Rescue of Native Orchids and Introduction to an Urban Landscape: Potential Benefits to Supporting Conservation and Connecting People with Nature
Human activities intensely transform landscapes, resulting in significant changes in the abundance of native plant species and even leading to their local extinction. The fragmentation of native orchid habitats and populations in countries recognized as global biodiversity hotspots is a matter of gr...
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2025-03-01
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| author | Viswambharan Sarasan Ratheesh Narayanan MK Mithun Venugopal Pradeep N. Sukumaran |
| author_facet | Viswambharan Sarasan Ratheesh Narayanan MK Mithun Venugopal Pradeep N. Sukumaran |
| author_sort | Viswambharan Sarasan |
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| description | Human activities intensely transform landscapes, resulting in significant changes in the abundance of native plant species and even leading to their local extinction. The fragmentation of native orchid habitats and populations in countries recognized as global biodiversity hotspots is a matter of grave concern. This issue is exacerbated by the extensive infrastructure projects currently underway in many biodiversity hotspot areas of the world. The southwestern state of Kerala in India is a prominent hotspot for orchids, both in India and globally, owing to its exceptionally high density of native orchid species. Roadside trees in Kerala provide a sanctuary for a diverse range of species, including native orchids, which constitute one of the major groups. This study undertook a preliminary assessment of the diversity of trees and native orchids in two northern districts of Kerala, specifically, Kannur and Wayanad. The removal of trees in Kerala for road building directly affects the populations of many native orchids, some of which are endemic to the southern Western Ghats regions in Kerala. In the Kannur district, <i>Mangifera indica</i> and <i>Artocarpus heterophyllus</i> were the dominant trees in terms of hosting the greatest number of individual orchids. The endemic tree <i>Pterocarpus marsupium</i> from Wayanad was the dominant tree, which hosted the greatest number of species of orchids, including four that are endemic. This paper explores the potential opportunities of rescuing orchids and planting them in a safe and protected urban environment. The thematic question is whether native orchids, particularly endemic species, can be preserved from local extinction and used for conservation translocation. Could this method of introducing native orchids to urban environments enhance conservation efforts while also fostering a stronger connection between people and nature? Over 17,000 plants, representing 22 native orchid species, were collected, of which 16 species were endemic. Six months after planting, all but three of the endemic species successfully survived in the urban biological park. Among the surviving orchids, all species except four managed to bloom. To the best of our knowledge, this represents the first endeavor of its kind to plant a substantial number of endemic rescued orchids within an urban landscape to reduce local extinction and enhance the connectivity of people with native biodiversity. This resource aims to enhance our understanding of the resilience of endemic orchids, which originate from highland regions, as they adapt to a lowland urban environment in the coming decades. |
| format | Article |
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| spelling | doaj-art-1e28051119dd4b09aa094671541d4edc2025-08-20T02:11:01ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182025-03-0117318410.3390/d17030184Rescue of Native Orchids and Introduction to an Urban Landscape: Potential Benefits to Supporting Conservation and Connecting People with NatureViswambharan Sarasan0Ratheesh Narayanan MK1Mithun Venugopal2Pradeep N. Sukumaran3Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond TW9 3DS, UKPost Graduate Department of Botany, Payyanur College, Kannur 670327, Kerala, IndiaKSCSTE-Malabar Botanical Garden and Institute for Plant Sciences, Kozhikode 673014, Kerala, IndiaKSCSTE-Malabar Botanical Garden and Institute for Plant Sciences, Kozhikode 673014, Kerala, IndiaHuman activities intensely transform landscapes, resulting in significant changes in the abundance of native plant species and even leading to their local extinction. The fragmentation of native orchid habitats and populations in countries recognized as global biodiversity hotspots is a matter of grave concern. This issue is exacerbated by the extensive infrastructure projects currently underway in many biodiversity hotspot areas of the world. The southwestern state of Kerala in India is a prominent hotspot for orchids, both in India and globally, owing to its exceptionally high density of native orchid species. Roadside trees in Kerala provide a sanctuary for a diverse range of species, including native orchids, which constitute one of the major groups. This study undertook a preliminary assessment of the diversity of trees and native orchids in two northern districts of Kerala, specifically, Kannur and Wayanad. The removal of trees in Kerala for road building directly affects the populations of many native orchids, some of which are endemic to the southern Western Ghats regions in Kerala. In the Kannur district, <i>Mangifera indica</i> and <i>Artocarpus heterophyllus</i> were the dominant trees in terms of hosting the greatest number of individual orchids. The endemic tree <i>Pterocarpus marsupium</i> from Wayanad was the dominant tree, which hosted the greatest number of species of orchids, including four that are endemic. This paper explores the potential opportunities of rescuing orchids and planting them in a safe and protected urban environment. The thematic question is whether native orchids, particularly endemic species, can be preserved from local extinction and used for conservation translocation. Could this method of introducing native orchids to urban environments enhance conservation efforts while also fostering a stronger connection between people and nature? Over 17,000 plants, representing 22 native orchid species, were collected, of which 16 species were endemic. Six months after planting, all but three of the endemic species successfully survived in the urban biological park. Among the surviving orchids, all species except four managed to bloom. To the best of our knowledge, this represents the first endeavor of its kind to plant a substantial number of endemic rescued orchids within an urban landscape to reduce local extinction and enhance the connectivity of people with native biodiversity. This resource aims to enhance our understanding of the resilience of endemic orchids, which originate from highland regions, as they adapt to a lowland urban environment in the coming decades.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/17/3/184KeralaWestern Ghatsconservation translocationassisted colonizationurban biodiversityorchid hotspot |
| spellingShingle | Viswambharan Sarasan Ratheesh Narayanan MK Mithun Venugopal Pradeep N. Sukumaran Rescue of Native Orchids and Introduction to an Urban Landscape: Potential Benefits to Supporting Conservation and Connecting People with Nature Diversity Kerala Western Ghats conservation translocation assisted colonization urban biodiversity orchid hotspot |
| title | Rescue of Native Orchids and Introduction to an Urban Landscape: Potential Benefits to Supporting Conservation and Connecting People with Nature |
| title_full | Rescue of Native Orchids and Introduction to an Urban Landscape: Potential Benefits to Supporting Conservation and Connecting People with Nature |
| title_fullStr | Rescue of Native Orchids and Introduction to an Urban Landscape: Potential Benefits to Supporting Conservation and Connecting People with Nature |
| title_full_unstemmed | Rescue of Native Orchids and Introduction to an Urban Landscape: Potential Benefits to Supporting Conservation and Connecting People with Nature |
| title_short | Rescue of Native Orchids and Introduction to an Urban Landscape: Potential Benefits to Supporting Conservation and Connecting People with Nature |
| title_sort | rescue of native orchids and introduction to an urban landscape potential benefits to supporting conservation and connecting people with nature |
| topic | Kerala Western Ghats conservation translocation assisted colonization urban biodiversity orchid hotspot |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/17/3/184 |
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