The location specificity of the Tribhuvan College makes it an ideal place to learn about the biotic and abiotic factors of the environment, their interactions, and how anthropogenic activities have disturbed the delicate balance of our natural ecosystems. There are ample opportunities for the budding sustainability managers to study biodiversity, man-wildlife conflict, hydrology, agricultural product marketing, pollution control, climate change mitigation, natural resource management, and various other dimensions of ecological sciences.
Below is a short description of the Sariska Tiger Reserve, where we shall conduct field exercises in wildlife census and vegetation monitoring. The relevant sections of the syllabus are hyperlinked for your reference.
Sariska Tiger Reserve: Biodiversity, Hydrology, and Ecology
The Sariska Tiger Reserve (STR) is about one and a half hours away from Tribhuvan College. Situated in the Aravali Hills, The STR in Rajasthan’s Alwar district is one of the top attractions for wildlife enthusiasts, educationists, and researchers. The area was declared a tiger reserve in 1978 and comprises a total stretch of 80,000 ha (including 30,220 ha of buffer and 49,780 ha of core zones). The typical landscape of STR consists of hills, narrow valleys, plateaus, and lakes, and the vegetation is Tropical Dry Deciduous and Tropical Thorn Type. The Siliserh Lake is situated at the northern boundary of the reserve. In addition to the Tiger, Sariska is famous for Leopard, Caracal, Rusty Spotted Cat, Jungle Cat, Sambar, Spotted Deer, Wild Boar, Blue Bull, Golden Jackal, Hyena, and the Indian Rock and Monitor lizard are commonly seen in the STR. The reserve is home to over 120 species of birds, and visits of over 70 species of migratory birds have been documented. The typical flora in the STR includes the Dhok tree (dominant tree species), Indian frankincense and Indian ash tree (mostly occupy the rocky patches), Cutch tree and Bamboo (common in the valleys), Palash, and various species of Zizyphus.
The STR had lost all of its native tigers in 2005, which eventually led to disturbed prey-predator relations at various levels of the food chain. Tiger being a keystone species, its disappearance marked the onset of a chain of disturbances in the ecological balance of the STR. Realizing the gravity of the situation, the governmental agencies started exploring the possibilities of reintroducing tigers in the STR. These efforts led to the STR being the world’s first successful case of a tiger relocation program, and to date, nine tigers have been relocated to STR from the Ranthambhor Tiger reserve. More recently, the reports of villagers poisoning the tigers and the likelihood of potential inbreeding have come up. These reports are disturbing, and the very existence of Tiger in the STR is threatened. The sightings of top predators have increasingly become uncommon. In addition, the open/unclear boundaries of the STR, large reserves of limestone, and unchecked mining activities have caused substantial damage to the ecological balance and biodiversity of the reserve.
The rock formations in the area are made up of quartzite conglomerates, grits, schists, limestone, granites, and phyllites. Depending on the type of underlying rocks and the stage of weathering, the soil cover differs. Dark-colored fertile soils are characteristics of plains and river valleys that support a high degree of vegetative cover. The crystalline and metamorphic rocks are generally overlain by red sandy soils, which are inherently poor in Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Humic matter and are alkaline. The soils resulting from the weathering of schistose rocks are generally sandy or heavy loam.
The climate of the area is subtropical dry type with distinct cold (November-February), hot (March-June), and rainy (July-September) seasons. The diurnal variation in temperature is high, and winter frost is common. The bulk of rainfall is received during the S-W monsoon; however, the winter rains (N-E monsoon) are also common.
The locality also presents an excellent opportunity to study the geology and hydrology of the area. The Ruparel River runs through the middle of the Tiger Reserve in the N-S direction and is the recipient of drainage from the northern portion of the STR, while the drainage of the southern part flows into the Mansarovar Lake. The availability of water greatly varies among seasons and affects the distribution of wildlife in the STR. There is an acute shortage of fodder during the hot and dry months, and nearly all fauna occupy the regions around water bodies. A majority of the rainfall passes through the STR as runoff, owing primarily to the low permeability of the rocky formations and low water holding capacity of the soil. Water has always been a limiting factor in the STR and is often the cause of man-wildlife conflict in the region. The forest department has constructed few artificial lakes to increase the availability of water during the dry season.
Biotic Components: Wildlife at Sariska
