Climate change threatens forest ecosystem stability in Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve

Researchers warn that climate change is destabilising Western Ghats’ forest ecosystems in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.

Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve:

Dimension	Key Details
Location	It is located in the Nilgiri Mountains of the Western Ghats.
Coverage	It encompasses parts of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka.
Status and establishment	It is the first biosphere reserve in India, established in 1986.
UNESCO linkage	It is India’s first biosphere reserve under UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme.
Protected areas within the reserve	Protected areas within this reserve comprise Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary, Wyanaad Wildlife Sanctuary, Bandipur National Park, Nagarhole National Park, Mukurthi National Park, and Silent Valley.
Vegetation types	It has tropical evergreen forests, Montane sholas and grasslands, semi-evergreen forests, moist deciduous forests, dry deciduous forests, and thorn forests.
Tribal groups	Tribal groups native to the reserve comprise the Todas, Kotas, Irullas, Kurumbas, Paniyas, Adiyans, Edanadan Chettis, Cholanaickens, Allar, and Malayan.
Flora	It mainly includes species of Adenoon, Calacanthus, Baeolepis, Frerea, Jarodina, Wagatea, and Poeciloneuron.
Fauna	It mainly has the Nilgiri Tahr and the Lion-tailed macaque, and it has the largest South Indian population of elephant, tiger, gaur, sambar, and chital.