Ethno-Medicinal Plants in Five Sacred Groves in Cuddalore District, Tamilnadu, India

An ethno-medicinal plant survey was carried out in five sacred groves in Cuddalore district, Tamilnadu, for the express purpose of discovering the kinds of herbal remedies used by the local populations. It resulted in about 33 medicinal plants for the treatment of several diseases either in single or in combination with some other ingredients. The information on correct botanical identities with family, local name and traditional practice of 33 plant species belonging to 22 families are discussed here for the treatment of various illnesses

Survival, growth, aboveground biomass, and carbon sequestration of mono and mixed native tree species plantations on the Coromandel Coast of India

In India, reforestation programs with native indigenous tree species are a recent activity. Information on experiences comparing mono- and mixed-species plantations is limited. This study aims to estimate growth, aboveground biomass, and carbon sequestration between the mixed-species plantation and mono-species plantation. The growth, survival, height, aboveground biomass, and carbon sequestration of 82 native mixed species plantations were compared with Casuarina equisetifolia an exotic species planted in this region after over a decade (2006–2016). In the mixed species plantation, 7 species showed 100% survival rate and 19 species were not survived after over a decade intervals. While in the mono plantation, C. equisetifolia showed 92% of the survival rate. The growth rate of mixed species when compared to mono plantation, it showed highly significant differences (P < 0:05) values. Simple linear regression between annual girth increment and height produced very strong positive relations (R2 0.759). The aboveground biomass estimated for the mixed native plantation was 8.007 tonnes and the mono plantation Casuarina had 5.585 tonnes. The total carbon stock estimated for the tree plantation in the two plots (both mixed native and mono) was 7.492 tonnes. A positive correlation was observed between the carbon stock and density of the top 10 species which contributed predominantly to the total carbon stock (rs = 0.773, p < 0.05). Plantation of C. equisetifolia seems to be well adapted and had more carbon stocking potential. On the other hand, mixed plantation with indigenous species would contribute more to sustainable management and they provide great shelters for many faunal communities and provide a greater range of ecological goods and ecosystem services than the mono plantations

CROTALARIA PROSTRATA VAR. LEVIS HAINES (LEGUMINOSAE): A POORLY KNOWN SPECIES REDISCOVERED, REDESCRIBED AND ENDEMIC FROM THE NORTHERN WESTERN GHATS, INDIA

During a medicinal plant survey in Amba MPCA, Raigarh District of Maharashtra, a rare and endemic species of Crotalaria, Crotalaria prostrata var. levis, (Fabaceae) were rediscovered after type specimens author collected from Amba MPCA in Maharashtra after 94 years

Entre urbanisation et patrimonialisation : le lac d’Oussudu en devenir (Pondichéry, Tamil Nadu), Inde du Sud

Cet article propose d’explorer l’articulation entre conservation de la biodiversité, gestion de l’eau, patrimonialisation et urbanisation dans le sud de l’Inde. L’histoire socio-environnementale d’une zone humide située aux franges de l’agglomération de Pondichéry montre comment un lac réservoir pour l’irrigation est devenu progressivement un lac support de biodiversité à des fins récréatives. Cette étude met en évidence des visions planificatrices divergentes et la place des collusions institutionnelles et politiques. Elle souligne le besoin d’adopter une approche basée à la fois sur la gestion des communs et une analyse multi-scalaire, socio-écologique, hydrologique et multi-acteurs.This paper aims to explore the articulation between biodiversity conservation, water management, heritage and urbanization in South India. The socio-environmental history of a wetland located at the margins of the Pondicherry metropolitan area shows how a reservoir lake for irrigation gradually became a lake supporting biodiversity for recreational purposes. This study highlights divergent planning visions and the place of institutional and political collusion. It underlines the need to adopt an approach based both on the management of the commons and a multi-scalar, socio-ecological, hydrological and multi-stakeholder analysis

Wetlands for a Sustainable Urban Future: Insights from Pondicherry, South India

International audienceWetland ecosystems hold an important part of theworld’s biodiversity and are complex social-ecologicalsystems. Aiming to understand interdependencies amongtheir components and to define management policies, thesocial-ecological trajectory of Oussudu lake – a wetlandof Pondicherry region in South India – was reconstructedand analysed. During the last decades, this wetland hastransformed from an irrigation tank to a lake to caterbiodiversity conservation and recreation. Theenvironmental history highlights a governance changethat has contributed to “black boxing” the wetland’sfunctional environment and to conceal major waterissues at regional and local levels. This study emphasizesthe importance of implementing an approach thatcombines the management of this urban lake commonswith a multi-scalar, socio-ecological and multistakeholderanalysis. A trade-off on the seasonal waterregime between different users - including fauna andflora - has to be found

Environnement : perspectives indiennes

Ce numéro 281 des Cahiers d’Outre-Mer est le second consacré à l’union indienne et le premier à se focaliser sur les dynamiques environnementales qui animent et parfois clivent ce pays dans lequel l’autoritarisme politique et la libéralisation économique suscitent des conflits environnementaux violents, renouvelés et nombreux. Réunissant les contributions de plus d’une dizaine de géographe, écologue, sociologue et anthropologue traitant des questions environnementales par différents perspectives, objets et méthodes, ce dossier montre combien ces dernières ne peuvent être dissociées des questions sociales et des rapports de pouvoir entre groupes sociaux, entre Etat central et fédérés , entre développement et protection mais aussi entre productivisme et fabrication de nouvelles ontologies