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Commercial harvesting and regeneration of epiphytic macrolichen communities in the Western Ghats, India

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 May 2011

LUCAS MOLLEMAN ,
SIL BOEVE ,
JAN WOLF ,
GERARD OOSTERMEIJER ,
SOUBADRA DEVY  and
RENGAIAN GANESAN
LUCAS MOLLEMAN
Affiliation:
Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, PO Box 94248, 1090 GE Amsterdam, The Netherlands
SIL BOEVE
Affiliation:
Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, PO Box 94248, 1090 GE Amsterdam, The Netherlands
JAN WOLF*
Affiliation:
Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, PO Box 94248, 1090 GE Amsterdam, The Netherlands
GERARD OOSTERMEIJER
Affiliation:
Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, PO Box 94248, 1090 GE Amsterdam, The Netherlands
SOUBADRA DEVY
Affiliation:
Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, 659 5th A Main, Hebbal, Bangalore 560 024, India
RENGAIAN GANESAN
Affiliation:
Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, 659 5th A Main, Hebbal, Bangalore 560 024, India
*
*Correspondence: Dr Jan Wolf Tel: + 31 20 525 8423 Fax: + 31 20 525 7832 e-mail: j.h.d.wolf@uva.nl
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Summary

Non-timber forest products form a substantial contribution to the livelihood of many rural communities worldwide. In the Western Ghats, India, epiphytic macrolichens are harvested by Paliyan tribes to generate supplementary income. Paliyan tribes employ two harvesting methods: shallow harvesting, with a minimum of attached bark substratum, and deep harvesting, which exposes the sapwood. To evaluate the regeneration of the lichen community in terms of species diversity, abundance and composition, 320 bark samples of up to 50 cm2 were collected from bark patches where lichens had been harvested previously, as shown by bark scars. Samples selected represented four host tree species, both harvesting methods and seven one-year intervals of time since harvesting. In each case, the field guide estimated sample age, and peer-testing proved these estimates to be reliable up to an age of seven years. Seven years after harvesting, the lichen community showed noteworthy regeneration capacity in terms of total lichen coverage and species richness. However, to assess the risk of local species loss in the long-term, any harvesting should include continuous monitoring of lichen species composition. Since shallow harvesting resulted in a swifter recovery of species abundance and richness compared with deep harvesting, harvesters should preferentially employ the shallow harvesting method.

Keywords

extractive reserveslichensnon-timber forest productsPalni HillsPaliyan tribessustainable yield
Type
Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 38 , Issue 3 , September 2011 , pp. 334 - 341
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2011

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