Project Update: February to September 2007

A preliminary study was carried out in Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve in an active tea plantation to understand the dispersal constraints and how seed shadow of native tree species reaches the tea plantation from the surrounding forest. Our empirical data reveals that birds (>17%) and bats (03%) adapted seed are the major colonizers into the tea plantation. Most of the edge species (light demanding species) seeds are the major contribution to soil seed bank.

Within the tea plantation 10m and 70m away from forest does not shows any significant difference in species diversity. Overall preliminary study from active tea plantation reveals that there may not be major dispersal constraints, but once seed reaches to tea bushes, lot of seed mortality were observed. We don’t know whether such mortality is due to seed viability or other external factors such as light and edaphic factors. In my next phase after the monsoons I would focus on understanding the viability of dispersed seeds and its germination constraints (from secondary dispersal predation to germination level insitu and exsitu).