Coimbatore : The first ever vegetation survey done at an urban wetland in Tamil Nadu has given scientists many things to cheer about, as the results obtained from the Singanallur Lake are to give boost to the biodiversity, future nature education prospects and the protection of the State’s first Urban Biodiversity Conservation Zone.
The yearlong vegetation survey that was carried out at the lake also fetched an overall number 453 plant species distributed around the Singnallur Lake
Coimbatore : The first ever vegetation survey done at an urban wetland in Tamil Nadu has given scientists many things to cheer about, as the results obtained from the Singanallur Lake are to give boost to the biodiversity, future nature education prospects and the protection of the State’s first Urban Biodiversity Conservation Zone.
A team headed by C. Kunnhikannan, Head of Biodiversity Division at the Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding (IFGTB) searched the length and breadth of the lake and started collecting plant species. They would collect samples, photograph them and prepare them as herbarium specimen, which are maintained at IFGTB.
The team has also made a report of their study and have submitted the results in the form of a report titled ‘Survey and Documentation of Photodiversity in and Around Singanallur Lake’ to the National Repository. The herbarium specimen can be preserved for many years to come, which would help in future study.
“The wetland is actually small when compared to wetlands in other part of the town. However, the vegetation is very rich comparatively. I myself have not come across a few species I have seen here in my 30 years of experience,” said Project Head Kunnhikannan.
He further added that the report would prove as an important document and baseline for future studies. “If a study is being made in some years from now and certain plants are missing from the list obtained in this study, we can easily refer this document and also know which plant is missing and why,” he told the Simplicity.
However, the study has also given an alarming result as not even a single aquatic plant could be found due to the poor water quality.
V. Sathish, member of the Centre for Urban Biodiversity Conservation and Education (CUBE), which is jointly taking care of the lake along with the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC), the results could help increase the protection status of the lake.
“This is an urban ecosystem that supports life and also boosts underground water. Yet, it is not completely protected and still there are threats. When so many medicinal plants can thrive even with fragmented conditions, imagine the outcome if the lake is protected in a better way with the will of the authorities,” he pointed out.
Claiming that the study would be an example to other organisations with related interests, he invited people to take up such study with the help of experts in their environment.
N. Anand, a butterfly expert who regularly visits the lake to document butterflies, said that the lake vegetation was supporting 92 species of butterflies, including the rare Black Spot Pierrot, which has been documented only at the lake in the Western Ghats District in Tamil Nadu.
“The entire life-cycle of many butterfly species can be spotted at the lake,” he said.