Biodiversity and Conservation: India’s Panoramic View
329
6 Case Studies
6.1 Case Study 1: Promoting Biodiversity in Neighbourhood
Parks in an Urban Landscape (Swamy et al. 2019)
The present study focuses on biodiversity conservation in the developing city of
Bangalore in the southern part of India, which was once referred as the “garden city”
of India encompassing several gardens and highly stratified local species of plant
has now been transformed into a “silicon city” with changes in landscape characteristics, loss of gardens and consisting of exotic plant species in the recent times. It
emphasizes on the role of small green patches in urban areas, which are neglected as
compared to the large green spaces. The cities in India have been observed to have
plenty of pocket green spaces in terms of neighbourhood parks (NPs) in residential areas which are meant for recreational activity being neglected for the role they
can play in biodiversity conservation. To estimate the biodiversity status within 37
neighbourhood parks in Bangalore; “biodiversity fondness survey” was carried out
by administering a questionnaire to the citizens and their biodiversity preferences
were found to be butterflies and birds, as compared to other taxa like insects. These
preferences could be rooted with traditional practices and believes. Further on, making use of peoples’ preferred species as Umbrella species positive changes could
be brought about in traditional gardening practices which could also benefit many
other taxa. Moreover, management of butterflies and birds encompass a wide range
of habitats suitable for other not known taxa. This study has also revealed that birds
are good surrogates for insects.
Also, the landscape characteristics around the neighbourhood parks were analyzed
and identified to enhance the biodiversity within these parks. The results revealed
55 species of trees, 45 bird species, 41 butterfly species and 68 morpho species of
insects. Moreover, the habitat determinants within these parks could play a vital role
in richness of the native species. The large neighborhood parks depicted an elevated
presence of birds (more canopy cover), insects (higher proportion of lawns) and butterflies (higher proportion of shrubs) as compared to small NPs. The study focussed
on the density of the small green patches rather than its size as an important criterion
to support biodiversity. The study observed higher butterfly diversity in small NPs
with high density indicating that along with heterogeneity and the habitat composition within the NPs, the social and cultural environment of the neighbourhood plays
a key role in determination of the biodiversity at the local level. Though the birds are
predominantly dependent on large green spaces, the migrant birds like Phylloscopus trochiloides and Acrocephalus dumetorum were observed in the wild vegetation
surrounding the neighbourhood parks. The lined-up trees in the neighbourhood act
as corridors for these birds and allow them to extend their habitat requirements.
An equal proportion of exotic and native trees was observed within neighbourhood
areas. The recent studies have found the exotic species worthy and not a threat to
a habitat as they support the native species specially in an urban landscape. The
329
6 Case Studies
6.1 Case Study 1: Promoting Biodiversity in Neighbourhood
Parks in an Urban Landscape (Swamy et al. 2019)
The present study focuses on biodiversity conservation in the developing city of
Bangalore in the southern part of India, which was once referred as the “garden city”
of India encompassing several gardens and highly stratified local species of plant
has now been transformed into a “silicon city” with changes in landscape characteristics, loss of gardens and consisting of exotic plant species in the recent times. It
emphasizes on the role of small green patches in urban areas, which are neglected as
compared to the large green spaces. The cities in India have been observed to have
plenty of pocket green spaces in terms of neighbourhood parks (NPs) in residential areas which are meant for recreational activity being neglected for the role they
can play in biodiversity conservation. To estimate the biodiversity status within 37
neighbourhood parks in Bangalore; “biodiversity fondness survey” was carried out
by administering a questionnaire to the citizens and their biodiversity preferences
were found to be butterflies and birds, as compared to other taxa like insects. These
preferences could be rooted with traditional practices and believes. Further on, making use of peoples’ preferred species as Umbrella species positive changes could
be brought about in traditional gardening practices which could also benefit many
other taxa. Moreover, management of butterflies and birds encompass a wide range
of habitats suitable for other not known taxa. This study has also revealed that birds
are good surrogates for insects.
Also, the landscape characteristics around the neighbourhood parks were analyzed
and identified to enhance the biodiversity within these parks. The results revealed
55 species of trees, 45 bird species, 41 butterfly species and 68 morpho species of
insects. Moreover, the habitat determinants within these parks could play a vital role
in richness of the native species. The large neighborhood parks depicted an elevated
presence of birds (more canopy cover), insects (higher proportion of lawns) and butterflies (higher proportion of shrubs) as compared to small NPs. The study focussed
on the density of the small green patches rather than its size as an important criterion
to support biodiversity. The study observed higher butterfly diversity in small NPs
with high density indicating that along with heterogeneity and the habitat composition within the NPs, the social and cultural environment of the neighbourhood plays
a key role in determination of the biodiversity at the local level. Though the birds are
predominantly dependent on large green spaces, the migrant birds like Phylloscopus trochiloides and Acrocephalus dumetorum were observed in the wild vegetation
surrounding the neighbourhood parks. The lined-up trees in the neighbourhood act
as corridors for these birds and allow them to extend their habitat requirements.
An equal proportion of exotic and native trees was observed within neighbourhood
areas. The recent studies have found the exotic species worthy and not a threat to
a habitat as they support the native species specially in an urban landscape. The