Excited so share our new work out in
@conservationsp.bsky.social that sheds light on the complex impacts of #savanna afforestation on birds across a rainfall gradient in India which is comparable to that of the Serengeti!
conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
@avishkarm.bsky.social
I am excited to hire a PhD candidate at #iiserpune to work on savannas! Please share widely among relevant circles!
sites.google.com/view/nerlekar
"... the trees are innumerable / Marumbi, taraṭī, and hivara / hiṅgaṇa, pācunda, and bābara / ṭākaḷī, and vehaṅkaḷī are abundant... Such is this thorny forest / it is highly frightening / this forest is empty / peacocks scream here"
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Top) A folio depicting saint-poet Nāmadeva (circa 1270–1350 CE; fifth from right) performing a devotional verse. Two verses attributed to saint Nāmadeva were included in this study. Center) Donut plot depicting the diversity of genres of traditional literature included in the linked study. Divisions of the doughnut plot represent the genres and include the number of excerpts/examples of that particular genre. Inset shows the flower of Capparis divaricata, a savanna indicator plant which features in multiple excerpts cited in the linked paper. Flanking this plot are two photographs of local folk performers. Bottom) A folio from an early 19th-century manuscript of the Bhaktavijaya mentioning the taraṭī tree (Capparis divaricata; underlined)
Descriptions of plants in traditional Indian myths, poems, and folk songs provide greater context to the ecological history of western Maharashtra and suggest that local tropical savannas are not the result of deforestation! 🧪
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Very cool grassland research using old poems and songs to show that western Indian savannas are ancient.
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/202...
New from lab alum @ashishnerlekar.bsky.social. Traditional Marathi compositions up to 800 years old illustrate the antiquity of west Indian savannas. They are ancient and important conservation targets, not relicts of colonial forest clearance
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Cool paper documenting ecological insights about Indian tropical savannas in traditional literature between the 13th and 20th century. Grassland-scrubland biomes are often misconceived as deforested and/ or degraded wastelands. So, important paper.
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
VERY excited to start my own lab today at @IISERPune!
Please check out our new website and keep an eye out for some cool #tropical #savanna #ecology research
sites.google.com/view/nsel/ho...
By highlighting the potential of traditional literature in triangulating ecological histories of threatened ecosystems, our work makes a strong case to better appreciate these sources as archives of #biocultural histories to catalyze the conservation of both nature & culture 9/n
How do these findings matter for biodiversity conservation elsewhere? Our study has a lot to offer for regions beyond tropical India. 8/n
We were fascinated to find that ecological reconstructions from our novel line of evidence complemented other lines of evidence. This led us to generate a first-of its kind abridged ecological history for our study area, spanning centuries to millions of years before present. 7/n
Color-palette for Figure 1 is inspired by the Marathi movie Ringan, not only because it is set in a popular religious location we include in our review (Pandharpur) but also because Abhimanyu in the movie, much like us, grapples with the past. 6/n
Our timely study set in western India, which utilizes #indigenous traditional literature dating back to 750yrs, provides 1 such line of evidence. Contradicting t popular notion of a forested-past, historical nature descriptions revealed a major% of plants typical of savannas. 5/n
Clearly then, there is an urgent need to use interdisciplinary approaches and culturally resonant lines of evidence to foster the uptake of accurate ecological histories in the public and policy spheres, particularly in savannas of South Asia. 4/n
Yet, for many tropical savannas, such an accurate understanding is rare, as they remain misconceptualized as degraded grassy habitats formed by human-induced forest-clearance despite scientific mounting evidence to show otherwise. 3/n
Amidst the ongoing global biodiversity crisis, conserving the incredibly high biodiversity of tropical #savannas and #grasslands is critical. But designing effective and relevant conservation policies for the present and future requires an accurate understanding of the past. 2/n
🌟New Pub🌟! Out in @peopleandnature.bsky.social
Ecology meets Mythology: Medieval stories and songs uncover India’s ecological past. Link to paper: besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... (click "MR" for Marathi abstract). @dhmsu.bsky.social
@msunatsci.bsky.social
1/n
Prescribed ecological burn conducted at Como in southeastern Queensland, Australia. Fires were implemented in either autumn or winter, and obligate seeding species were subsequently monitored over time to see if recovery differed with fire seasonality. The work was undertaken as a joint collaboration between the University of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia), Queensland Fire and Biodiversity Consortium, Queensland Parks and Wildlife and HQ Plantations. (Photo credit: Mark Ooi.)
🔥🌱 The new #AJB Special Issue, “Understanding novel #fire regimes using plant trait‐based approaches," is now online! 🌱🔥
This issue features studies from evolutionary, ecological, organismal, physiological, fire management & conservation perspectives.
bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/15372197...
Our results highlight that the grass flora of Texas bears the signature of Pleistocene megafauna and influence of fires that predate human arrival. +
We suggest that grass functional classifications based on fire and grazer traits can improve prescribed fire and livestock management of savannas
🔥🌾🦬New Pub in @botsocamerica.bsky.social ! We show that the flammability–palatability trade‐offs that operate in Africa also explain correlated suites of traits in #Texas #grasses.
@tamu.bsky.social
bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Functional strategies of 337 native Texas grasses in relation to grazing and fire.
🔥🌱 From the upcoming #AJB Special Issue: “Understanding novel fire regimes using plant trait‐based approaches" 🌱🔥
Grass functional traits reflect the long history of #fire & grazers in the #savannas of #Texas
By @ashishnerlekar.bsky.social et al.
bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Out today in @biotropica.bsky.social: We show that deciduous dipterocarp and semi-evergreen forests in Cambodia have distinct species, but similar soils across their abrupt boundaries. But we see differences in fire history and fire adapted functional traits. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
A picture of an experimental prairie restoration, and the field is mostly composed of Echinacea purpurea
New paper alert! @lars-brudvig.bsky.social, @nashturley.bsky.social and I reveal key context-dependent impacts of seed mix design decisions on restored prairie community structure!🌾 🧪 #PlantScience #EcologicalRestoration #ecosystem
esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
137 of us share our concerns with policymakers in an open letter: "There are more than just trees and forests to be conserved and restored" nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
@plantspeopleplanet.bsky.social
such a fascinating study!
Grassland restorations must better foster forbs to facilitate high biodiversity
Check out @ashishnerlekar.bsky.social's recent call for "forb-centric" grassland restoration
Message if you lack access and would like to a copy
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Could you add me please?
Thanks!
yes please!
