From the Towering Progenies to the Stunted Progenitors

Tropical evergreen forest, Central Western Ghats, 900 Kandi Wayanad

A Rainforest, that spoke of the omnipresence of moisture in every element that built it’s landscapes. 900 Kandi is a Tropical evergreen forest located in the valleys of Chembra hills within the altitudes of 1400- 2100 msl. Detailed study into this larger forest system lead to the discovery of a subsystem that continually replenish the water courses and nurture the fauna and flora within it . This became the focal point of the study - the stunted montane woodlands also known as Shola that grows interspersed with grassland, in altitudes above 1600m, in the form of mosaics. This study is an attempt at addressing and understanding the characteristics and criticality of Shola-grasslands mosaic system . Further on, the degradations to this system and its effects on the larger system was studied. The pause points within the study is a closer observation into the revelation of how the towering trees in the tropical rainforest is transitioned into stunted montane forest and grasslands uphill that nourishes it .