The Agharkar Research Institute (ARI) team recently discovered a rare low-altitude basalt plateau in Manjare village, Thane district in the Western Ghats.
- This is the 4th type of plateau to be identified in the region; the previous three are laterites at high and low altitudes and basalt at high altitudes.
- The basalt plateau houses 76 species of plants and shrubs from 24 different families.
- The Western Ghats is one of four global biodiversity hotspots in India, and Agharkar Research Institute (ARI) in Pune has been studying its biodiversity, particularly its rock outcrops, for a decade.
- It can help study effects of climate change on species survival and increase awareness of the conservation needs of rock outcrops and their immense biodiversity value in the global context.
- Plateaus are dominant landscapes in the Western Ghats, significant because of the predominance of endemic species.
- They are classified as a type of rock outcrop and provides unique and challenging environment for species to adapt to. These outcrops have seasonal water availability, limited soil and nutrients, making them ideal laboratories to study the effects of climate change on species survival.
- Plateaus are thus a valuable source of insight into how species can survive in extreme conditions.
- Surveying the plateau, the team documented 76 species of plants and shrubs from 24 different families.
- The authors believe this is an important discovery, as the plateau shares the vegetation with the three other rock outcrops, simultaneously holding a few unique species. This gives a unique model system to study the species interactions in varying environmental conditions.
Rock Outcrops
- Rock outcrops are defined as visible exposures of bedrock or other geologic formations at the surface of the Earth.
- Rocky outcrops form when bedrock is exposed at the Earth’s surface through erosion, a process which may take millions of years.
- Heat, water and chemical reactions shape the exposed rock resulting in a wide range of characteristic and complex rock formations.
- Rocky outcrops provide plants and animals with shelter, protection from predators and refuge from fire or extreme weather conditions.
- Rocky outcrops also provide animals with places to forage, lay their eggs or give birth to live young.
- Many rocky outcrops support rare and endangered plants and animals and are places rich in biological diversity.
