Myristica swamp forest discovered in Kumbral

Keri: A group of researchers from Dodamarg, a few kilometers away from Goa-Maharashtra border have discovered a sacred grove— a Myristica swamp forest in Kumbral, which is protected by the local community.

Myristica magnifica is a species of plant native to Karnataka and Kerala, and is classified as endangered.

Earlier in Hewale-Bambarde in Sindhudurg district, researchers had come across the Myristica swamp forest making Kumbral the second village in Maharashtra to have such a unique forest patch. The patch boasts of an ecosystem of myriad biodiversity which has been conserved and protected by the villagers since ages in the name of Lord Shiva, locally known locally as Bhalandeshwar.

Pravin Desai, a wildlifer from Vanoshi, Dodamarg, came across a huge tree of Myristica magnifica Bedd, during a birding trail which led him to discover the Myristica swamp in the sacred grove at Kumbral, Bagwadi.

Desai along with researchers, Vishal Sadekar and Shital Desai, wrote in the Journal of Threatened Taxa of Aug 26, 2024 about the important, yet one of the threatened freshwater ecosystems of the world that offers various ecological services, such as providing fruits of Myristica for the threatened hornbills and the habitat for the vulnerable Asian short-clawed otter.

The sacred grove of Bhalandeshwar is spread across 8,200sqm in which 39 species of plant have been documented, of which the swamp forest occupies 770sqm. The dominant presence in the swamp forest of 70 individuals belongs to the Myristica magnifica.

Desai told TOI, “This patch of the Myristica swamp forest provides numerous ecosystem services like ground water recharge, carbon sequestration, natural barrier against flood, habitat and food for aquatic and aerial faunal species. Hence the swamp forest needs to be protected.”

The Western Ghats of Sattari shares a border with Dodamarg of Maharashtra and is known for three areas with the Myristica swamp forest. “The discovery of new Myristica swamp forest in the northern Western Ghats of India in the Tillari river basin is very important in understanding the ecological history of the region,” said Gajanan Shetye, a wildlifer who recently visited this area.


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