Ancient Sacred Groves in Western Ghats Outpace Villages in Forest Regeneration

Small patches of untouched forest protected by local communities in the Western Ghats are doing a better job of growing future forests than surrounding villages and farms, a new study reveals. Researchers found that young trees regenerate far more successfully inside these sacred groves. Seeds dropped by fruit-eating birds are much likelier to survive there because the ground stays undisturbed without livestock, foot trails, or cleared undergrowth. The mountain range runs about 1,600 kilometres down India's west coast across six states. The research started by chance when a team from the Applied Environmental Research Foundation, which runs a giant-tree programme, visited a man in Vanzole village with a huge beheda tree in his yard and noticed many giant trees all over the place. The study's first author, Omkar Pai, conducted field research while study co-founder Kevin Matteson of Miami University in Ohio helped direct the project. The team walked the whole village with two local experts, Namdev and Anant Shivgan, who mapped the land and led them to four sacred groves. The team measured 82 old-growth trees from 20 species that were more than one metre around. Sacred groves held more variety, with 12 species growing only inside them. Villages were dominated by planted mango and jackfruit trees, while groves featured medicinal trees like beheda. Matteson described villages as curated orchards and sacred groves as ecological time capsules. Giant trees act as ecological catcher's mitts by attracting fruit-eating birds like hornbills that spread seeds. Jayant Sarnaik, joint director at the foundation, noted that a great hornbill cannot perch on a sapling. The team counted saplings under giant trees and found fishtail palm saplings under 91 percent of grove trees compared to 47 percent in villages. For Strychnos nux-vomica, the gap was 77 percent in groves versus just five percent in villages. India has over 100,000 sacred groves protected by communities who believe trees belong to deities and ancestors. The four studied groves averaged 6,587 square metres in size. Ecologist Ditro Wibisono Wardi Parikesit compared them to spiritual forests in Indonesian Borneo, noting that cultural beliefs and fear act as protective forces. However, the groves face changes as simple shrines turn into concrete temples, which Pai warned physically removes nursery habitats by pouring concrete over root zones. Foundation director Archana Godbole stressed that conservation requires supporting the communities who maintain these groves as part of the region's ecological network.