Sacred groves key to biodiversity conservation, says study

Sacred groves continue to play a vital role in conserving biodiversity and sustaining ecological processes even when they are spatially isolated from the Western Ghats, according to a new study by researchers at the Central University of Kerala (CUK).

The study, published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, found that these community-protected forest fragments support significantly higher predator activity than surrounding human-managed multi-storey plantations, highlighting their importance in maintaining ecosystem functions such as natural pest control.

The research was led by Palatty Allesh Sinu of the University’s Ecology Lab, along with Bhavya Lakshmi, P.V. Athira, Anju Aravindakshan, Varsha Manohar Pattar and Gopika Viswan.

Mr. Sinu said the team examined how habitat type and distance from the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot influenced predator-prey interactions.

The researchers used plasticine caterpillar models and dead mealworms as sentinel prey across Kasaragod district over a two-year period to monitor predation rates.

The study found that overall predation was consistently higher in sacred groves than in plantations. Arthropods, mainly ants, were the dominant predators, accounting for 57% to 61% of predation across both years and habitats. Birds were the second most important predatory group, contributing 22% to 35% of the total predation.

“Despite their small size, sacred groves function as vital biodiversity reserves and deliver key ecosystem services such as natural pest control,” said Mr. Sinu.

He added that Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra have the largest number of these sacred green islets, which require policy interventions based on indigenous conservation models.

The researchers stressed that protecting these traditional forest relics is essential to improving the ecological quality of human-modified landscapes and sustaining wildlife corridors.