The Western Ghats (South India) are home to an important species richness, especially endemic tree species, and are subject to rapidly varying climatic gradients, on a contrasting topography. They therefore form a terrain that is particularly suited for studying how species richness distribution is determined.
In the present study, we use an approach based on Geographic Information System (GIS) that link bioclimatic and vegetation maps, and a database on endemic species, with the concept of mapping potential distribution areas based on climatic parameters.
Richness distribution of endemic tree species is quantified and analyzed at the scale of the Indian peninsula.
It is shown that climatic factors are determining at that scale. In particular, there is a decrease in richness when altitude and dry season increase, and that the combined effect of these two factors influences the altitudinal range of species.
The study also highlighted the diversity of distribution patterns of the endemic species, from species that are ubiquitous over the whole of Western Ghats, to others that are confined to a single valley.
The objective identification of potentially endemic-rich forest areas at the scale of the Western Ghats should prove valuable when setting up biodiversity conservation strategies.
(1) UMR ECOFOG (ECOlogie des FOrêts de Guyane),
Campus agronomique, BP 316 97379 Kourou, French Guiana
(2) Geomatics Laboratory, (3) Botany Laboratory, Institut Français de Pondichéry
11, Saint Louis Street, Pondicherry, 601001, India
(4) Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Laboratoire de Biométrie et de Biologie Evolutive,
43, boulevard du 11 Novembre 1918, 69622 Villeurbanne Cedex, France
