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Diversity patterns in savanna grassland communities: implications for conservation strategies in a biodiversity hotspot

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Abstract

For any conservation strategy to be effective, it must be preceded by knowledge of how diversity is configured within the area of interest. Here, data from 40 savanna-grassland sites were used to examine how plant biodiversity and species composition varied across spatial scales at the Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR), south India. Grasslands surveyed contained 278 plant species, and were characterized by high spatial variability in species association patterns. Fourteen distinct community assemblages were identified, organized primarily along an elevation gradient in the reserve. Overall, grasslands at KMTR were characterized by the dominance of a few, widespread species. The bulk of species richness, however, resulted from subordinate species with fairly restricted distributions. At low elevations, grasslands had high species richness and species composition differed greatly between sites. Mid-elevation grasslands contained about half the number of species present at low elevations, but sites were more similar in species composition. Richness of high-elevation grasslands was a third of that found at low elevations, but different sites harbored unique sets of species. Herbivore use of grasslands varied between communities and showed patterns that coincided with elevation. Herbivore use of low-elevation communities was high albeit variable, of mid-elevation sites was consistently low, and increased at higher elevations. Tall grass communities were the least utilized by herbivores at all elevations. Most species surveyed were rare and restricted in their distribution suggesting that conservation efforts must, perforce, encompass the entire reserve. However, differences in the structuring of diversity across elevations, and in herbivore use of grasslands, suggest that conservation efforts can be partitioned differentially across locations, specifically targeting low and high elevation grasslands in the reserve.

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Acknowledgments

I thank the Tamil Nadu Forest Department for permission to conduct research at KMTR. The Wildlife Conservation Society (India), Sophie Danforth Conservation Biology Fund, Syracuse University Graduate School, Resources for the Future (RFF) and World Bank FREEP provided financial support. I thank Jayashree Ratnam for all her help, suggestions and ideas. I also thank Rauf Ali, V. K. Melkani (IFS), Sugato Dutt (IFS), N. M. Ishwar, Kaberi Kar-Gupta, M. Katti, V. Karthikeyan, Divya Mudappa and T. R. Shankar Raman for their help. S. J. McNaughton, L. L. Wolf, Tom Starmer & Doug Frank provided helpful suggestions and comments, and Dr. Chelladurai, Dr. Ravichandran and Dr. Narasimhan helped with species identification.

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  1. Mahesh Sankaran

    Present address: Institute of Integrative & Comparative Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK

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  1. Department of Biology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA

    Mahesh Sankaran

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Sankaran, M. Diversity patterns in savanna grassland communities: implications for conservation strategies in a biodiversity hotspot. Biodivers Conserv 18, 1099–1115 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-008-9519-9

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