Sensing moisture

SENSING MOISTURE ONE FOREST

Landscape Foundation Studio Monsoon 2020 Mabel Annie Biju PLA20188

PROCESS 1

JOURNEY THROUGH THE FOREST | SENSING MOISTURE

Recording Landscapes-

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DRAWING THE FOREST

Moist Deciduous and Evergreen forests, Southern western ghats (Konni reserve forest)

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Forest Sketches

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3

Forest Sections

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4

Stories and Tales of the Forest

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5

Forest Narrative

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Correlating Systems

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6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4

38 42 44 46

Locating the forest Vegetation Typology Observations Correlating habitats

WHERE THE FOREST MEETS THE RIVER 7

Fresh water system

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Typical section

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9

Evergreen forest- common flora species

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Moist deciduous forest- common flora species

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11

Heard presence 66

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Seen presence

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Heard and seen presence

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Heard, seen and felt presence

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POINTS OF PAUSE | WALK PAST THE SHALLOW SWAMPS 15

Character observed

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Through the shallow swamps

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Across the first order streams

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Pause at the origin of Kallar river

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Overall journey

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ANNEXURE BIBLIOGRAPHY

RECORDING LANDSCAPES

Sketches were made with the help of reference photographs of places visited in the near past to record the landscape in different mediums. Various aspects such as quality of light, texture and density in the photographs collected were observed and represented in the sketches. Different mediums such as charcoal and fine tip liners were used to make quick sketches as a method of recording the important aspects of the image. The sketches made are from reference photographs of Cubbon park in Bangalore.

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FOREST SKETCHES Moist teak deciduous forest Evergreen forest

A forest which we had visited recently was chosen and the forest was studied in terms of lighting, density, foliage thickness and textures observed in the areas visited. The forest experience was expressed through the sketches.

RECOLLECTING THE FOREST THROUGH SKETCHES

A narrow trail through the forest that lead to Kallar river.

The narrow pathway leads to the river banks of Kallar where we started our journey down the river.

From the river banks we made our way down the river on a coracle boat.

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FOREST SECTIONS Moist teak deciduous forest Evergreen forest

The sketches drawn were converted to sections along certain parts of the photographs collected. These sections helped understand the scale and density aspects of the forest. The charcoal sketches were made through rivulets and streams that were spotted at multiple locations during the visit to the forest.

RECOLLECTING THE FOREST THROUGH SECTIONS

A trail along the hills of the forest.

Small rivulets and streams can be spotted throughout the forest.

Wider valleys and tributeries were spotted in close proximity to the Kallar river.

0m 3m 1m

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15m 7m

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RECOLLECTING THE FOREST THROUGH SECTIONS

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3m 1m

7m

STORIES AND TALES OF THE FOREST Stories and tales of the forest were read to understand the forest from a different perspective. The tusk that did the damage is a book written by Tania James, that is from a unique perspective of an asian elephant and its life in the forest and in captivity.

The Tusk That Did the Damage

EXCERPT FROM THE READING Tania James

TANIA JAMES, THE TUSK THAT DID THE DAMAGE, THE ELEPHANT The Elephant He would come to be called the Gravedigger. There would be other names: the Master Executioner, the Jackfruit Freak, the great Sooryamangalam Sreeganeshan. In his earliest days, his name was a sound only his kin could make in the hollows of their throats, and somewhere in his head, fathoms deep, he kept it close.

Other memories he kept: running through his mother’s legs, toddling in and out of her footprints.

The bark of soft saplings, the salt licks, the duckweed, the tang of river water, opening and closing around his feet. He remembered his mother taking him onto her back before launching herself from the bank. In this way, their clan would cross, an isle of hills and lofted trunks.

Among them were two males, a broody old tusker and a twelve-year-old with ivory stubs he was always admiring with the tip of his trunk. As they roamed, the tusker brought up the back of the clan, but if a man were scented somewhere in the vicinity, the cows dropped their doings and circled the two tuskers. They knew what man was after. They offered their rumps instead.

They had walked the same routes for years, this clan, routes that the Forest Department would carve into foot trails of its own. They knew every bend and border, each rutted skull and bull they would meet along the way. But the Gravedigger hadn’t learned all there was to learn.

His trunk, being stout and clumsy, couldn’t sense what his mother’s could sense—the sudden stillness in the rhythm of things, the peril in the air.

The Gravedigger was a few years old when it happened, still new to the world, but old enough that his mother had gone and calved another one. The newborn was a clumsy little cowpat. She toddled within the pillars of his mother’s legs precisely where he used to toddle. Whenever he tried to double back and regain her shade, his mother grumbled and nudged him onward with her trunk. If he fell behind, she flicked her tail until he grasped it, the two walking in tandem, ever in touch.

They emerged from the forest cover to the murky, algal smell of the lake. The water opened wide before them. The Gravedigger was first to splash into the lake, while the cowpat balked at the edge creeping darkly toward her feet. The old tusker slung his trunk into the air and dashed water over his spine.

Toward dusk, they roamed up the mountainside. Shola forest melted into grassland, staked here and there with shrub and tree built stout to withstand the cool. The wind had slackened by then and did not carry down to them, as it usually would, the smell of the man waiting among the branches of an evergreen.

A blast split the silence. The Gravedigger staggered, caught in a carousel of legs and screaming.

The man in the tree was pointing a long-snouted gun. Another blast—the tusker bellowed deep and doomed. The Gravedigger whirled in search of his mother, and when at last he caught her scent, he found her roaring in the face of the gunman who aimed into her mouth and shot.

Her head snapped back. Her front feet lifted off the ground for one weightless moment, before lowering, folding beneath her. The whole of her sank with a thud that traveled the earth and ran like a current into the tender slabs of the Gravedigger’s soles.

He went to her. He touched her warm trunk, stretched straight but slack. He touched its ridges and folds, and the very tip, a single, empty finger with which she had pinched him a gooseberry not two hours before. A charred scent from her wound. No air from her nostril, no light in the eye.

All around: the stink of gunmetal and smoke.

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He watched as two men climbed over the old tusker’s face. They pushed and pulled a saw across the bridge of the trunk. Blood spilled over their hands, over the air, as the trunk rolled limply to the ground. They chiseled at one side of a tusk, chipping at flesh, and knocked a hammer on the other side, some chipping, some knocking, until they gently tipped the tusk from the root, easy as a fruit.

They did this to the tusker and the almost-tusker, neatly and quietly opening each face. And then they noticed him.

One man strode toward the Gravedigger, his hair smelling of a sticky odor, some chemical scent mixed with pineapple rot. With the man’s every step, the world seemed to tighten. He was holding a knife.

The Gravedigger smelled urine streaming down his leg. He pressed himself against his mother’s still warm belly and waited to die.

The man walked past the Gravedigger, around his mother’s flank. The Gravedigger could not see what the man was doing. All he heard was the soft squeal of the knife. All he smelled was the pineapple rot.

At last the man rounded her body again and walked away, back to his people. A severed tail flicked from his fist, beckoning.

The Poacher Everyone in Sitamala thinks they know my brother’s story. On the contrary. They may know the tune, but I would bet a half bag of pepper the words are all wrong. I blame his wife’s people for spreading slander, all those perfidious huge-hipped sisters, not a one half as lovely as Leela.

Our father was a rice farmer. He came from a time when to farm was a noble profession, when people sought our gandhakasala and our rosematta for their earthy fragrance superior to the stuff that now comes cheap from Vietnam. Who can remember those times with all these farms lying fallow and many a farmer’s son gone to roost in a soft office chair? And who am I to blame them, I who have seen the Gravedigger for myself and felt its breath like a steam on my face?

Some say my brother stepped into the very snare he laid for the elephant. I say opinions are cheap from far. I will take you to the Gravedigger myself and let you meet its honey-colored eye.

I will show you the day it first laid its foot on our scrawny lives. Then you tell me who was hunter and who was hunted.

To know our troubles, you must know what happened to my cousin Raghu. When I think on poor Raghu, I see him stoking a small fire. I see him nudging a stick aside so as to let the flames breathe. I have called up this image many a time as if I were with him in the palli as I should have been that night.

The palli was a paddy-roofed matchbox on bamboo legs stranded in the midst of his father’s rice field, same as the ones in the neighboring fields. If a herd of elephants were to come glumping their way through the stalks, we were to wave the lantern and give the long caw that would set the others cawing. If this didn’t scare the herd away, we used crackers and rockets. But the herds became wise to our ways. They learned that our racket had no teeth to it, so they kept on eating their way through six months’ worth of our back-bent work. Sometimes we had to call the Forest Department; it would send three or four men to blind the beasts with headlights and fire ancient rifles. We called them greenbacks for their dingy green uniforms and their love of currency.

The herds were mostly cows, and they meant no personal harm unless you tampered with a calf. 29

FOREST NARRATIVE Moist teak deciduous forest Evergreen forest

The journey one took through a part of the forest was recollected and the sketches and sections made were arranged to depict the sequence of events and associated experiences. A small note sums up the personal thoughts and movement through the forest.

FOREST NARRATIVE

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0m

7.5m 3m

30m 18m

RECOLLECTING THE EXPERIENCE On the way to Konni Reserve forest, both sides of the road were lined with rubber tree plantations, true to the image of Konni that I have painted in my mind after years of visiting the rubber plantation with my grandfather. Seeing all the trees with the plastic sheets attached to their trunks to protection the coconut shells filled with sap was a sign that monsoon season was approaching. The trees started to gradually change in shape and size as we began to enter what I assumed was the forest. The taller trees formed a roof over the forest that allowed sunlight in only certain parts, like paintings on display at a gallery. The trees didn’t stand awkwardly straight like the ones in the rubber plantations.

These trees grew with comfort as though they were at home. The cold and damp breeze blowing through the window and the smell of fallen jackfruit after a heavy pour, made me feel at ease as we drove deeper into the forest.

It started to drizzle as we reached the banks of Kallar river. We made our way through the narrow muddy pathway that lead to a rivulet adjoining the Kallar river, one of the many rivers that originate in Konni Reserve forest. The rivulet was shallow and clear. The sound of the rivulet, chirping of birds and crickets during the monsoon season were familiar and comforting to hear. Memories of my cousins and I playing in the thod (stream) during the rainy season resurfaced as we got into the coracle. We would play for hours in the thod trying to catch small fish, tadpoles and spot the occasional snake head that popped out from the cracks between rocks. We were always warned to stay away from the rocky edges to avoid any encounters with snakes.

As our local village companion paddled his way through the river, the small fish and the pebbles on the river bed started to disappear. The river was much darker and deeper than the thod. The dark water made me restless as my mind wandered onto the potential danger that could strike at any moment like the snakes in the thod except this time I will not see it coming. I quickly tried to distract myself by looking at the tall trees that stood on the banks of the river. Some seemed welcoming with their branches playfully reaching out into the water and others completely shut off with their foliage blocking out any further view of what lies inside.

Further down the river the tree foliage got denser and completely opaque as the river got wider. I suddenly started to feel like an outsider. I felt as though I was about to break my guest etiquette rules by venturing into a forbidden part of someone’s home. Before I could think any further, the local village companion announced that we were going to head back to where we had started our journey. In the distance I could see the hills that we have driven through to get to the coracle ride. As we got closer to the rivulet I felt more relaxed.

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CO-RELATING SYSTEMS Moist teak deciduous forest Evergreen forest

The forest was located with respect to the larger system. The various technical aspects of terrain, vegetation, waterbodies, soil type, etc were corelated for understanding the ties the forest has to the larger system. Through the habitat and fauna analysis, the fauna distribution and micro habitats were studied to the limits of the forest.

LOCATING THE FOREST

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38

300m

100m

1500m 700m

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LOCATING THE FOREST

Periyar Subcluster

Indian Peninsula

Northern Western Ghats

Kallar River Midland

AA

Central Western Ghats

1375m 1000m

Konni Reserve Forest

Arabian Sea

Highland

500m

Achankovil River

0m

Bay of Bengal

Section AA

Pallakad Gap Shenkottah Gap Southern Western Ghats

Konni Reserve Forest

Section AA 0km

South Western Ghats

0km 0km

1km

300km 300km

10km 5km

Kallar River Pallakad Gap

418m

Kallar River

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Anamalai Hills

Section BB

BB Achankovil River

Periyar

1375m

Achankovil River

Konni Reserve Forest Shenkottah Gap

1000m 500m

Agasthyamalai 0m

CC

Arabian Sea

Section CC Bay of Bengal

0km 0km

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300km

1km

10km 5km

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VEGETATION TYPOLOGY

Moist Decideous Forest

It is a moist desnse forest with up to three storeys. Most of the specifies are deciduous in the top and second storeys.

The undergrowth includes many evergreen small trees and shrubs. Grass cover is very light or is missing in closed areas. The top canopies is closed and continuous.

List of dominant Flora Terminalia paniculata Hopea parviflora Alstomic scholaris Bombax ceiba Macaranga peltata Lagasstroemia lanceolata Miliusa tomentosa Diospyros species Cinnamomum malabathrum Oroxylum indicum Spondias pinnata Anogeissus sp.

Buchanania latifolia Tectona grandis Wrightia tinctoria Anogeissus latifolia

Evergreen Forest

It is a multistoreied forest, the principal storey which is closed lies between 22 and 27m. Towering this canopy are some scattered, giant trees 30-45, high. In the forests least disturbed by human inferences, or where the soil is better, these trees may be dense enough to form an almost closed canopy.

List of dominant Flora Elaeocarpus munronii Callicarpa lanata Palaquium ellipticum Holarrhena antidysenterica Eugenia sp.

Garcinia echinocarpa Kingeodendron pinnatum Eurya japonica Hopea glabra Mallotus distance Antidesma menasa 42

List of dominant Fauna Leopard Panthera pardus Wild Dog Cuon alpinus Barking Deer Muntiacus muntjak Sambar Cervus unicolor Mouse Deer Moschiola meminna Sloth Bear Melursus ursinus Nilgiri Langur Trachypithecus johni Common Langur Semnopithecus entellus Small Travancore Flying Squirrel Petinomys fuscocapillus Indian Giant Squirrel Ratufa indica

Understanding vegetation and topography

Northern and parts of the southern side of the forest is at a higher elevation with evergreen forest.

The Forest has numerous ridges and valleys in no particular direction which provides suitable conditions for dense vegetation.

562m 562m

Evergreen forest found at a higher elevation compared to the moist decideous forest.

851m

Rocky outcrops are observed at higher elevation of the hillocks

245m 75m List of dominant Fauna Leopard Panthera pardus Wild Dog Cuon alpinus Barking Deer Muntiacus muntjak Sambar Cervus unicolor Mouse Deer Moschiola meminna Sloth Bear Melursus ursinus Nilgiri Langur Trachypithecus johni Common Langur Semnopithecus entellus Small Travancore Flying Squirrel Petinomys fuscocapillus Indian Giant Squirrel Ratufa indica

75m

Teak, and rubber plantations observed along the valley of Achankovil River and major Rivulets

The plantations are located close to the human settlements along the southern parts of the forest.

Legend

245m

851m

Source: Map showing location of Konni Rserve Forest. Google Earth, earth.google.com/web/

Source: Source: https://surveyofindia.gov.in/ 0km

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5km

OBSERVATIONS The forest tracts form part of the Western Ghats and are situated mainly on its western slopes.

The elevation varies from 60 m (plains) to 997 m. The area receives an average rainfall of 3464 mm from both the SouthWest monsoon (June to mid August), and the North-East monsoon (mid September to mid November). Due to heavy rainfall, there are two major rivers and numerous rivulets and streams originating in the forest.

Water Bodies

Monoculture plantation

There are teak rubber and tea plantations on the south and western parts of the forest that is close to the human settlement. The plantations are also in very close proximity to the major water bodies i.e Kallar river, Achankovil river and major rivulets that lead to the forests as the streams at higher elevations dry up during summers and easy accesibility at lower elevation.

Teak plantation

Major rivulets

Rubber plantation Tea plantation

Streams Rivers

The forest is at the foothills of Western Ghats forming the hill ranges in the eastern part of the forest. The area is characterised by steep hills, and narrow valleys that is thickly forested. The hills that are either structural or denudational in origin are very steep with narrow summits.

Some of the peaks in the east area are more than 150m high and form part of the Western Ghats. Fine textured clayey soil is found on the valleys and coarse soil mixed with quartz on Valleys: Fine textured clayey soil Ridges: Coarse soil mixed with quartz 44

Ridges and Valleys

Human Intervention

The biodiversity of this forest division is facing severe threat from local foragers entering into the forest for cattle grazing, fodder and thatching grass collection, firewood and bamboo collection, etc. Sand mining can be is done along lower elevation of the Achankovil river as well that is causing damage to the biodiversity in the region.

Human Settlement Area of forest used by local people Forest area

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CO-RELATING HABITATS Movement within Konni Reserve Forest

Elephas Maximus Habitat Asian elephant lives over the vast territory, covering India and Indochina peninsulas, Borneo Island and, generally, most of south-eastern Asia. Their habitat includes plains, tropical forests, evergreen and semi-evergreen forests, wet and dry deciduous forests, prickly forests as well as cultivating lands.

They are usually spotted near the banks of rivers as the riparian vegetation provides for their heavy eating habits and the river provides water. They are spotted feeding on Ochlandra spp that are present as reed brakes in close proximity to the streams.

Rubber Plantation Kallar River

Movement along river banks Teak Plantation Achankovil River Suitable Habitat

[Source - Google earth]

Presence in Asia

Source: Map showing location of Konni Reserve Forest. Google Earth, earth.google.com/web/

Resting

Foraging

Daily Routine

Foraging

Foraging, Resting and napping

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CO-RELATING HABITATS Movement within Konni Reserve Forest

Bos Gaurus Habitat Indian bisons are found on the forested hills and grassy areas. They are largely confined to evergreen forests or semievergreen and moist deciduous forests, but also occur in deciduous forest areas at the periphery of their range.

In this forest, the bison are found along the streams at higher elevations during the monsoon due to the presence of active streams. When the streams dry up post monsoon, they are found near the main rivers. They are spotted feeding on Ochlandra spp that are present as reed brakes in close proximity to the streams.

[Source - Google earth]

Kallar River Suitable Habitat (Monsoon) Suitable Habitat (Monsoon)

Suitable Habitat (Summer) Achankovil River Suitable Habitat (Monsoon) Teak Plantation Suitable Habitat (Summer)

Source: Map showing location of Konni Reserve Forest. Google Earth, earth.google.com/web/ 0km 10km

Presence in Asia

1km

5km

Foraging

Foraging

Daily Routine

Foraging

Resting and napping

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WHERE THE FOREST MEETS THE RIVER Moist teak deciduous forest Evergreen forest

Where the evergreen and moist deciduous forest meets the river consists of inundated flat bottomed valleys. These areas are critical for the forest and its fresh water system. The presence of the fresh water system in this forest is crucial for the survival of the biodiversity.

FRESH WATER SYSTEM

Achankovil River basin

F

E

D

C

B

A

Achankovil river is one of the west flowing rivers of the southern western ghats that originates in Achankovil Reserve forest.

Achankovil river is an antecedent river which means that a part of the river slope and the surrounding area was uplifted and the river stuck to its original slope, cutting through the uplifted portion, and forming deep gorges. This can be seen in the Kokkathodu area of Konni reserve forest.

Location in Southern Western Ghats

Kayamkulam kayal

A.Late mature characteristics in the B.Confluence of Kallar and Achankovil upper catchment.

0km

52

80km

10km

0km

C. View of Kallar

D. Bed material consisting of E. Dyke exposure in the main cobbles and pebbles at Kokkathodu. stream at Pandalam.

D. Deep incised gorge in massive charnockite at Kokkathodu.

F. Exposure of granitic dome in the main stream at Pandalam.

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FRESH WATER SYSTEM

CC

934m 750m

AA

Kallar river

500m

Achankovil river

250m 44m

Section AA

0km

5km

Kallar River

Achankovil river 250m 44m

Section BB BB

0km

2.5km

Achankovil River

Kallar river

Achankovil river

250m 44m

Section CC

0km

2.5km

Legend Shallow swamp areas Streams Rivers ( Kallar and Achankovil) 0km

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5km

55

0km

TYPICAL SECTION

Moist Deciduous forest on steep slope

Antecedent river (Achankovil River)

Third Order stream

Moist Deciduous forest on steep slope

Laterite capping at the rocky Outcrop

First order streamstrellis drainage pattern

100m

Evergreen forest

Shallow ridge soil

Moist Deciduous forest

Teak/ Rubber/ Tea plantation

Inundated terrain at the flat bottomed valley

Degraded soil Shallow valley soil rich in organic matter and high moisture retention capacity

Second order streams

Inundated terrain at the flat bottomed valley

Kallar River

EVERGREEN FOREST - COMMON FLORA SPECIES Common Species

Moss

Top Canopy:

Ferns

Vateria indica Hopea parviflora Dysoxylum malabaricum Hardwickia pinnata Calophyllum species Canarium strictum Anacolosa densiflora Artocarpus hirsuta Eugenia species Diospyros melanoxylon Polyalthia fragrans Persea macarantha Lophopetalum wightianum

Top Canopy

Lower Canopy

Epiphytes

Understorey

Lower canopy: Myristica species Terminalia bellerica Vitex altissima Hydnocarpus species Cinnamomum species Nephelium longanum Alstonia scholaris Canarium strictum Evodia roxburghiana Aporosa lindlyana

Climbers

Understorey: Strobilanthus Glycosmis pentaphylla Globba ophioglossa Costus species Curcuma species Cardamomum Ochlandra travancorica Leea indica

0km

25m

Chassalia curviflora Thottea siliquosa Memecylon sp Climbers: Entada species Abrus precatorius Calamus species Piper longum Smilax ceylanica Toddalia asiatica Raphidophora pertusa Ancistrocladus heyneanus Strychnos colubrina Myxopyrum smilacifolium Jasminum sp Smilax species Dioscorea species

MOIST DECIDUOUS FOREST - COMMON FLORA SPECIES Common Species

Moss

Top Canopy Ferns Lower Canopy

Epiphytes Understory

Top Canopy:

Climbers:

Terminalia paniculata T. tomentosa T. bellerica Pterocarpus marsupium Albizzia species.

Alstonia scholaris Dillenia pentagyna Lagerstroemia lanceolata Bridelia retusa Salmalia malabarica Grewia tiliaefolia Tectona grandis Xylia xylocarpa

Acacia species Zizyphus species Bauhinia vahli Hemidesmus indicus Passiflora species Asparagus racemosus Calicopteris floribunda Spatholobus roxburghii

Lower canopy: Xylia xylocarpa Careya arboria Cassia fistula Strichnos nux vomica Phyllanthus emblica

Climbers

Understorey: Clerodendrum viscosum Helecteres isora Eupatorium odorotum Ochlandra species Curcuma species Sacharum spondaneum Lantana camara Glycosmis pentaphylla

0km

25m

SENSING MOISTURE Moist teak deciduous forest Evergreen forest

The forest has an intricate system of fresh water that supports various endemic species. One of these species that has more than half of its life cycle dependant on fresh water is the Odonata. The walk through the forest will be a playful game of spotting and identifying them. As we make our way through the teak plantation to the shallow swampy areas of the forest, the drastic increase in the number and diversity of odonata can be observed due to the presence of fresh water and riparian vegetation.

SENSING MOISTURE Rocky streams Swampy areas

Achankovil River

Teak Plantation

Moist Deciduous forest

Mating

Kallar River

ODONATA AS FRESHWATER INDICATORS Fully winged adult clinging to old larval skin

Female laying eggs Terrestrial habitat

Aquatic habitat Larva emerging from egg

Larva waiting for prey with lip trap extended

Dragonflies and damselflies are hemimetabolous insects with predominantly aquatic nymphal stage and terrestrial adult. Odonata can be found in a wide array of fresh water systems dependent on biotic and abiotic constraints. They can be seen in both lentic and lotic systems which range from tree holes to large lakes and rivers and they are hospitable for both seasonal and permanent ecosystems.

Each type of water body has a characteristic species assemblage of odonata that can typically be found there.

By way of reproduction, these insects lay their eggs in or near only freshwater and thus, their high abundance in an area is a good indication of the quality of freshwater.

Odonata also exhibited more abundance during post monsoon in the deciduous forest. This might be due to

PATH TAKEN favourable climatic conditions and also the presence of aquatic vegetation in the habitat. Further during postmonsoon season the availability of the prey of odonates were maximum due to rich vegetation in the forest area after heavy downpour. The abundance of prey in the post-monsoon season reflected the presence of many odonates in the habitat.

The availability of fresh water throughout the year in the post monsoon season in the deciduous forest, make the Odonata feel at home because it needs fresh water for its reproduction. Less number of Odonata was recorded during pre-monsoon season might be due to dry climate and lack of vegetation

As we make our way through the teak forest plantation near Achankovil river to the undisturbed swampy areas close to the origin on the Kallar river through the moist deciduous forest and rocky streams, we see the gradual increase in the population and endemic diversity of the odonata species found. In the teak plantation, common species that are usually seen in rural areas are observed. In the healthy and undisturbed swampy areas that are away from anthropogenic activities, fascinating colorful species that arent usually seen are spotted.

Stages of Odonata life cycle

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HEARD PRESENCE

HEARD PRESENCE Plantations The presence of small streams can be heard and seen in the plantation areas. The understory is minimal in the monoculture plantations and hence the presence of odonata is comparatively less.

The forests adjacent are mainly moist deciduous.

Many common species are found in the plantations and fringe areas of the forest. The odonata are observed near the small streams running through the plantation that have riparian vegetation.

Moist deciduous forest on steep slopes

Odonates present in the area

Orthetrum pruinesum neglectum- sluggish streams

Minimal ground cover with very less endemic flora

Macromia sp- rivers

Nemothemis fulvia Drury- marshes associated with

Streams in teak plantation

N. intermedia- forest streams

Palpopleura sexmaculata Drurymarshy areas and small pools

Trithemis auroraweedy tanks and ponds, marshes, channels, and slow flowing streams and rivers in the lowlands and mid-hills

Dense riparian vegetation

Dense riparian vegetation

0km

Achankovil river

25m

Moist deciduous forest

SEEN PRESENCE

SEEN PRESENCE

Odonates present in the area

Moist deciduous forest Spotting of ferns, mosses and ephiphytes make the presence of moisture evident. The moist deciduous forest is on the steep slopes. Endemic species such as Platysticta deccanensis are sighted only from the small rocky streams under the shadows of the moist deciduous forest and it is totally absent in plantation area.

Euphaeidaeforest streams

Lestidae-stream backwaters, swamps, marshes and temporary pools

Platycnemididae- s damp with seepage of waterfall flowing from forested stream

Protoneuridaeverges of rivers and streams and the margins of large lakes

Libellulidae- fast Macromiidaestreams and rivers banks of the rivers as well as a wide range of still or sluggish waters 0km

Calopterygidaepermanent streams along the banks

Chlorociphidaeponds, pools and lakes

Coenagrionidaebanks or in riffles of streams

Moist deciduous forest Moist deciduous forest Stream Iundated terrain with shallow soil

Platystictidaeforested areas near streams and rivers

25m

HEARD AND SEEN PRESENCE

HEARD AND SEEN PRESENCE

Odonates present in the area

Rocky Streams In first order streams, there is a strong shade effect of the riparian forest compared to the higher order streams (wider streams), and hence there is dominance of small odonate species. In the higher order streams of the fresh water system (with a greater channel width), there is an increase in the abundance of larger odonates.

Euphaeidaeforest streams

Lestidae-stream backwaters, swamps, marshes and temporary pools

Calopterygidaepermanent streams along the banks

Platycnemididae- s damp with seepage of waterfall flowing from forested stream

Chlorociphidaeponds, pools and lakes

Protoneuridaeverges of rivers and streams and the margins of large lakes

Coenagrionidaebanks or in riffles of streams

Libellulidae- fast Macromiidaestreams and rivers banks of the rivers as well as a wide range of still or sluggish waters

Platystictidaeforested areas near streams and rivers

Sparse vegetation approaching towards the rocky outcrop 0km

Evergreen forest Evergreen forest

Rocky first order stream Second order stream

25m

HEARD, SEEN AND FELT PRESENCE

HEARD, SEEN AND FELT PRESENCE

Odonates present in the area

Shallow swamps The swamp regions are surrounded by moist deciduous and evergreen forest patches. The edges have thick vegetation along with moderate growth of aquatic plants. The swamp areas provide unique habitat for many forest species of odonates. The swampy areas are at the beginning of Kallar river where there is abundance of water and moist soil available.

Euphaeidaeforest streams

Lestidae-stream backwaters, swamps, marshes and temporary pools

Calopterygidaepermanent streams along the banks

Platycnemididae- s damp with seepage of waterfall flowing from forested stream

Chlorociphidaeponds, pools and lakes

Protoneuridaeverges of rivers and streams and the margins of large lakes

Coenagrionidaebanks or in riffles of streams

Libellulidae- fast Macromiidaestreams and rivers banks of the rivers as well as a wide range of still or sluggish waters

Platystictidaeforested areas near streams and rivers

0km

Streams

Inundated terrain

Evergreen forest

Shallow soil with high moisture content

25m

Riparian vegetation

Riparian vegetation

Kallar River

WALK PAST THE SHALLOW SWAMPS Moist teak deciduous forest Evergreen forest

The ending point of the journey is the inundated shallow swamps adjacent to the origin of Kallar river during the monsoon season. Tracing the fresh water system has led to the discovery of this part of the forest that holds the key to the entire system. Throughout the journey taken, the presence of water was felt in many different ways but as you approach this area, a louder presence of water can be felt.

CHARACTER OBSERVED

Ephiphyte

84

Fern

Moss

85

CHARACTER OBSERVED

Buttress roots

86

Wet forest floor with leaf litter

Reed Brakes

87

THROUGH THE SHALLOW SWAMP

88

89

ACROSS THE FIRST ORDER STREAMS

90

91

PAUSE AT THE ORIGIN OF KALLAR RIVER

92

93

OVERALL JOURNEY

94

95

ANNEXURE

96

97

ANNEXURE

ANNEXURE

ANNEXURE

ODONATE SURVEY SAMPLE SPOTS & STUDY AREA

BIBLIOGRAPHY Map showing location of South western Ghats. Google Earth, earth.google.com/web/ https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/8987/10/10_chapter%206.pdf https://surveyofindia.gov.in/ Map showing location of Konni Reserve Forest. Google Earth, earth.google.com/web/ Nair, P., Ramachandran, K., Swarupanandan, K., & Thomas, T.P. (2007). Mapping Biodiversity of the Myristica Swamps in Southern Kerala.

Map showing location of Konni Reserve Forest. Google Earth, earth.google.com/web/ Nair, P., Ramachandran, K., Swarupanandan, K., & Thomas, T.P. (2007). Mapping Biodiversity of the Myristica Swamps in Southern Kerala. http://www.forest.kerala.gov.in/index.php/forest/forest-management/working-plans http://dmg.kerala.gov.in/docs/pdf/dsr/dsr_pat.pdf http://kslub.kerala.gov.in/images/pdf/natural_resources/pathnamthitta.compressed.pdf http://www.fao.org/3/ae264e/ae264e00.pdf http://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/html/10.11648.j.ijepp.20160403.13.html https://ties.org.in/static/Report%20of%20the%20first%20Konni%20Odonate%20Survey.pdf http://www.ijirset.com/upload/2017/september/144_53_water%20paper_N.pdf http://www.keralabiodiversity.org/images/2019/November/Flood_Report/Final_Report_Dr_PM_ Radhamany.pdf http://www.forest.kerala.gov.in/images/02flf.pdf http://www.forest.kerala.gov.in/images/02flf.pdf https://whc.unesco.org/uploads/nominations/1342rev.pdf https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/97482/3/12_chapter2.pdf