Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Barli Pond
Inspiteofbeingsmallerinsize(0.34km
2
), 127
species of 38 families of birds were recorded out
of which only 37 species were wetland depen-
dent; other congregation of species was due to
dense vegetation and cropland around the pond.
Alpha(
ʱ
) diversity of this wetland was found to
be 3.76; the evenness was found to be ranked 3rd
compared with the other sites (
E
= 0.77)
(Table
17.3
and Fig.
17.2
). The wetland is sur-
rounded by old buildings from one side, and the
shallow end is encroached with continuation of
cropland which is a major cause of eutrophica-
tion and reduction in the quality of water due
to increasing organic material and insecticide
leaching of crop ields.
The pond is located at the latitude and longitude
coordinates of 26.62 N and 71.95 E. It is an open
shallow water pond of village Bali with gravelly
banks and open scrub. The pond is surrounded
with scrubby
Prosopis julilora
with trees of
Prosopis cineraria
and few large trees of
Ficus
benghalensis
on the check dam side near the tem-
ple. Avian diversity was observed to be increas-
ing in the past decade. Barli pond is a unique
habitat as a large number of vulture species use to
come for water from the nearby Caracas dumping
site of Keru village. During the 2008 winter,
about 1,400 Egyptian vulture (
Neophron perc-
nopterous
) congregation was observed (Singh
2009
). The pond is also site for few important
birds like steppe eagle (
Aquila nipalensis
) and
tawnyeagle(
Aquila rapax
), blue-tailed bee-eater
(
Merops philippinus
),desertwheatear(
Oenanthe
deserti
), and Isabelline chat (
Oenanthe isabel-
lina
). Due to fewer disturbances, the diversity of
this pond has not changed much in the recent
past.
About an average of 1,885 individuals of 132
species was recorded during the winter study
period out of which 64 species were wetland
dependent.Thealpha(
ʱ
) diversity was found to
be 3.54 which was ranked 5th compared to the
other study sites. The potential richness of the
site(
H
max
= 4.88) was found highest after Kaylana
Lake, and the evenness of the site was quite good
(
E
=0.72)(Table
17.3
and Fig.
17.2
). Barli pond
is culturally protected by social fencing of the
people of Barli village, yet mining and new con-
structions may pose some disturbance to the
existing diversity in the near future.
Khejarli Pond
Thepondissmallsized(0.5km
2
) located between
26° 8′ 59
″
N 73° 8′ 41
″
E, 26 km southeast of
thecityofJodhpurinKhejarlivillage(Table
17.3
).
The village is also known internationally for their
dedication in saving trees from cutting; the
Chipko movement
headed by a local woman
called “Amrita Devi” protested against the tree-
felling and gave her life in protection of tree
along with 300 other villagers. The pond though
is very small and mostly dry during the winters as
it is rain dependent yet is abode for birds like
demoiselle cranes, cormorants, and dwindling
ducks. Due to fare protection by the villagers to
wildlife, the number of Indian peafowl is higher.
The pond is small in size with muddy banks with
surrounding vegetation of shrubs
Prosopis juli-
lora, Calotropis procera,
and
Capparis decidua
and trees of
Prosopis cineraria
and
Salvadora
oleoides
.Alpha(
ʱ
) diversity of this wetland was
found to be 3.66, with 89 bird species of 41 fami-
lies recorded during the study duration out of
which 69 species were wetland dependent spe-
cies; the evenness was found to be high and
ranked second among the other wetlands due to
distribution of species in the wetland (
E
= 0.81)
(Table
17.3
and Fig.
17.2
). There is no threat to
the wetland except the continuous supply of
water to the wetland.
Soor Sagar Pond
The pond is located between 26° 18′ 55″ N
73° 0′ 20″ E about 6 km north of Jodhpur main
city. The pond is surrounded by crop lands and
human residences. White pelicans, cormorants,
pochards, moorhens, and other dwindling ducks
are the major species composition of this pond.
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