NASHIK: The existence of forest flowers has been threatened due to the untimely summer break and the rest of the season after the prolonged rains last year. The buds that bloom in the rainy season are born before the rains come and burn due to lack of rain. As a result, the reproduction of insects and subsequent birds has stopped. It is therefore underlined that the chain of biodiversity has been completely disrupted due to forest flowers threatened by excavation along with climate change.
The impact on the life of forest flowers is evident from the fact that every element of nature is extremely important for ecological balance. The life of forest flowers in the Western Ghats, with their delicate organs and many properties, ranges from four days to a month and a half. Therefore, on every hill in Nashik, these flower species play an important role in biodiversity.
These include Gadambi onion, Purple Bhuichakra, Sontara, White Sapkanda, Ran Kapashi and other flowering plants of Seropageia species like Bulbosa, Anjanerica, Hirsuta, Wincafolia. These flowers are more than ten to twenty-five inches high. These are rare trees in the Sahyadri range, including the Lantern flower in the Anjaneri range. These flowers are food during the breeding season of insects.
So, insects are food for birds. However, Nature Conservation Society’s field officer Pooja Kothule observed that the flowering plants were endangered due to the changing seasons and blasting during excavations. In the Borgad Reserve Conservation Area, buds bloom in late June. The flowers were burnt due to lack of rain after the cyclone ‘Taukte’. Similar observations are made on many mountains and hills in the Sahyadri range in Nashik. Therefore, with the changing seasons, it is becoming clear that every element of nature is slowly being killed due to the desire for secondary minerals.
Biodiversity affected
Rocks are important for biodiversity, and soil and water are retained by forest flowers and other shrubs. However, excavation is causing erosion of rocks along with soil erosion. As a result, the ability to hold flowers is reduced in the soil. It was clear that the excavation had affected the entire nature and area. In particular, as per Section 17A, C and D of the Wildlife Conservation Act, forest flowers are protected and nurtured and action is provided against those responsible for their loss. However, the neglect of the forest department is hampering the chain of biodiversity.
Every element of biodiversity is very important for conservation. Pollution, along with climate change, is having an impact on the conservation of forest flowers. Tubers were damaged in some places. So, in some places, flowers bloom a month and a half in advance, thus disrupting the whole chain of biodiversity.
