Senna spectabilis removed from 400 hectares of Mudumalai Tiger Reserve
The highly invasive tree, Senna spectabilis, has been removed from around 400 hectares of the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) since January, Forest Department officials said.
The tree, estimated to have spread over 1,500 hectares of the tiger reserve in the last few years alone, decimates native forests and local ecology, and is believed to have been introduced to the landscape by four private estates in MTR that had begun growing them as ornamental trees.
Officials said that the Madras High Court had ordered the removal of the tree due to the impact it had on local ecology from both Mudumalai and Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserves.
Speaking to The Hindu, Conservator of Forests and
Field Director of MTR, D. Venkatesh, said that the Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Limited (TNPL) was removing and helping to transport the trees away from MTR for use in paper pulp manufacturing. “Removing the trees also reduces the chances of forest fires,” he said.
Officials said that the High Court had also passed orders instructing the four private estates in question to remove it from their premises. “This will have to be done at their own expense. The TNPL is only removing the trees from inside the reserve forests in MTR,”
Mr. Venkatesh said.
He said that the Forest Department envisages a threeyear plan to completely remove Senna spectabilis from MTR but said that a collaborative approach towards removing the species from the entire landscape, including MTR, Sathyamangalam, Bandipur, Nagarhole, Wayanad and BRT Wildlife Sanctuary was imperative if the species was to be completely eradicated.
“There is a chance that the species could invade MTR again if it’s not removed entirely from the landscape. So, we have urged the managers of the surrounding tiger reserves to also remove it from their areas,” said Mr. Venkatesh, who said that the forest department was aware of Senna spectabilis also spreading along the slopes of Coonoor, but said that the spread was only sporadic and can be controlled.