Biodiversity of Karnataka

The term ‘Biodiversity’ used by the Biodiversity Convention refers to all aspects of variability within the living world, including diversity within and between individuals, populations, species, communities, and ecosystems. Differences in pest resistance among rice varieties, the range of habitats within a forest ecosystem, number of threatened species - these are a few examples that illustrate different aspects of biological diversity.

The state of Karnataka has a complex landscape of species-rich climax forests, secondary forests, pastures, fields and fallows, with corridors of rivers, streams, gorges and ridges, as also a long coastline and marine stretch that are responsible for the rich faunal and floral composition of the state. Karnataka has three principal geographical regions, namely, the coastal or karavali, hilly/ mountainous or malenadu and the plains or bayaluseeme. The karavali region is about 320 km long and 5-65 km broad with an average elevation of 70 m covering the western fringe of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada districts. The malenadu region comprises the Western Ghats with highest point of 1,929 m (6,329 ft.) of the Mullayanagiri hills in Chikkamagaluru district. The east flowing major rivers that originate in the Western Ghats are Cauvery, Tungabhadra, Krishna and Malaprabha and serve as life line to the people in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. There are several west flowing rivers like Kali, Aghanashini and Sharavathi, which run a short distance before meeting the sea. They carry immense volume of water during rains and due to tidal effect, form brackish water ecology before meeting the Arabian Sea. Because of low salinity in estuarine waters, a separate and distinct variety of flora and fauna is observed in their waters and on banks. The plains of Bayaluseeme of the Deccan Plateau occupy the bulk of the state (the second largest semi-arid region in India), and are home to drier habitats.

Forests cover about 43,356.47 km2, constituting less than 23% of the state’s geographic area. The percentage of forest area is significantly less than the 33.33% prescribed in the National Forest Policy of 1988. The Western Ghats, which covers about 60% of forest area of Karnataka, is recognized as one of the 35 hotspots of the world occupying major part of the Indo-Srilankan hotspot. According to their legal status, the forest Tropical montane forests (sholas) are common in the Western Ghats region of Karnataka. They are usually separated by undulating montane grasslands and together, they form the shola-grassland complex. The sholas support a rich diversity of plants and animals and display a high degree of endemism. The shola valleys hold good amount of water supporting perennial streams which originate there. Some of the associates of high altitude grasslands are known for their medicinal value.

Karnataka has more than 4,500 tanks (popularly referred to as lakes) constructed over several centuries. Each tank has developed ecology of its own, supporting a good number of plant varieties, fishes, reptiles, and amphibians. Besides these, there are many natural swamps and marshes which host a variety of flora and fauna. The state is equally rich in agro-biodiversity growing several varieties of cereals and millets, pulses, oilseeds, flowers and plantation crops. Several breeds of cattle and goats have been pride of Karnataka. The state has also been successful in importing several varieties of plants and animal life from other parts of the country and also from abroad and nurtured them for better food production and economic wellbeing of the state. areas in Karnataka are classified as: Reserved Forests-29.69 lakh ha, Protected Forests-3.54 lakh ha, Unclassified Forests-10.02 lakh ha, Village Forests-4,905 ha and Private Forests-5,407 ha.

Floral Diversity of Karnataka

Conservation Status of Mammalians

Status of Lizards and Snakes of Karnataka

Endemic Plant Species of Karnataka Click  Here

Source:State of Environment Report Karnataka 2015