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Spatiotemporal evaluation of waning grassland habitats for swamp deer conservation across the human-dominated upper Gangetic Plains, India

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 June 2023

Shrutarshi Paul Open the ORCID record for Shrutarshi Paul [Opens in a new window] ,
Sohini Saha ,
Parag Nigam ,
Sk Zeeshan Ali ,
Navendu Page ,
Aamer Sohel Khan ,
Mukesh Kumar ,
Bilal Habib ,
Dhananjai Mohan  and
Bivash Pandav
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Shrutarshi Paul*
Affiliation:
Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
Sohini Saha
Affiliation:
Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
Parag Nigam
Affiliation:
Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
Sk Zeeshan Ali
Affiliation:
Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
Navendu Page
Affiliation:
Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
Aamer Sohel Khan
Affiliation:
Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
Mukesh Kumar
Affiliation:
Uttar Pradesh Forest Department, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
Bilal Habib
Affiliation:
Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
Dhananjai Mohan
Affiliation:
Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
Bivash Pandav
Affiliation:
Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
Samrat Mondol*
Affiliation:
Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
*
Corresponding author: Shrutarshi Paul; Email: shrutarshipaul07@gmail.com; Samrat Mondol; Email: samrat@wii.gov.in
Corresponding author: Shrutarshi Paul; Email: shrutarshipaul07@gmail.com; Samrat Mondol; Email: samrat@wii.gov.in
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Summary

Grassland habitats currently face severe anthropogenic exploitation, thereby affecting the survival of grassland-dependent biodiversity globally. The biodiversity-rich grasslands of India lack quantitative spatiotemporal information on their status. We evaluated the status of upper Gangetic Plains grasslands in 2015 and compared it with those from 1985, 1995 and 2005. On-ground mapping and visual classifications revealed a 57% decline in these grasslands between 1985 (418 km2) and 2015 (178 km2), mostly driven by habitat conversion (74% contribution by cropland). Limited radiotelemetry data from endemic swamp deer indicated a possible grassland-dominated average home range size of 1.02 km2, and these patches were highly preferred (average Ivlev’s index = 0.85) over other land-use classes at both spatial and temporal scales. Camera-trapping within the core habitats suggests the critical use of these patches as fawning/breeding grounds. Habitat suitability analysis indicates only c. 17% of the area along the Ganges is suitable as swamp deer habitat. We recommend the protection of these critical grassland patches to maintain ‘dynamic corridors’, with restoration and other management approaches involving multiple stakeholders to ensure the survival of this critical ecosystem.

Keywords

Grassland-dependent faunahabitat conversionland-use and land-cover changesriverine ecosystemtemporal dynamics
Type
Research Paper
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 50 , Issue 3 , September 2023 , pp. 169 - 178
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Foundation for Environmental Conservation

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