA

  SCA

 -

 -

31

Commelina benghalensis L.

Commelinaceae

 SCA, RC, SFD

 SCA, RC, SFD

 -

 SCA, RC, SFD

32

Commelina maculata Edgew.

Commelinaceae

 -

 -

 SCA

 -

33

Commelina paludosa Blume

Commelinaceae

 -

 -

 SCA

 -

34

Commelina suffruticosa Blume

Commelinaceae

 -

 SCA

 -

 -

35

Conyza stricta Willd.

Asteraceae

 -

 -

SRA

 -

36

Cosmos bipinnatus Cav.

Asteraceae

 ERS

 -

 -

 -

37

Crinum latifolium L. var. latifolium

Amaryllidaceae

 SRA

 -

 SFD

 SFD

38

Crinum pratense Herb.

Amaryllidaceae

 -

 -

 SCA, SFD, RC

 -

39

Crotolaria filipes Benth.

Fabaceae

 -

 SFD

 -

 -

40

Curcuma pseudomontana Grah.

Zingiberaceae

 SG,SRA

 SG,SRA

 ,SRA

SRA

41

Cyanotis fasciculata (Heyne ex Roth) Schult.f.

Commelinaceae

 RC, SCA

 RC, SCA

 RC, SCA

 -

42

Cyanotis tuberosa (Roxb.) Schult.f. var. tuberosa

Commelinaceae

 SRA

 SRA

 -

 SRA

43

Cyathocline lutea Law ex Wight

Asteraceae

 SEP, SCA

 -

 -

 -

44

Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.

poaceae

 SRA

 -

 -

 -

45

Cyperus difformis L.

Cyperaceae

 SEP, SP

 -

 -

 -

46

Cyperus rotundus L.

Cyperaceae

 SRA

 -

 SRA

 SRA

47

Cyperus tenuispica Steud.

Cyperaceae

 SEP, SP

 -

 -

 SEP, SP

48

Delphinium malabaricum (Huth) Munz.

Ranunculaceae

 CE,SG

 CE,SG

 -

 CE

49

Desmodium triflorum (L.) DC.

Fabaceae

 -

 -

 SCA

 -

50

Digitaria stricta

poaceae

 -

 -

 SFD

 -

51

Drimia indica (Roxb.) Jessop

Hyacinthaceae

 ERS

 ERS

 -

 -

52

Drosera indica L.

Droseraceae

 SCA, SEP

 -

 SCA, SEP

 SCA, SEP

53

Elephantopus scaber L.

Asteraceae

 -

 PTC

 PTC

 PTC

54

Emilia sonchifolia (L.) DC.

Asteraceae

 -

 SFD

 -

 -

55

Eragrostis unioloides (Retz.) Steud.

Poaceae

SCA

SCA

SCA

SCA

56

Eriocaulon achiton Korn

Eriocaulaceae

 ERS

 -

 -

 ERS

57

Eriocaulon eurypeplon Körn

Eriocaulaceae

 -

 -

 -

 -

58

Eriocaulon sedgwikii Fyson

Eriocaulaceae

 SEP, SP

 SEP, SP

 -

 SEP, SP

59

Euphorbia thymifolia L.

Euphorbiaceae

 -

 ERS

 -

 -

60

Evolvulous alsinoides L.

Poaceae

 -

 ERS, SCA

 -

 SRA

61

Exacum lawii C.B. Clarke

Gentianaceae

 SCA, SFD

 

 SCA, SFD

 SCA, SFD

62

Fimbristylis lawiana (Boeckeler) J.Kern

Cyperaceae

 SRA

 SRA

 SRA

 SRA

63

Fimbristylis tenera Schult

Cyperaceae

 -

 -

 -

 CR,SFD

64

Gloriosa superba L.

Colchicaceae

 SCA,SG

 -

 -

 -

65

Glyphochloa forticulata (C.E.C.Fischer) W.D.Clayton

Poaceae

SFD

 SFD

 -

SFD

66

Gynura bicolor (Roxb. ex Willd.) DC.

Asteraceae

 -

 SFD, CE

 SFD, CE

 -

67

Habenaria foliosa A. Rich var. foliosa

Orchidaceae

 SRA

 SRA

 -

 SRA

68

Habenaria grandifloriformis Blatt. & McC.

Orchidaceae

 SCA

 SCA

 -

 SCA

69

Habenaria heyneana Lindl.

Orchidaceae

 SCA

 SCA

 SCA

 SCA

70

Habenaria longicorniculata J.Graham

Orchidaceae

 -

 -

 SRA

 -

71

Habenaria panchganensis Santapau & Kapadia

Orchidaceae

 -

 -

 -

 RC

72

Habenaria rariflora A.Rich

Orchidaceae

 SCA

 SCA

 SCA

 SCA

73

Hedyotis aspera Heyne ex Roth

Rubiaceae

 SCA

 -

 -

 -

74

Hedyotis stocksii (Hook.f. & Thomson) R.S.Rao & Hemadri

Rubiaceae

 -

 Naneghat

 -

 ERS,B

75

Heliotropium indicum L.

Boraginaceae

 -

 SRA

 -

 -

76

Hypoxis aurea Lour

Hypoxidaceae

 SRA

 SRA

 SRA

 SRA

77

Impatiens acaulis Arn.

Balsaminaceae

 

 

 CE

 

78

Impatiens balsamina L.

Balsaminaceae

 SRA, SFD

 SRA, SFD

 SRA, SFD

 SRA, SFD

79

Impatiens lawii Hook. f. & Thomson

Balsaminaceae

 SFD, RC

 -

 SFD, RC

 SFD, RC

80

Impatiens minor (DC.) Bennet

Balsaminaceae

 RC,SG

 -

 RC

 RC

81

Impatiens oppositifolia L.

Balsaminaceae

 SFD

 SFD

 SFD

 SFD

82

Indigofera dalzelli T. Cooke

Fabaceae

 -

 -

 SFD,CR

 SFD,CR

83

Iphigenia indica (L.) A.Gray ex Kunth

Colchicaceae

 SCA

 -

 -

 -

84

Iphigenia stellata Blatt.

Colchicaceae

 SCA

 SCA

 SCA

 -

85

Isachne elegans Dalz. ex Hook.f.

Poaceae

 SCA

 -

 -

 SCA

86

Jansenella grafithiana (M.II.Hal) Bor

Poaceae

 -

 -

 SFD

 SFD

87

Jansenella neglecta Yadav, Chivalkar & Gosavi

Poaceae

 SCA

 -

 -

 SCA

88

Justicia betonica L.

Acanthaceae

 SRA, SG

 SRA, SG

 -

 SRA

89

Justicia glaucea Rottl.

Acanthaceae

 SRA, SG

 SRA, SG

 -

 SRA

90

Lavandula bipinnata Kuntze

Lamiaceae

 ERS

 ERS

 -

 ERS

91

Linum mysurense B. Heyne ex Benth.

Linaceae

 SCA

 -

 SFD

 SFD

92

Momordica dioica Wall.

Cucurbitaceae

 RC, SFD

 RC, SFD

 -

 RC, SFD

93

Murdannia lanuginosa G. Brückn

Commelinaceae

 -

 -

 -

 RC

94

Murdannia semiteres (Dalzell) Santapau

Commelinaceae

 ERS

 ERS

 ERS

 ERS

95

Murdannia simplex (Vahl) Brenan

Commelinaceae

 -

 -

 SFD

 -

96

Murdannia spirata L.

Commelinaceae

 -

 ERS

 -

 ERS

97

Murdannia versicolor G. Brückn.

Commelinaceae

 -

 -

 SEP, SCA

 RC

98

Neanotis calycina (Wall. ex Hook.f.) W.H. Lewis

Rubiaceae

 SRA, RC, SFD

 SRA, RC, SFD

 SRA, RC, SFD

 SRA, RC, SFD

99

Neonatis foeitida (Dalzell) W.H. Lewis

Fabaceae

 SCA

 SCA

 SCA

 SCA,SRA

100

Nervilia aragoana Gaudich.

Orchidaceae

 -

 -

 Amba

 -

101

Nicandra physalodes (L.) Gaertn.

Solanaceae

 SRA

 SRA

 -

 SRA

102

Nilgirianthus reticulatus (Stapf) Bremek.

Acanthaceae

 CE, SRA

 CE, SRA

 -

 CE, SRA

103

Nilgirianthus reticulatus (Stapf) Bremek.

Acanthaceae

 

 

 

 

104

Nymphoides indica (L.) Kuntze

Menyanthaceae

 SP

 -

 -

 SP

105

Panicum antidotale Retz.

poaceae

 SRA

 SRA

 SRA

 SRA

106

Paspalum canarae (Steud.) Veldk. var. canarae

Poaceae

 ERS,SFD

 ERS

 ERS

 SFD

107

Pimpinella adscendens Dalzell

Apiaceae

 RC, CE

 RC, CE

 RC, CE

 RC, CE

108

Pinda concanensis (Dalzell) P.K.Mukh. & Constance

Apiaceae

 SFD, SCA

 SFD, SCA

 -

 SFD, SCA

109

Pogostemon deccanensis (Panigrahi)

Lamiaceae

 SP

 SP

 SP

 SP

110

Remusatia vivipara (Roxb) Schott

Araceae

 SFD, SG

 -

 SFD

 SFD

111

Rhamphicarpa longiflora Benth.

Scrophulariaceae

 SP, SEP

 SP, SEP

 SP, SEP

 -

112

Rostellularia diffusa (Nees.) Nees

Acanthaceae

 -

 CE

 -

 -

113

Rotala densiflora Koehne

Lythraceae

 SP, SEP

 SP, SEP

 SP, SEP

 SP, SEP

114

Senecio bombayensis N.P. Balakr.

Asteraceae

 CE, RC, SFD

 CE, RC, SFD

 CE, RC, SFD

 CE, RC, SFD

115

Senecio dalzellii C.B. Cl.

Fabaceae

 

 SFD,SEP

 

 

116

Smithia bigemina Dalzell

Fabaceae

 SCA, SFD, RC

 SCA, SFD, RC

 SCA, SFD, RC

 SCA, SFD, RC

117

Smithia hirsuta Dalzell

Fabaceae

 SCA

 SCA

 SCA

 SCA

118

Smithia purpurea Hook

Fabaceae

 SRA, SEP, RC,

 SRA, SEP, RC,

 -

 -

119

Smithia racemosa B. Heyne

Fabaceae

 SRA

 SRA

 SRA

 SRA

120

Smithia sensitiva Aiton

Fabaceae

 SRA

 SRA

 -

 SRA

121

Solanum anguivi Lam.

Solanaceae

 SCA

 -

 SCA

 SCA

122

Sonerila scapigera Dalzell

Melastomataceae

 B,RC

 B,RC

 B,RC

 B,RC

123

Sopubia delphinifolia G. Don

Scrophulariaceae

 SP, SEP, SCA

 SP, SEP, SCA

 SP, SEP, SCA

 SP, SEP, SCA

124

Sphaeranthus indicus L

Asteraceae

 -

 SCA

 -

 -

125

Striga gesnerioides (Willd.) Vatke

Scrophulariaceae

 SCA

 -

 -

 SCA

126

Swertia densifolia (Griseb.) Kashyapa

Gentianaceae

 

 

 SRA, SFD

 

127

Swertia minor Knobl.

Gentianaceae

 SCA, SEP

 SCA, SEP

 SCA, SEP

 SCA, SEP

128

Thunbergia laevis Wall. & Nees

Acanthaceae

 SRA, SG

 SRA, SG

 -

 SRA, SG

129

Torenia indica C.J. Saldanha

Scrophulariaceae

 PTC

 -

 -

 PTC

130

Utricularia graminifolia Vahl

Lentibulariaceae

 SP, SEP

 -

 SEP

 -

131

Utricularia praeteria P. Taylor

Lentibulariaceae

 -

 -

 -

 SP, SEP

132

Utricularia purpurescens Grah.

Lentibulariaceae

 SP, SEP, B,

 SP, SEP, B,

 SP, SEP, B,

 SP, SEP, B,

133

Utricularia striatula J.E. Sm.

Lentibulariaceae

 SP,SEP

 SP,SEP

 SP,SEP

 SP,SEP

134

Vigna vexillata (L.) A.Rich

Fabaceae

 SFD, RC, SCA

 SFD, RC, SCA

 SFD, RC, SCA

 SFD, RC, SCA

 

 

For figures & images  -- click here

 

 

References

 

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Bhattarai, U., P. Tetali & S. Kelso (2012). Contributions of vulnerable hydrogeomorphic habitats to endemic plant diversity on the Kas Plateau, Western Ghats. Springer Plus 1(1): 25.

Gunnel, Y. & B.P. Radhakrishnan (2001). Sahyadri – The Great Escarpment of the Indian Subcontinent (Patterns of Landscape Development in the Western Ghats) - Vol 1 & 2. Geological society of India, 1053pp.

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Porembski, S. (2000). West African Inselbergs Vegetation, pp177–211. In: Porembski, S. & W. Barthlott (Eds.). Inselbergs: Biotic Diversity of Isolated Rock Outcrops in Tropical and Temperate region. Ecological Studies 146. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, XXXII+524pp. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-59773-2

Porembski, S. & A. Watve (2005). Remarks on the species composition of ephemeral flush communities on paleotropical rock outcrops. Phytocoenologia 35(2-3):, 389-402. https://doi.org/10.1127/0340-269X/2005/0035-0389

Porembski, S. & W. Barthlott (2000). Granitic and gneissic outcrop (inselbergs) as centers of diversity for desiccation-tolerant vascular plants. Plant Ecology 151: 19–28.

Porembski, S., R. Seine & W. Barthlott (1997). Inselberg vegetation and the biodiversity of granite outcrops. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 80: 193–199.

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Watve, A. (2007). Plant community studies on rock outcrops in northern Western Ghats. A Technical Report.

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Watve, A. (2009). Rocky Outcrops as Special Habitats in North Western Ghats, Maharashtra, pp147–153. In: Rawat, G.S. (ed.). Special Habitats and Threatened Plants of India. ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife and Protected Areas. 11. Wildlife Institute India, Dehradun.

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