|
Biodiversity of Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu is endowed with rich biodiversity,
right from marine coastal systems in the Gulf
of Mannar to terrestrial evergreen forests in
the Western Ghats. Tamil Nadu is located
between 8° 05' and 13° 34'
North latitudes and 76° 14' and 80° 21 East
longitudes. Tamil Nadu has a
geographical area of 1, 30,058 km2, which constitutes about 4 per cent of the country's total area. Tamil Nadu shares the Western Ghats (one of the 25 biodiversity hotspots) with the states of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat. It shares the Eastern Ghats with the States of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa.
Floral Diversity
The Angiosperm
diversity of India includes 17,672 species.
With 5640 species, Tamil Nadu ranks 1st
among all the States in the Country, and
also nearly 1/3rd of the total flora of
India. This includes 533 endemic
species, 230 red-listed species, 1559
species of medicinal plants and 260 species
of wild relatives of cultivated plant.
The Gymnosperm diversity of the country is
64 species of which Tamil Nadu has 4 species
of indigenous Gymnosperms and about 60
introduced species. The Pteridophytes
diversity of India includes 1022 species of
which Tamil Nadu has about 184 species.
Tamil Nadu wild plant diversity also
includes vast number of bryophytes, Likens,
Fungi, Algae and Bacteria.
Faunal Diversity
The faunal diversity
of Tamil Nadu includes 165 species of fresh
water pisces, 76 species of Amphibians, 177
species of reptiles, 454 species of birds
and 187 species of mammals. According
to the CAMP reports the the red-listed
species include 126 species of pisces, 56
species of Amphibians, 77 species of
reptiles, 32 species of birds and 40 species
of mammals. The endemic fauna includes
36 species of Amphibians, 63 species of
reptiles, 17 species of birds and 24 species
of mammals. Schedule I animals include
22 species of mammals, 42 species of birds
and 9 species of reptiles. Schedule II
animals include 13 species of mammals.
Schedule III animals include 5 species of
mammals. Schedule IV animals include 5
species of mammals, 367 species of birds,
109 species of reptiles and 23 species of
Amphibians. Schedule V animals include
13 species of mammals and 1 species of
birds. In general, insects dominate
the freshwater fauna as found in other
states (about 3000+species). A total
of 31+ and 153+ species of molluscs and
fresh respectively are so far recorded in
Tamil Nadu.
Marine Diversity
The Gulf of Mannar
region in the Indian coat between Rameswaram
to Kanyakumari is among world's richest
region from marine bio-diversity
perspectives. Considering the
biological and ecological richness of the
area the Government of Tamil Nadu has bought
the 21 in un-inhabited islands and their
shallow waters around along the coast in
Ramanathapuram and Thoothukudi district as
the first marine National Park of the
country. The Gulf of Mannar Biosphere
Reserve (GOMBR) extending over 10,500 sqkm
and includes 21 islands of the national park
(560 sqkm) is the first Marine Biosphere
Reserve in the Country. The GOMBR is
rich both in species and habit
bio-diversity. This richness also
makes the reserve a high productive area for
marine resources of fisheries. The
reserve has a status of a particular concern
because of its diversity and special
multiple use management status.
|
