Abstract
The palm resources of Andaman & Nicobar Islands are quite rich and unique with a substantial number of endemic species. Andaman & Nicobar Islands, falling within the Indo-Burma region constitute “hottest hotspot” of global biodiversity with an exceptional concentration of endemic species, but are experiencing alarming loss of habitat. The flora and fauna of Andaman group of islands show striking dissimilarities with that of Nicobar group. Palms such as Arenga pinnata, A. westerhoutii, Calamus baratangensis, C. basui, C. longisetus, C. palustris, C. viminalis, Corypha utan, Daemonorops aurea, D. kurziana, D. manii, D. rarispinosa, D. wrightmyoensis, Korthalsia rogersii, Licuala spinosa, Phoenix andamanensis, and Pinanga andamanensis which occur in Andaman groups of islands are absent in the Nicobar group of islands. While Bentinckia nicobarica, Calamus dilaceratus, C. nicobaricus, C. pseudorivalis, C. semierectus, C. unifarius, and Rhopaloblaste augusta are confined to the Nicobars, but seldom found in the Andamans. Areca triandra, Calamus andamanicus, Caryota mitis, Korthalsia laciniosa, Licuala peltata and Pinanga manii are widely distributed in both the group of islands. There is a considerable reduction in their natural population probably due to habitat destruction, low regeneration, and inability to compete with other plants. In addition, calamities like tsunami caused irrecoverable loss of valuable genetic diversity of palms. If conservation efforts are not undertaken, many of the existing species, if not all, are likely to disappear within a foreseeable future. There is dire need for habitat preservation and for in situ conservation. Appropriate conservation strategies should be taken to prevent further genetic erosion of these species and to protect these invaluable plant resources.
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Acknowledgments
Financial assistance from CSIR, New Delhi (Research Associate Fellowship to TNM) and Ministry of Environment & Forests, Govt. of India, New Delhi (AICOPTAX project to CR) is gratefully acknowledged. The authors sincerely thank the Director, Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi, for providing necessary facilities and encouragement for this study. Thanks are due to PCCF Andaman & Nicobar Islands for permission to study in different islands and to Smt. N. Kala, Conservator of Forest (HQ), Andaman & Nicobar Islands, for the logistic support. We are also grateful to the authorities of Forest Department, Andaman & Nicobar Administration, for the cooperation and timely help during explorations. Thanks are due to the Joint Director, BSI, Andaman for the permission to consult the herbaria. We thank Prof. G.R. Shivamurthy, Prof. C.R. Nagendran, and Prof. K.B Sadanand, Mysore, for constructive suggestions. Finally, we thank the editors and two anonymous reviewers for their comments.
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Manohara, T.N., Linto, E.L. & Renuka, C. Diversity and conservation of palms in Andaman & Nicobar archipelago. Biodivers Conserv 19, 3655–3666 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-010-9918-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-010-9918-6