Convention on Biological Diversity. India — Country Profile. cbd.int https://www.cbd.int/countries/profile?country=in (2026).

Myers, N., Mittermeier, R. A., Mittermeier, C. G., Fonseca, G. A. B. & Kent, J. Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature 403, 853–858 (2000).

Article 
CAS 

Google Scholar
 

Champion, H. G. & Seth, S. K. A Revised Survey of the Forest Types of India (Natraj Publishers, 1968).

Pascal, J.-P. Wet Evergreen Forests of the Western Ghats of India: Ecology, Structure, Floristic Composition, and Succession (Institut Français de Pondichéry, 1988).

Gunnell, Y. Relief and climate in South Asia: the influence of the Western Ghats on the current climate pattern of peninsular India. Int. J. Climatol. 17, 1169–1182 (1998).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Page, N. V. & Shanker, K. Climatic stability drives latitudinal trends in range size and richness of woody plants in the Western Ghats, India. PLoS ONE 15, 0235733 (2020).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Roy, P. & Joshi, J. Idiosyncrasies unveiled: examining the pace, patterns and predictors of biotic diversification in peninsular India. Ecol. Lett. 28, 70160 (2025).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Robin, V. V., Vishnudas, C. K., Gupta, P. & Ramakrishnan, U. Deep and wide valleys drive nested phylogeographic patterns across a montane bird community. Proc. R. Soc. B Biol. Sci. 282, 20150861 (2015).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Gunawardene, N. R. et al. A brief overview of the Western Ghats-Sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot. Curr. Sci. 93, 1567–1572 (2007).


Google Scholar
 

Joshi, J. & Karanth, P. Cretaceous–tertiary diversification among select scolopendrid centipedes of South India. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 60, 287–294 (2011).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Bossuyt, F. et al. Local endemism within the Western Ghats-Sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot. Science 306, 479–481 (2004).

Article 
CAS 

Google Scholar
 

Joshi, J. & Karanth, P. Did southern Western Ghats of peninsular India serve as refugia for its endemic biota during the cretaceous volcanism? Ecol. Evol. 3, 3275–3282 (2013).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Cincotta, R. P., Wisnewski, J. & Engelman, R. Human population in the biodiversity hotspots. Nature 404, 990–992 (2000).

Article 
CAS 

Google Scholar
 

Gadgil, M. & Vartak, V. D. The sacred groves of Western Ghats in India. Econ. Bot. 30, 152–160 (1976).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Western Ghats https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1342/ (2026).

Farrag, O. & Robitaille, P. T. India and the Global Economy https://doi.org/10.17016/2380-7172.4033 (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 2026).

Jha, S. & Bawa, K. S. Population growth, human development, and deforestation in biodiversity hotspots. Conserv. Biol. 20, 906–912 (2006).

Article 
CAS 

Google Scholar
 

Davidar, P. et al. Assessing the extent and causes of forest degradation in India: where do we stand? Biol. Conserv. 143, 2937–2944 (2010).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Briggs, J. C. The biogeographic and tectonic history of India. J. Biogeogr. 30, 381–388 (2003).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Ali, J. R. & Aitchison, J. C. Gondwana to Asia: plate tectonics, paleogeography and the biological connectivity of the Indian sub-continent from the Middle Jurassic through latest Eocene (166–35 Ma). Earth Sci. Rev. 88, 145–166 (2008).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Chatterjee, S., Goswami, A. & Scotese, C. R. The longest voyage: tectonic, magmatic, and paleoclimatic evolution of the Indian plate during its northward flight from Gondwana to Asia. Gondwana Res. 23, 238–267 (2013).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Powell, C. M. A speculative tectonic history of Pakistan and surroundings: some constraints from the Indian Ocean. Geodyn. Pak. 13, 5–24 (1979).


Google Scholar
 

Keller, G., Sahni, A. & Bajpai, S. Deccan volcanism, the KT mass extinction and dinosaurs. J. Biosci. 34, 709–728 (2009).

Article 
CAS 

Google Scholar
 

Prasad, V., Farooqui, A., Tripathi, S. K. M., Garg, R. & Thakur, B. Evidence of late palaeocene-early eocene equatorial rain forest refugia in southern Western Ghats, India. J. Biosci. 34, 777–797 (2009).

Article 
CAS 

Google Scholar
 

Mani, M. S. in Ecology and Biogeography in India vol. 23 (ed. Mani, M. S.) 698–724 (Springer Netherlands, 1974).

Karanth, P. An island called India: phylogenetic patterns across multiple taxonomic groups reveal endemic radiations. Curr. Sci. 108, 1847–1851 (2015).


Google Scholar
 

Morley, R. J. Assembly and division of the South and South-East Asian flora in relation to tectonics and climate change. J. Trop. Ecol. 34, 209–234 (2018).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Ding, L. et al. Quantifying the rise of the Himalaya orogen and implications for the South Asian monsoon. Geology 45, 215–218 (2017).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Joshi, J. & Edgecombe, G. D. Evolutionary biogeography of the centipede genus Ethmostigmus from peninsular India: testing an ancient vicariance hypothesis for Old World tropical diversity. BMC Ecol. Evol. 19, 41 (2019).


Google Scholar
 

Joshi, J., Karanth, P. & Edgecombe, G. D. The out-of-India hypothesis: evidence from an ancient centipede genus, Rhysida (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha) from the oriental region, and systematics of Indian species. Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 189, 828–861 (2020).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Manivannan, M., Gurung, N., Edgecombe, G. D. & Joshi, J. A passage through India: the biotic ferry model supports the build-up of Indo-Australian biodiversity of an ancient soil arthropod clade. J. Biogeogr. 51, 2395–2411 (2024).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Loria, S. F. & Prendini, L. Burrowing into the forest: phylogeny of the Asian forest scorpions (Scorpionidae: Heterometrinae) and the evolution of ecomorphotypes. Cladistics 37, 109–161 (2021).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Johnson, J., Loria, S. F., Joseph, M. M. & Harms, D. Biogeographical and diversification analyses of Indian pseudoscorpions reveal the Western Ghats as museums of ancient biodiversity. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 175, 107495 (2022).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Sidharthan, C. & Karanth, K. P. India’s biogeographic history through the eyes of blindsnakes filling the gaps in the global typhlopoid phylogeny. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 157, 107064 (2021).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Biju, S., Bocxlaer, I., Giri, V. B., Loader, S. P. & Bossuyt, F. Two new endemic genera and a new species of toad (Anura: Bufonidae) from the Western Ghats of India. BMC Res. Notes 2, 241 (2009).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Biju, S. D. & Bossuyt, F. New frog family from India reveals an ancient biogeographical link with the Seychelles. Nature 425, 711–714 (2003).

Article 
CAS 

Google Scholar
 

Bansal, M. et al. Southeast Asian Dipterocarp origin and diversification driven by Africa-India floristic interchange. Science 375, 455–460 (2022).

Article 
CAS 

Google Scholar
 

Parmar, S. et al. Evolution of family Arecaceae on the Indian plate modulated by the early Palaeogene climate and tectonics. Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 313, 104890 (2023).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Parmar, S. et al. Early evolution of basal angiosperms: insights from the fossil pollen and phylogenetics of Myristicaceae. J. Biogeogr. 52, e70030 (2025).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Kooyman, R. M. et al. Origins and assembly of Malesian rainforests. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Evol. Syst. 50, 119–143 (2019).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Karanth, K. P. Dispersal vs vicariance: the origin of India’s extant tetrapod fauna. Front. Biogeogr. 13, e48678 (2021).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Cyriac, V. P. et al. Diversifying in the mountains: spatiotemporal diversification of frogs in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot. Evolution 78, 701–715 (2024).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Nayar, T. S., Beegam, A. R. & Mohanan, N. Flowering Plants of the Western Ghats, India: A Complete Checklist Including Endemics and Rediscoveries (Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute, 2014).

Mao, A. A. & Agrawala, D. K. Plant Discoveries (Botanical Survey of India, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, 2024).

Dahanukar, N. & Raghavan, R. Freshwater fishes of the Western Ghats: checklist v1.0. Min 1, 6–16 (2013).


Google Scholar
 

Nameer, P. O., Molur, S. & Walker, S. Mammals of Western Ghats: a simplistic overview. Zoos Print. 16, 629–639 (2001).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Srinivasulu, C., Srinivasulu, B. & Srinivasulu, A. JoTT Checklist of reptiles of the Western Ghats (v1.3). J. Threat. Taxa https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.checklist/westernghats.reptiles (2021).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Praveen, J., Jayapal, R. & Pittie, A. Checklist of the birds of India (v4.0). Indian Birds 11, 113–170 (2016).


Google Scholar
 

Reddy, C. S., Joseph, A., Abraham, G. A. & Sabu, M. M. Micro hotspots of new species discoveries in India: flora and fauna. Curr. Sci. 119, 1408–1410 (2020).


Google Scholar
 

Aravind, N. A., Tambat, B., Ravikanth, G., Ganeshaiah, K. N. & Uma Shaanker, R. Patterns of species discovery in the Western Ghats, a megadiversity hot spot in India. J. Biosci. 32, 781–790 (2007).

Article 
CAS 

Google Scholar
 

Gopal, A. et al. Range restricted old and young lineages show the southern Western Ghats to be both museum and cradle of diversity for woody plants. Proc. R. Soc. B Biol. Sci. 290, 20222513 (2023).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

IUCN. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/ (2025).

Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Occurrence Download. gbif.org https://doi.org/10.15468/DL.AWB4DU (2026).

Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Occurrence Download. gbif.org https://doi.org/10.15468/DL.C4J2D9 (2026).

Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Occurrence Download. gbif.org https://doi.org/10.15468/DL.XCFRQ5 (2026).

Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Occurrence Download. gbif.org https://doi.org/10.15468/DL.8Q57C6 (2026).

Bharti, D. K., Edgecombe, G. D., Karanth, P. & Joshi, J. Spatial patterns of phylogenetic diversity and endemism in the Western Ghats, India: a case study using ancient predatory arthropods. Ecol. Evol. 11, 16499–16513 (2021).

Article 
CAS 

Google Scholar
 

Molur, S., Smith, K. G., Daniel, B. A. & Darwall, W. R. T. The Status and Distribution of Freshwater Biodiversity in the Western Ghats, India (IUCN and Zoo Outreach Organisation, 2011).

Thorpe, C. & Watve, A. Lateritic plateaus in the northern Western Ghats, India; a review of bauxite mining restoration practices. J. Ecol. Soc. 28, 25–44 (2015).


Google Scholar
 

Giri, V. B. & Bauer, A. M. A new ground-dwelling Hemidactylus (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Maharashtra, with a key to the Hemidactylus of India. Zootaxa 1700, 21–34 (2008).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Naniwadekar, R. & Vasudevan, K. Patterns in diversity of anurans along an elevational gradient in the Western Ghats, South India. J. Biogeogr. 34, 842–853 (2007).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Ramesh, B. R. et al. Mesoscale patterns in the floristic composition of forests in the central Western Ghats of Karnataka, India. Biotropica 42, 435–443 (2010).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Raman, T. R. S., Joshi, N. V. & Sukumar, R. Tropical rainforest bird community structure in relation to altitude, tree species composition, and null models in the Western Ghats, India. Preprint at https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.q-bio/0510033 (2005).

Bhaskar, V. Taxonomic Monograph on Impatiens L. (Balsaminaceae) of Western Ghats, South India: The Key Genus for Endemism. (Centre for Plant Taxonomy Studies, 2012).

Deepak, R. P. & Dinesh, K. P. in Biodiversity Hotspot of the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka (ed. Pullaiah, T.) 219–239 (Apple Academic, 2024).

Srinivasulu, C., Srinivasulu, B. & Molur, S. The Status and Distribution of Reptiles in the Western Ghats, India. vol. 8 (Wildlife Information Liasion Development Society, 2014).

Nameer, P. O. JoTT checklist of mammals of the Western Ghats (v1.0). J. Threat. Taxa http://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/checklists/mammals/westernghats (2020).

Robin, V. V., Sinha, A. & Ramakrishnan, U. Ancient geographical gaps and paleo-climate shape the phylogeography of an endemic bird in the sky islands of southern India. PLoS ONE 5, e13321 (2010).

Article 
CAS 

Google Scholar
 

Joshi, J. & Agarwal, I. Integrative taxonomy in the indian subcontinent: current progress and prospects. J. Indian Inst. Sci. 101, 125–149 (2021).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Joshi, J. et al. Linking eras and data: natural history collections as the foundation of India’s biodiversity science. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 146, blaf100 (2025).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Kale, M. P. et al. Land-use and land-cover change in Western Ghats of India. Environ. Monit. Assess. 188, 387 (2016).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Kumar, B. M., Kumar, V. S. & Mathew, T. Floristic attributes of small cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton) growing areas in the Western Ghats of peninsular India. Agrofor. Syst. 31, 275–289 (1995).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Murugan, M. et al. Understanding the effects of cardamom cultivation on its local environment using novel systems thinking approach—the case of Indian Cardamom Hills. Front. Sustain. Food Syst. 6, 728651 (2022).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Kumar, B. M. Land use in Kerala: changing scenarios and shifting paradigms. J. Trop. Agric. 42, 1–12 (2005).


Google Scholar
 

Rege, A., Warnekar, S. B. & Lee, J. S. H. Mapping cashew monocultures in the Western Ghats using optical and radar imagery in Google Earth Engine. Remote. Sens. Appl. Soc. Environ. 28, 100861 (2022).


Google Scholar
 

Jha, C. S., Dutt, C. B. S. & Bawa, K. S. Deforestation and land use changes in Western Ghats, India. Curr. Sci. 79, 231–238 (2000).


Google Scholar
 

Reddy, C. S., Jha, C. S. & Dadhwal, V. K. Assessment and monitoring of long-term forest cover changes (1920–2013) in Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot. J. Earth Syst. Sci. 125, 103–114 (2016).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Menon, S. & Bawa, K. S. Applications of geographic information systems, remote-sensing and a landscape ecology approach to biodiversity conservation in the Western Ghats. Curr. Sci. 73, 134–145 (1997).


Google Scholar
 

Dutta, K., Sudhakar Reddy, C., Sharma, S. & Jha, C. S. Quantification and monitoring of forest cover changes in Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve, Western Ghats, India (1920-2012). Curr. Sci. 110, 508–520 (2016).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Gaucherel, C., Alet, J. & Garcia, C. Coffee monoculture trends in tropical agroforested landscapes of Western Ghats (India). Environ. Conserv. 44, 183–190 (2017).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Forest Survey of India. India State of Forest Report 2023 https://fsi.nic.in/forest-report-2023 (Forest Survey of India, 2023).

Madhusudan, M. D. & Vanak, A. T. Mapping the distribution and extent of India’s semi-arid open natural ecosystems. J. Biogeogr. 50, 1377–1387 (2023).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Jayadevan, A. et al. Navigating paved paradise: evaluating landscape permeability to movement for large mammals in two conservation priority landscapes in India. Biol. Conserv. 247, 108613 (2020).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Santhasivam, A. V., Santhanakrishnan, B., Ramachandran, A. P. & Mahaly, M. Dark side of the development: a review on road mortality of wildlife in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot. J. Wildl. Sci. 3, https://doi.org/10.63033/JWLS.QPKD3584 (2026).

Sushanth, S. et al. Impact of linear infrastructure and landscape characteristics on wildlife roadkill in the Nelliyampathy Hills, Western Ghats, India. Sci. Rep. 15, 25333 (2025).

Article 
CAS 

Google Scholar
 

Nayak, R. et al. Bits and pieces: forest fragmentation by linear intrusions in India. Land. Use Policy 99, 104619 (2020).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Reddy, C., Jha, C. & Dadhwal, V. Earth observations based conservation prioritization in Western Ghats, India. J. Geol. Soc. India 92, 562–567 (2018).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Sukumar, R., Suresh, H. S., Dattaraja, H. S., John, R. & Joshi, N. V. in Tropical Forest Diversity and Dynamism: Findings from a Large-Scale Plot Network (eds Losos, E. C. & Leigh Jr, E. G.) 551–563 (Univ. Chicago Press, 2004).

Pomeroy, M., Primack, R. & Rai, S. N. Changes in four rainforest plots of the Western Ghats, India. Conserv. Soc. 1, 113–135 (2003).


Google Scholar
 

Karanth, K. U. & Sunquist, M. E. Population structure, density and biomass of large herbivores in the tropical forests of Nagarahole, India. J. Trop. Ecol. 8, 21–35 (1992).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Karanth, K. U. Estimating tiger Panthera tigris populations from camera-trap data using capture — recapture models. Biol. Conserv. 71, 333–338 (1995).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Qureshi, Q., Jhala, Y. V., Yadav, S. P. & Mallick, A. Status of Tigers, Co-Predators and Prey in India, 2022 (National Tiger Conservation Authority, Government of India, and Wildlife Institute of India, 2023).

Karanth, K. K., Gopalaswamy, A. M., Prasad, P. K. & Dasgupta, S. Patterns of human–wildlife conflicts and compensation: insights from Western Ghats protected areas. Biol. Conserv. 166, 175–185 (2013).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Baskaran, N. et al. Unveiling the hidden causes: identifying the drivers of human–elephant conflict in Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, Western Ghats, Southern India. Animals 14, 3193 (2024).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Arasumani, M. et al. Invasion compounds an ecosystem-wide loss to afforestation in the tropical grasslands of the Shola Sky Islands. Biol. Conserv. 230, 141–150 (2019).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Suryawanshi, K. R. et al. Population assessment of the Endangered Nilgiri tahr Nilgiritragus hylocrius in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve, using the double-observer survey method. Oryx 55, 66–72 (2021).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Rice, C. G. Habitat, population dynamics, and conservation of the Nilgiri tahr, Hemitragus hylocrius. Biol. Conserv. 44, 137–156 (1988).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Pattekar, S. S., Gubbi, S., Struebig, M. J. & Benson, J. F. Response of dholes to prey availability and human disturbance in space and time in Southern India. Biol. Conserv. 297, 110750 (2024).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Srivathsa, A., Karanth, K. U., Kumar, N. S. & Oli, M. K. Insights from distribution dynamics inform strategies to conserve a dhole Cuon alpinus metapopulation in India. Sci. Rep. 9, 3081 (2019).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Das, S., Yunus, A. P., Scaringi, G. & Narayana, A. C. Local and broad-scale anthropogenic controls on sediment transport in the Western Ghats rivers, India. Anthropocene 51, 100485 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ancene.2025.100485 (2025).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Jumani, S. et al. A new index to quantify longitudinal river fragmentation: conservation and management implications. Ecol. Indic. 136, 108680 (2022).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Jumani, S. R. Going with the Flow: Assessing River Fragmentation and its Implications for Conservation (Univ. Florida, 2022).

Abell, R. et al. Freshwater ecoregions of the world: a new map of biogeographic units for freshwater biodiversity conservation. BioScience 58, 403–414 (2008).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Jumani, S. et al. Fish community responses to stream flow alterations and habitat modifications by small hydropower projects in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot, India. Aquat. Conserv. Mar. Freshw. Ecosyst. 28, 979–993 (2018).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Rao, S., Krishnaswamy, J. & Bhalla, R. S. Linking flow alteration with fish assemblage structure in a river regulated by a small hydropower project in the Western Ghats of Karnataka, India. River Res. Appl. 38, 138–151 (2022).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Sivakumar, N., Das, D., Padhy, N. P., Senthil Kumar, A. R. & Bisoyi, N. Status of pumped hydro-storage schemes and its future in India. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 19, 208–213 (2013).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Pandey, V., Sircar, A., Yadav, K. & Bist, N. Pumped hydro storage for intermittent renewable energy: Present status and future potential in India. MRS Energy Sustain. 10, 189–206 (2023).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Cheluvaraju, R. & Satish, M. Yettinahole integrated drinking water project — issues and challenges in harnessing west flowing rivers in Karnataka state. NDCWWC J. 4, 15–19 (2015).


Google Scholar
 

Krishnaswamy, J. et al. Non-stationary and non-linear influence of ENSO and Indian Ocean dipole on the variability of Indian monsoon rainfall and extreme rain events. Clim. Dyn. 45, 175–184 (2015).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Varikoden, H., Revadekar, J. V., Kuttippurath, J. & Babu, C. A. Contrasting trends in southwest monsoon rainfall over the Western Ghats region of India. Clim. Dyn. 52, 4557–4566 (2019).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Chandu, N., Eldho, T. I. & Mondal, A. A regional scale impact and uncertainty assessment of climate change in the Western Ghats in India. Environ. Monit. Assess. 195, 555 (2023).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Shetty, S., Umesh, P. & Shetty, A. Future transition in climate extremes over Western Ghats of India based on CMIP6 models. Environ. Monit. Assess. 195, 578 (2023).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Kashyap, R. & Kuttippurath, J. Weakening of forest carbon stocks due to declining ecosystem photosynthetic efficiency under the current and future climate change scenarios in India. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 222, 108478 (2025).

Article 
CAS 

Google Scholar
 

Javad, A. et al. Leaf temperatures in an Indian tropical forest exceed physiological limits but durations of exposures are currently not sufficient to cause lasting damage. Glob. Change Biol. 31, e70069 (2025).

Article 
CAS 

Google Scholar
 

Sreekumar, E. R. & Nameer, P. O. Impact of climate change on two high-altitude restricted and endemic flycatchers of the Western Ghats, India. Curr. Sci. 121, 1335–1342 (2021).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Raman, S., Shameer, T. T., Charles, B. & Sanil, R. Habitat suitability model of endangered Latidens salimalii and the probable consequences of global warming. Trop. Ecol. 61, 570–582 (2020).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Jose, P. A., Anuraj, K. & Praveena, S. in Forests and Climate Change: Biological Perspectives on Impact, Adaptation, and Mitigation Strategies (ed. Singh, H.) 187–202 (Springer Nature Singapore, 2024).

Arasumani, M. et al. Not seeing the grass for the trees: timber plantations and agriculture shrink tropical montane grassland by two-thirds over four decades in the Palani Hills, a Western Ghats Sky Island. PLoS ONE 13, e0190003 (2018).

Article 
CAS 

Google Scholar
 

Joshi, A. A., Sankaran, M. & Ratnam, J. ‘Foresting’ the grassland: historical management legacies in forest-grassland mosaics in southern India, and lessons for the conservation of tropical grassy biomes. Biol. Conserv. 224, 144–152 (2018).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Lenzner, B. et al. Naturalized alien floras still carry the legacy of European colonialism. Nat. Ecol. Evol. 6, 1723–1732 (2022).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Thomas, S. M. & Palmer, M. W. The montane grasslands of the Western Ghats, India: community ecology and conservation. Community Ecol. 8, 67–73 (2007).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Sukumar, R., Ramesh, R., Pant, R. K. & Rajagopalan, G. A δ13C record of late Quaternary climate change from tropical peats in southern India. Nature 364, 703–706 (1993).

Article 
CAS 

Google Scholar
 

Sukumar, R., Suresh, H. S. & Ramesh, R. Climate change and its impact on tropical montane ecosystems in Southern India. J. Biogeogr. 22, 533 (1995).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Joshi, A. A., Mudappa, D. & Raman, T. S. Invasive alien species in relation to edges and forest structure in tropical rainforest fragments of the Western Ghats. Trop. Ecol. 56, 233–244 (2015).


Google Scholar
 

Krishna, Y. C., Krishnaswamy, J. & Kumar, N. S. Habitat factors affecting site occupancy and relative abundance of four-horned antelope. J. Zool. 276, 63–70 (2008).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Barik, S. et al. Spatio-temporal habitat assessment of a tropical megaherbivore, Indian gaur in Bandipur Tiger Reserve, southern India. For. Ecol. Manag. 597, 123177 (2025).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Bunyan, M., Bardhan, S. & Jose, S. The shola (tropical montane forest)-grassland ecosystem mosaic of peninsular India: a review. Am. J. Plant. Sci. 3, 1632–1639 (2012).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Robin, V. V. & Nandini, R. Shola habitats on sky islands: status of research on montane forests and grasslands in southern India. Curr. Sci. 103, 1427–1437 (2012).


Google Scholar
 

Schmerbeck, J., Saha, S., Srimathi, A., Einhellinger, B. & Hangsing, M. Tropical montane forest (Shola) tree species can regenerate under abandoned exotic tree plantations in the Western Ghats of India. Int. J. Res. 97, 388–400 (2024).


Google Scholar
 

Raghurama, M. & Sankaran, M. Invasive nitrogen-fixing plants increase nitrogen availability and cycling rates in a montane tropical grassland. Plant. Ecol. 223, 13–26 (2022).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Anoop, N. R., Sen, S., Vinayan, P. A. & Ganesh, T. Native mammals disperse the highly invasive Senna spectabilis in the Western Ghats, India. Biotropica 54, 1310–1314 (2022).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Hiremath, A. J. & Sundaram, B. The fire-lantana cycle hypothesis in Indian forests. Conserv. Soc. 3, 26–42 (2005).


Google Scholar
 

Sriramamurthy, R. T., Bhalla, R. S. & Sankaran, M. Fire differentially affects mortality and seedling regeneration of three woody invaders in forest–grassland mosaics of the southern Western Ghats, India. Biol. Invasions 22, 1623–1634 (2020).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Rajashekar, P. et al. Decadal scale fire dynamics in savannas and forests of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, India. Int. J. Wildland Fire 34, WF24174 (2025).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Murugan, R., Beggi, F., Prabakaran, N., Maqsood, S. & Joergensen, R. G. Changes in plant community and soil ecological indicators in response to Prosopis juliflora and Acacia mearnsii invasion and removal in two biodiversity hotspots in Southern India. Soil. Ecol. Lett. 2, 61–72 (2020).

Article 
CAS 

Google Scholar
 

Surya Prabha, A. C., Arulmani, K., Senthivelu, M., Velumani, R. & Pragadeesh, S. Soil properties of shola forests invaded by black wattle (Acacia mearnsii) in the Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu, India. Appl. Ecol. Environ. Res. 20, 251–263 (2022).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Nayak, R. R., Krishnaswamy, J., Vaidyanathan, S., Chappell, N. A. & Bhalla, R. S. Invasion of natural grasslands by exotic trees increases flood risks in mountainous landscapes in South India. J. Hydrol. 617, 128944 (2023).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Raj, S. et al. Distribution of alien invasive species in aquatic ecosystems of the southern Western Ghats, India. Aquat. Ecosyst. Health Manag. 24, 64–75 (2021).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Russell, D. J., Thuesen, P. A. & Thomson, F. E. A review of the biology, ecology, distribution and control of Mozambique tilapia, Oreochromis mossambicus (Peters 1852) (Pisces: Cichlidae) with particular emphasis on invasive Australian populations. Rev. Fish. Biol. Fish. 22, 533–554 (2012).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Khan, M. F. et al. Modeling impacts of invasive sharp tooth African catfish Clarias gariepinus (Burchell 1822) and Mozambique tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus (Peters, 1852) on the ecosystem of a tropical reservoir ecosystem in India. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 28, 58310–58321 (2021).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Chandran, M. D. S. & Mesta, D. K. in Forest Genetic Resources: Status, Threats, and Conservation Strategies (eds Uma Shaanker, R. et al.) 1–19 (Oxford and IBH, 2001).

Ranganathan, P., Ravikanth, G. & Aravind, N. A. A review of research and conservation of Myristica swamps, a threatened freshwater swamp of the Western Ghats, India. Wetl. Ecol. Manag. 30, 171–189 (2022).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Jithin, V., Rane, M., Watve, A. & Naniwadekar, R. Orchards and paddy differentially impact rock outcrop amphibians: insights from community- and species-level responses. Ecol. Appl. 35, 3058 (2025).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Aylett, L., Montagna, M., Murai, M. & Badman, T. IUCN World Heritage Outlook 4: A Conservation Assessment of All Natural World Heritage Sites https://doi.org/10.2305/NYKJ7099 (IUCN, 2025).

Das, A. et al. Prioritisation of conservation areas in the Western Ghats, India. Biol. Conserv. 133, 16–31 (2006).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Bawa, K. S., Joseph, G. & Setty, S. Poverty, biodiversity and institutions in forest-agriculture ecotones in the Western Ghats and Eastern Himalaya ranges of India. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 121, 287–295 (2007).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Gubbi, S., Mukherjee, K., Swaminath, M. H. & Poornesha, H. C. Providing more protected space for tigers Panthera tigris: a landscape conservation approach in the Western Ghats, southern India. Oryx 50, 336–343 (2016).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Jhala, Y. V., Qureshi, Q. & Yadav, S. P. Status of Leopards, Co-Predators, and Megaherbivores in India, 2018 (National Tiger Conservation Authority, Wildlife Institute of India, 2021).

Srivathsa, A. et al. Prioritizing India’s landscapes for biodiversity, ecosystem services and human well-being. Nat. Sustain. 6, 568–577 (2023).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Gadgil, M. Report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP, 2011).

High Level Working Group on Western Ghats. Report of the High Level Working Group on Western Ghats https://moef.gov.in/uploads/2021/08/1-HLWG-Report-Part-1_0.pdf (Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, 2013).

Watve, A. Status review of Rocky plateaus in the northern Western Ghats and Konkan region of Maharashtra, India with recommendations for conservation and management. J. Threat. Taxa 5, 3935–3962 (2013).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Raghavan, R., Das, S., Nameer, P. O., Bijukumar, A. & Dahanukar, N. Protected areas and imperilled endemic freshwater biodiversity in the Western Ghats Hotspot. Aquat. Conserv. Mar. Freshw. Ecosyst. 26, 78–90 (2016).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Bonn Challenge. India Brings Over 21 Million Hectares of Land Under Restoration Under the Bonn Challenge. Bonn Challenge Official Website https://www.bonnchallenge.org/resources/india-brings-over-21-million-hectares-land-under-restoration-under-bonn-challenge (2026).

Hariharan, P. & Raman, T. R. S. Active restoration fosters better recovery of tropical rainforest birds than natural regeneration in degraded forest fragments. J. Appl. Ecol. 59, 274–285 (2022).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Tamil Nadu Forest Department. Invasive species. forests.tn.gov.in https://www.forests.tn.gov.in/pages/view/INVASIVESPECIES (2026).

Choksi, P. et al. Combining socioeconomic and biophysical data to identify people-centric restoration opportunities. NPJ Biodivers. 2, 7 (2023).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Gulhane, S. A. & Dhyani, S. Toward resilient landscapes: unpacking India’s land degradation challenges, restoration policies, and future directions. Anthr. Sci. 4, 334–343 (2026).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Shantha Kumari, K. G., Jaheer Mukthar, K. P. & El Rahhani, G. N. in Business Development via AI and Digitalization vol. 2 (eds. Hamdan, A. & Harraf, A.) 283–293 (Springer Nature, 2024).

Bawa, K. S. et al. Ecosystem Profile: Western Ghats and Sri Lanka Biodiversity Hotspot — Western Ghats Region https://www.cepf.net/resources/donor-council/dcec14h-western-ghats-ecosystem-profile (Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, 2007).

Seshadri, K. S. & Ganesh, T. in Handbook of Road Ecology (eds van der Ree, R. et al.) 425–429 (John Wiley & Sons, 2015).

Johnsingh, A. J. T. & Williams, A. C. Elephant corridors in India: lessons for other elephant range countries. Oryx 33, 210–214 (1999).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Midha, N., Kumar, N. K., Boominathan, D., Thomas, S. & Jain, C. Kallar elephant corridor in the Western Ghats, India. Curr. Sci. 115, 2211–2218 (2018).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Raman, T. R. S. & Mudappa, D. Bridging the gap: sharing responsibility for ecological restoration and wildlife conservation on private lands in the Western Ghats. Soc. Change 33, 129–141 (2003).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Jeganathan, P., Mudappa, D., Ananda Kumar, M. & Shankar Raman, T. R. Seasonal variation in wildlife roadkills in plantations and tropical rainforest in the Anamalai Hills, Western Ghats, India. Curr. Sci. 114, 619 (2018).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Pardikar, R. Saving the Lion-Tailed Macaque, One Step at a Time. Round Glass Sustain https://roundglasssustain.com/conservation/lion-tailed-macaques-canopy-bridges (2024).

Siddhartha, A. Capturing land for elephant corridors in South India through the conservation-agrarian squeeze. Environ. Manage. 75, 2749–2762 (2025).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Jumani, S. et al. River fragmentation and flow alteration metrics: a review of methods and directions for future research. Environ. Res. Lett. 15, 123009 (2020).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Atkore, V., Kelkar, N., Badiger, S., Shanker, K. & Krishnaswamy, J. Multiscale investigation of water chemistry effects on fish guild species richness in regulated and nonregulated Rivers of India’s Western Ghats: implications for restoration. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 149, 298–319 (2020).

Article 
CAS 

Google Scholar
 

Atkore, V., Kelkar, N. & Krishnaswamy, J. Assessing the recovery of fish assemblages downstream of hydrological barriers in India’s Western Ghats. River Res. Appl. 33, 1026–1035 (2017).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Cavender-Bares, J. et al. Spectral biology across scales in changing environments. Ecology 106, e70078 (2025).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Ayushi, K. et al. Remote sensing based characterisation of community level phenological variations in a regional forest landscape of Western Ghats, India. Geocarto Int. 37, 16620–16635 (2022).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Zheng, T. et al. Variability in forest plant traits along the Western Ghats of India and their environmental drivers at different resolutions. J. Geophys. Res. Biogeosci. 129, e2023JG007753 (2024).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Baldo, M. et al. Remote sensing analysis on primary productivity and forest cover dynamics: a Western Ghats India case study. Ecol. Inf. 73, 101922 (2023).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Sreekumar, A., Thirugnanam, H., Meena, S. R. & Ramesh, M. V. Enhancing landslide detection in Western Ghats of Kerala, India with deep learning and explainable AI. Sci. Rep. 15, 45151 (2025).

Article 
CAS 

Google Scholar
 

Rodda, S. R. et al. LiDAR-based reference aboveground biomass maps for tropical forests of South Asia and Central Africa. Sci. Data 11, 334 (2024).

Article 
CAS 

Google Scholar
 

Liang, X. et al. Multi-source remote sensing and GIS for forest carbon monitoring toward carbon neutrality. Forests 16, 971 (2025).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Sujith, A., Sajeev, S. & Vishnu, O. V. Forest fire early detection system using wireless beacon network and UAV based object detection. in 5th World Congress on Disaster Management: Volume II (ed. Ananda Babu, S.) 560–567 (Routledge, 2022).

Babu, K. N., Gour, R., Ayushi, K., Ayyappan, N. & Parthasarathy, N. Environmental drivers and spatial prediction of forest fires in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot, India: an ensemble machine learning approach. Ecol. Manage. 540, 121057 (2023).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Sreekandan, N. BatEchoMon, India’s First Automated Bat Monitoring, Detection System. thehindu.com https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/batechomon-india-first-automated-bat-monitoring-detection-system/article69445704.ece (2025).

Selvi, S. C., Surya, T. & Kumar, R. S. A real-time thermal image processing using deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) for monitoring intrusion of elephant. In Engineering, Applied Sciences and System Modeling (eds Asirvatham, D. et al.) 333–347 (Springer Nature, 2017).

Muliya, S. K. et al. Satellite-telemetry and mass communication based early warning system for human-elephant coexistence in Southern India’s agroforestry landscapes. Front. Conserv. Sci. 6, 1640741 (2026).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Ramesh, V. et al. Using passive acoustic monitoring to examine the impacts of ecological restoration on faunal biodiversity in the Western Ghats. Biol. Conserv. 282, 110071 (2023).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Raman, S. & Hughes, A. C. Echobank for the bats of Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot, India. Acta Chiropterol. https://doi.org/10.3161/15081109ACC2020.22.2.010 (2020).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

eBird. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance. Cornell Lab of Ornithology http://www.ebird.org (2026).

State of India’s Birds. State of India’s Birds 2023: Range, Trends, and Conservation Status. birding.co.in https://birding.co.in/wp-content/uploads/state-bird-report-2023.pdf (2023).

Jambhekar, R., Naidu, D. G. T. & Krishnaswamy, J. Effects of heat stress and green cover on urban birds in the megacity of Bengaluru. Ecol. Appl. 35, e70039 (2025).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Praveen, J. et al. Kerala Bird Atlas 2015–20: features, outcomes and implications of a citizen-science project. Curr. Sci. 122, 298 (2022).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Anand, M. O., Krishnaswamy, J., Kumar, A. & Bali, A. Sustaining biodiversity conservation in human-modified landscapes in the Western Ghats: remnant forests matter. Biol. Conserv. 143, 2363–2374 (2010).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Karanth, K. K. et al. Producing diversity: agroforests sustain avian richness and abundance in India’s Western Ghats. Front. Ecol. Evol. 4, 111 (2016).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Chang, C. H., Karanth, K. K. & Robbins, P. Birds and beans: comparing avian richness and endemism in arabica and robusta agroforests in India’s Western Ghats. Sci. Rep. 8, 3143 (2018).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Bose, A., Vira, B. & Garcia, C. Does environmental certification in coffee promote “business as usual”? A case study from the Western Ghats, India. Ambio 45, 946–955 (2016).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Marie-Vivien, D., Garcia, C. A., Kushalappa, C. G. & Vaast, P. Trademarks, geographical indications and environmental labelling to promote biodiversity: the case of agroforestry coffee in India. Dev. Policy Rev. 32, 379–398 (2014).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Garcia, C. A. et al. Biodiversity conservation in agricultural landscapes: challenges and opportunities of coffee agroforests in the Western Ghats, India. Conserv. Biol. 24, 479–488 (2010).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Nath, C. D. Conserving Native Trees in Shade Coffee Landscapes of Kodagu, Western Ghats (CEPF–ATREE, 2010).

Mudappa, D. & Raman, T. R. S. Rainforest restoration and wildlife conservation on private lands in the Western Ghats. in Making Conservation Work (eds Shahabuddin, G. & Rangarajan, M.) 210–240 (Permanent Black, 2007).

Kanagavel, A., Joseph, S., Pandya, R. & Raghavn, R. Potential for community and conservation reserves in the Western Ghats, India. Asian J. Conserv. Biol. 61–68 (2013).

Bhagwat, S. A., Kushalappa, C. G., Williams, P. H. & Brown, N. D. A landscape approach to biodiversity conservation of sacred groves in the Western Ghats of India. Conserv. Biol. 19, 1853–1862 (2005).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Bhagwat, S. A., Nogué, S. & Willis, K. J. Cultural drivers of reforestation in tropical forest groves of the Western Ghats of India. For. Ecol. Manag. 329, 393–400 (2014).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Convention on Biological Diversity. Protected Areas and Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures. cbd.int https://www.cbd.int/doc/decisions/cop-14/cop-14-dec-08-en.pdf (2018).

Cook, C. N. Progress developing the concept of other effective area-based conservation measures. Conserv. Biol. 38, e14106 (2024).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Athreya, V. R., Thakur, S. S., Chaudhuri, S. & Belsare, A. V. Leopards in human-dominated areas: a spillover from sustained translocations into nearby forests? J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 104, 45–50 (2007).


Google Scholar
 

Watve, M. Human wildlife conflict in India: do we need to debunk popular “ecological” theories implicit in conservation management? Preprint at EcoEvoRxiv https://doi.org/10.32942/X2PS95 (2026).

Watve, M. & Prabhulkar, S. Large carnivores and farmer-pastoral communites: The co-existence tipping points. Preprint at SSRN https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.6598938 (2026).

Patil, M., Kanhere, A., Visave, A. & Watve, M. The human wildlife conflict: towards a theoretical foundation. Preprint at EcoEvoRxiv https://doi.org/10.32942/X2809H (2026).

Sukumar, R. The Living Elephants: Evolutionary Ecology, Behavior, and Conservation (Oxford Univ. Press, 2003).

Menon, V. et al. Right of Passage: Elephant Corridors of India (Wildlife Trust of India, 2017).

Rani, M. et al. Assessment and prediction of human-elephant conflict hotspots in the human-dominated area of Rajaji-Corbett landscape, Uttarakhand, India. J. Nat. Conserv. 79, 126601 (2024).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Kerala Legislative Assembly. The Wild Life Protection (Kerala Amendment) Bill (Secretariat of the Kerala Legislature, 2025).

Mundoli, S., Joseph, G. & Setty, S. “Shifting agriculture”: the changing dynamics of Adivasi farming in the forest-fringes of a tiger reserve in South India. Agroecol. Sustain. Food Syst. 40, 759–782 (2016).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Jagadeesh, S. N. Changing natures: a perspective on youth and conservation futures. Front. Hum. Dyn. 6, 1290856 (2024).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Ministry of Tribal Affairs. Annual Report 2022–2023 https://tribal.nic.in/downloads/Statistics/AnnualReport/AREnglish2223.pdf (Government of India, 2023).

Dutt, B. Rewilding: India’s Experiments in Saving Nature (Oxford Univ. Press, 2019).

Sahyadri Tiger Reserve. STR Management Activities: Best Practices. Sahyadri Tiger Reserve Official Website https://sahyadritigers.org (2023).

Jarvis, A., Reuter, H. I., Nelson, A. & Guevara, E. Hole-filled SRTM for the Globe Version 4 (CGIAR-CSI SRTM 90 m Database, 2008).

Funk, C. et al. The climate hazards infrared precipitation with stations—a new environmental record for monitoring extremes. Sci. Data 2, 150066 (2015).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Sen, P. K. Estimates of the regression coefficient based on Kendall’s tau. J. Am. Stat. Assoc. 63, 1379–1389 (1968).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). (2019) ERA5-Land hourly data from 1950 to present. Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) Climate Data Store (CDS) https://doi.org/10.24381/cds.e2161bac (2026).

Navarro Racines, C. E., Tarapues Montenegro, J. E., Thornton, P., Jarvis, A. & Ramirez Villegas, J. CCAFS-CMIP5 Delta Method Downscaling for Monthly Averages and Bioclimatic Indices of Four RCPs (World Data Center for Climate (WDCC) at DKRZ, 2019).

Wildlife Institute of India. Protected Area in India (National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary). Environmental Justice Atlas GeoNode (EJAtlas) https://geo.ejatlas.org/layers/geonode_data:geonode:Protected_Area_India_Final (2020).

Robin, V. V. et al. Two new genera of songbirds represent endemic radiations from the Shola Sky Islands of the Western Ghats, India. BMC Ecol. Evol. 17, 31 (2017).

CAS 

Google Scholar
 

Das, A. A. & Ratnam, J. The thermal niche and phylogenetic assembly of evergreen tree metacommunities in a mid-to-upper tropical montane zone. Proc. R. Soc. B Biol. Sci. 289, 20220038 (2022).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Shigwan, B. K., Kulkarni, A., Vijayan, S., Choudhary, R. K. & Datar, M. N. An assessment of the local endemism of flowering plants in the Northern Western Ghats and Konkan regions of India: checklist, habitat characteristics, distribution, and conservation. Phytotaxa 440, 25–54 (2020).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Kulkarni, M., Paripatyadar, S., Naniwadekar, N. & Joshi, J. Local-scale abiotic factors influence the organisation of rock pool arthropod communities in a biodiversity hotspot. Limnol. Oceanogr. 68, 2375–2388 (2023).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Lekhak, M. M. & Yadav, S. R. Herbaceous vegetation of threatened high altitude lateritic plateau ecosystems of Western Ghats, southwestern Maharashtra, India. Rheedea 22, 39–61 (2012).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Anand, M. O., Krishnaswamy, J. & Das, A. Proximity to forests drives bird conservation value of coffee plantations: implications for certification. Ecol. Appl. 18, 1754–1763 (2008).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Sankararaman, V., Dalvi, S., Miller, D. A. & Karanth, K. K. Local and landscape characteristics shape amphibian communities across production landscapes in the Western Ghats. Ecol. Solut. Evid. 2, 12110 (2021).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Bali, A., Kumar, A. & Krishnaswamy, J. The mammalian communities in coffee plantations around a protected area in the Western Ghats, India. Biol. Conserv. 139, 93–102 (2007).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Narayanan, H. R., Krishnan, S. & Osuri, A. M. Nocturnal insect communities altered by land-use change contribute little to coffee pollination in the Western Ghats, India. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 396, 109966 (2026).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Rege, A., Punjabi, G. A., Jathanna, D. & Kumar, A. Mammals make use of cashew plantations in a mixed forest–cashew landscape. Front. Environ. Sci. 8, 556942 (2020).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Wordley, C. F., Sankaran, M., Mudappa, D. & Altringham, J. D. Landscape scale habitat suitability modelling of bats in the Western Ghats of India: bats like something in their tea. Biol. Conserv. 191, 529–536 (2015).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Gosavi, N., Lad, H., Jithin, V. & Naniwadekar, R. Effects of tree plantations on population and roosting ecology of an endemic agamid lizard in the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot. J. Zool. 328, 67–75 (2026).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Deshpande, K., Kelkar, N., Krishnaswamy, J. & Sankaran, M. Stretching the habitat envelope: insectivorous bat guilds can use rubber plantations, but need understorey vegetation and forest buffers. Front. Conserv. Sci. 2, 751694 (2021).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Shiligireddy, K. K. R., Gupta, H., Venkat, D., Kurakalva, R. M. & Kumar, D. Natural and anthropogenic influences on nutrient export from tropical mountainous rivers into the Arabian Sea. Preprint at ESS Open Arch. https://doi.org/10.1002/essoar.10504938.1 (2022).

Krishnaswamy, J. et al. The groundwater recharge response and hydrologic services of tropical humid forest ecosystems to use and reforestation: support for the “infiltration-evapotranspiration trade-off hypothesis”. J. Hydrol. 498, 191–209 (2013).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Chacko, S., Ravichandran, C., Kurian, J. & Vairavel, S. M. Quantifying and mapping sediment retention ecosystem services in a mountain landscape of Southern Western Ghats, India. Ecol. Environ. Conserv. 26, S369–S377 (2020).


Google Scholar
 

Spracklen, D. V., Arnold, S. R. & Taylor, C. M. Observations of increased tropical rainfall preceded by air passage over forests. Nature 489, 282–285 (2012).

Article 
CAS 

Google Scholar
 

Spracklen, D. V., Baker, J. C. A., Garcia-Carreras, L. & Marsham, J. H. The effects of tropical vegetation on rainfall. Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour. 43, 193–218 (2018).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Smith, C., Baker, J. C. A. & Spracklen, D. V. Tropical deforestation causes large reductions in observed precipitation. Nature 615, 270–275 (2023).

Article 
CAS 

Google Scholar
 

Sandra, P. R., Shankar, A., Garkoti, S. C. & Adarsh, C. K. Understanding the effects of forest types, vegetation structural diversity, and soil properties on above-and below-ground carbon stock of moist deciduous forest ecosystems in Western Ghats, India. Catena 257, 109198 (2025).

Article 
CAS 

Google Scholar
 

Osuri, A. M., Kumar, V. S. & Sankaran, T. R. Altered stand structure and tree allometry reduce carbon storage in evergreen forest fragments in India’s Western Ghats. For. Ecol. Manag. 329, 375–383 (2014).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Sikka, A. K., Samra, J. S., Sharda, V. N., Samraj, P. & Lakshmanan, V. Low flow and high flow responses to converting natural grassland into bluegum (Eucalyptus globulus) in Nilgiris watersheds of South India. J. Hydrol. 270, 12–26 (2003).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Samraj, P., Sharda, V. N., Chinnamani, S., Lakshmanan, V. & Haldorai, B. Hydrological behaviour of the Nilgiri sub-watersheds as affected by bluegum plantations, Part I. The annual water balance. J. Hydrol. 103, 335–345 (1988).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Sharda, V. N., Samraj, P., Samra, J. S. & Lakshmanan, V. Hydrological behaviour of first generation coppiced bluegum plantations in the Nilgiri sub-watersheds. J. Hydrol. 211, 50–60 (1998).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Senay, G. B. et al. Operational evapotranspiration mapping using remote sensing and weather datasets: a new parameterization for the SSEB approach. J. Am. Water Resour. Assoc. 49, 577–591 (2013).

Article 

Google Scholar
 

Spawn, S. A. & Gibbs, H. K. Global Aboveground and Belowground Biomass Carbon Density Maps for the Year 2010. earthdata.nasa.gov https://doi.org/10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1763 (2020).