Myristica Swamps

Myristica Swamps

Subject – Environment

Context – Myristica swamps exist as isolated pockets

Concept –

• Myristica swamps — tree ¬covered wetlands within the evergreen forests of the Western Ghats that once formed a large hydrological network all along the Western Ghats — now exist as small, isolated pockets, said a new study.
• Myristica swamps are one of the most threatened ecosystems in India due to increased human pressure.
• According to the researchers, even with their little-known biota, the swamps harbour several rarerelic floristic and faunal taxa comprising many endemic and threatened species, with most plant species highly restricted in their distribution. These swamps are one of the most unique and primeval ecosystems of the Western Ghats.
• Critical inland swamp habitats of India are the Myristica swamps, the Elaeocarpus swamps and the Hadlus, all of which are forested wetland ecosystems that are invariably freshwater in character.
• Myristica swamps have the characteristic traits of a dense evergreen closed forest, presence of abundant knee roots protruding from waterlogged soil, soils with high humus content, and are moist or inundated throughout the year.
• The ancient swamp forests are endemic to the Western Ghats and a smaller distribution exists in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. There are 60¬odd swamps reported from Kerala and there may be many smaller ones, which are either not mapped or reported. An attempt has been made to map the swamps in Karnataka and a few studies have focused on swamps in Goa and Sindhudurga, the northernmost limit of swamps in Maharashtra.
• In recent years, many Myristica swamps in the central and southern Western Ghats are threatened by the growing agricultural demand and are often converted to paddy fields, or arecanut and teak plantations. This is especially true of those swamps existing outside protected forest tracts in the Western Ghats landscape. While wetlands have been given prioritisation in the past, swamps in India have been relatively ignored by scientists and policymakers.
• Myristica swamps, like the floral plateaus of the northern Western Ghats and the Shola grassland mosaics, face a higher threat of destruction than other evergreen forest types. The Biodiversity Act of 2002 declares important biodiversity areas, including Myristica swamps, as Biodiversity Heritage Sites.
• many swamps are in reserve forests or sacred groves/community conservation landscapes, which do not grant them protection from land use conversion, and are also highly fragmented and isolated.
• As of February 2021, 58 scientific studies have been conducted on the floristic components and vegetation of Myristica swamp forests and according to them, there are at least 79 tree species, 26 shrubs, 27 climbers, and 44 herb species recorded.
• Any loss of the swamps will also lead to the extinction of associated species.