BANGALORE: Declared as a wildlife sanctuary in 1974 and tiger reserve in January 2011, the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple (BRT) Wildlife Sanctuary is plagued by lantana (weed which inhibits plant growth) and various species of mistletoe (plant parasites) growing on trees which reduces the growth and kills the trees. Situated in Chamrajanagar district, the BRT Wildlife Sanctuary occupies an area of 540 sq km and forms a key link between the Eastern and Western Ghats. “BRT Wildlife Sanctuary used to have about 25 species of grass, but now about 60 per cent of it has been destroyed with larger portion of the region getting infested with invasive species of lantana. Besides inhibiting growth of plants, it is also affecting wildlife habitat,” said secretary, Soliga Abhivridhi Sangha and a resident of B R Hills Madegowda.In addition to lantana, mistletoe has been yet another parasite affecting the bio-diversity of BRT Wildlife Sanctuary. “Earlier we could hardly find any mistletoe, now we can find about 10 types of mistletoe spread all over the trees affecting not only the ecosystem but also local livelihoods, he said.”“The spreading of lantana and mistletoe has also become one of the major reasons causing food insecurity to animals, and which is why cases of wild elephants migrating to agricultural land and causing havoc are increasing,” he added. When asked about the cause for its widespread, Madegowda said, “Suppression of practiced litter fires is a major reason. Taragu Benki (litter fire), practiced earlier by the Soliga tribe residing in the BRT region, resulted in the burning of leaf litter, thus preventing large fires that might damage trees. Small ground fires helped in good regeneration of forest tree species and controlled the spread of mistletoe on trees.”In addition to this, a study conducted by city-based Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (ATREE) a month ago at the BRT Wildlife Sanctuary showed that since 1980, with the forest department banning the practice of setting litter fires, BRT has been facing a number of serious conservation challenges.“The Soligas presented a list of about 28 plant species found in the region-honey, gooseberry and broom, to name a few on which they depend for a livelihood. They noted a marked decline in availability of most of these species over the last ten years, caused largely by the spread of lantana,” said Nitin Rai, researcher from ATREE. Speaking to Express, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden B K Singh said: “We have done a lot of experimental trials. All trials have concluded that physical removal of any weed is impossible. Ecological succession has to take place. Sometimes we can expect reverse ecological succession.”
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