A drive to eradicate Senna spectabilis (calceolaria shower), an invasive plant species known for its rampant growth, is under way in the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS), an integral part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR).
The wild growth of the species and its copious nature have been posing a serious threat to wildlife and indigenous plants in the NBR for over a decade.
The Forest department has been granted ₹46 crore to eradicate the plants, which includes ₹40 crore under the Rebuild Kerala Development Programme and ₹6 crore from NABARD.
Workers debarking senna spectabilis in the Wayanad Widlife Sanctuary. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
“The eradication drive is progressing in seven locations in Kurichiyad and Muthanga forest ranges under the sanctuary by utilising a sum of ₹6 crore granted by NABARD in the first phase. Girdling is also on in forest ranges under the sanctuary, and over 10,000 plants have been debarked so far,” Warden Abdul Assis told The Hindu. Trees above 10 cm girth would be girdled and below that size would be uprooted under the project, he said.
The bark of the trees will be removed below the collar region up to 1 metre height including the inner thinner bark, and the base (nodal region of the plant) will be covered with soil as part of the girdling process. The department has fixed ₹11,370 for girdling 100 trees, but the work was awarded below 10% to 15% below the rate through public tender.
The uprooting process would begin with the advent of the monsoon as it was not easy to uproot it during the summer, said P. Saleem, Assistant Wildlife Warden, Kurichyad Range. Girdling work had been awarded to four private contractors, and they had been directed to complete the process in a time-bound manner, he added.
The department is planning to eradicate the plants on 1,200 hectares of the 3,444 hectares of the sanctuary in the first phase in three years .
A recent study, jointly conducted by Ferns, a nature conservation society based in Wayanad, and the Forest department, had revealed that the spread of Senna spectabilis was 14.6 sq. km in 2013-14, 78.9 sq. km in 2019-20, and 123.86 sq. km in 2020-23. It indicates that the spread speed of the species is 13.15 sq. km a year.
Published - February 18, 2023 07:55 pm IST
