Survey finds colonisation of grasslands on Palani hills
Mountain
MUNNAR, April 8, 2012: Surveys conducted by the Vattakanal Conservation Trust in collaboration with the Tamil Nadu Forest Department have reported colonization of remaining shola grasslands on the upper Palani plateau of the Western Ghats.

The reverse kind of colonisation is also happening with the native species re-establishing amidst the plantations of exotic trees.

Surveyors found that the plantations of pinus, acacia and eucalyptus were expanding into the marshes and grasslands near Ibex Peak. While the cliffs were being invaded by self-seeding Mexican pine trees, shola species were managing to re-establish themselves in plantation areas where replanting operations have been abandoned.

Environmental educator and geographer Ian Lockwood (Sri Lanka), who was one of the participants of the survey, said in an article in Frontline that ecological restoration of degraded montane grasslands in the Palanis was vital from an ecological, aesthetic and economic point of view.

Lockwood article- Palani Hills: Ecology under threat

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