v7i2.167

Submitted date: 12 May 2014
Accepted date: 6 July 2014
Published date: 20 February 2015
Pp. 72–78, Pls. 3–5.

THE VETAL HILLS: AN URBAN WILDSCAPE IN PERIL

Ashish N. Nerlekar* & D.K. Kulkarni
*Corresponding author. E-mail: ashishadmirerofficus@gmail.com

Abstract
The Vetal Hill complex, an urban green space, is located in the heart of the city of Pune, India. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the total species lost prior to 1997 as well as to record new additions to the flora. The most recent flora of this hill complex has been used as a central reference. Past published records and herbaria data were consulted for plants that have not been recorded and opportunistic visits made to the hills resulted in additions to the flora. The study disclosed the loss of 84 species from this hill complex (54 species reported in the present study along with 30 species mentioned in earlier literature) over a period of more than 110 years, with 72 native species out of 84 showing a distinct decline. Twenty species are reported as additions to the flora out of which eleven are exotics and nine native. Regular monitoring is crucial in understanding such long term changes in any forested area. This hill complex is an important forest patch in the city that has undergone severe habitat degradation over the years and hence is in urgent need of conservation.

Key words : floristic diversity decline, India, monitoring, native species, Pune, urban green space

Section Editor: James L. Reveal