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Rock outcrops are unique habitats in terms of their geological and ecological specializations, soil availability, water seasonality, and environmental extremes. These habitats have attracted the attention of many researchers worldwide in the last few decades. Indian rock outcrops spread throughout the country with more concentration in the Western Ghats region, supporting many endemic and unique habitat specialist species. Despite Indian outcrops having become hotspots for novel species discoveries in recent times, ecological studies on them are still in their infancy. In the present review, we discuss studies, research gaps, and the scope for future investigations on Indian outcrops. We also compare outcrop studies across the world with the Indian systems in order to understand their uniqueness and peculiarities. Literature and observations revealed the presence of 390 taxa on rock outcrops of the Western Ghats with various adaptive traits such as desiccation tolerance, succulence, carnivory, and geophytism, a trend common to most of the tropical outcrops. The dominance of Poaceae endemics, large extents of monocotyledonous mats, and underrepresentation of succulence are unique features of Indian rock outcrops. In the light of various disturbances, faced by Indian outcrops, further studies that would lay a foundation on which conservation strategies can be formulated are a want of time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The northern section of the Western Ghats is a biodiversity hotspot with a predominance of rock outcrops. Although these outcrops are characterized by environmental extremes, they support a large diversity of species, many of which are endemics. High-elevation rock outcrops of the Western Ghats exhibit two lithotypes of distinct geological origins, namely basalt mesa (BM) and high-level ferricrete (HLF). We examined the interrelation between environmental factors, lithotypes and functional type abundance. We recorded 265,447 individuals belonging to 127 taxa categorized under seven plant functional types in 128 quadrats from sixteen high-elevation rock outcrops. Cluster analysis separated the sites based on the lithotypes. Graminoids and Therophytes were the dominant functional types across both the lithotypes. Latitude, seasonality, soil carbon and nitrogen were the influential environmental factors. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) showed that based on environmental characteristics, the two lithotypes are significantly different from each other. Different plant functional types were associated with different environmental variables, as shown by canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). Lithotype and levels of soil carbon and nitrogen together seem to shape the functional type abundance. Overall, we observed that there is a marginal difference in the vegetation across the two lithotypes of outcrops. The abundance of each plant functional type was deferentially associated with the seasonal environment and soil nutrients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Western Ghats of India is rich in floristic diversity and endemism. However, being highly threatened with anthropogenic stressors, with only 6.8% of its original vegetation still extant, along with Sri Lanka it is considered as a biodiversity hotspot. It has been suggested that sacred groves in Western Ghats could act as refuge for the relic flora of this region. Sacred groves are the forest patches conserved since centuries due to religious beliefs and are the remnants of the climax vegetation containing endemic and endangered species of plants and animals. However, due to severe deforestation and urbanization, sacred groves are facing serious problems. In present investigation, sacred groves from Pune district, Maharashtra, were studied for their ecological role and their response to physical as well as degradation related parameters. Two hundred ninety six species of plants belonging to 100 families including 45 endemic species were recorded from these groves. Similarity between sacred groves is independent of distances accounting for only 30% for the groves as close as 2.5 km from each other. Physical parameters such as altitude and presence of streams are positively correlated with number of endemic species. Increase in the degradation including cutting, lopping; construction activities have affected the species richness across different sacred groves. Our results show that each sacred grove is unique in terms of biodiversity it contains and demands dedicated conservation efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]