MYSURU: Foresters have launched efforts to eradicate Lantana weeds that have invaded more than 20,000 hectares of BR Hills Temple Tiger Reserve in Chamarajanagar district.
Lantana which had covered about 4.3% of the total land area in 1997 has now almost invaded the entire forest in BRT.
As the weed leads to problems of fodder for wild animals in the reserve, the department has planned to remove it in a phased manner.
Lantana, which is one of the world’s ten worst invasive species, now occupies 40% of the tiger reserve, causing concern in the forest department.
The department has awarded the work of removing Lantana on 1,000 hectares in Yelandur range to a non-government organization on a pilot basis.
The NGO has deployed earth moving machinery to remove Lantana from about 215 hectares in the last 25 days.
The machinery not only uproots the plant but also crushes Lantana seeds, thus preventing its future growth. The uprooted Lantana weed can be used as manure for the growth of other plants in the forest, officials said.
As Lantana also competes with native plants for space and resources, it alters the nutrient cycle in the soil. Extensive feeding on lantana has led to diarrhoea, liver failure and even the death in Animals. Excessive growth of these weeds also results in forest fires during summer and hence we initiated a major drive for its removal, said officials
Deputy conservator of forests and project director of BRT Tiger Reserve Santhosh Kumar told TOI that the project will be extended to other ranges in the reserve after seeing the results at Yelandur range.
“Instead of using machines and hiring NGOs, the forest department could have used labourers to remove lantana in the lines of neighbouring Bandipur tiger reserve through Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme job card holders. Such measures will also ensure jobs to locals as well as tribals living in thick forests,” said Chamarajanagar Soliga Tribal Welfare Association vice president Mahadeva.
