The rocky plateaus in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot (India) are ecologically unique and important for many organisms. For example, ~70 plant species found on these plateaus are endemic. Though they may appear as bare landscapes during summer (left), microhabitats like loose rocks, pools, streams, and ephemeral vegetation play critical roles in supporting biodiversity, including amphibians, during the monsoon (middle and right). Photo credit: Vijayan Jithin and Aparna Watve.
CEROS

Ecology and Conservation of Low-elevation Lateritic Plateaus

Timeline: 2022–2025

People: Jithin Vijayan, Rohit Naniwadekar

Collaborators: Manali Rane, Aparna Watve, Varad Giri, Kerala Sasthra Sahitya Parishad

Funding: On the Edge Conservation (UK), The Habitats Trust, Bombay Environmental Action Group

“We have found that species like the Saw-scaled Viper are impacted by land use change on lateritic plateaus”
Minervarya gomantaki, an endemic frog found on the plateaus that is negatively impacted by land-use change.
Loose rocks are critical microhabitats for the biodiversity on plateaus that are often removed by local communities for construction and other purposes.
The Critically Endangered Satara Gecko (Hemidactylus sataraensis) restricted to a few high-elevation plateaus in Satara District of Maharashtra.
The conversion of rocky outcrops to paddy fields and agroforestry (mango and cashew) plantations presents contrasting types of disturbances: one where the open ecosystem is converted to tree-based agriculture, and another where the paddy remains inundated with water for a prolonged period. Orchards (upper right) are a significant income source, which are established by blasting the plateau and are rapidly expanding. On the other hand paddy cultivation (lower right) is gradually being phased out of the landscape. Photo credit: Vijayan Jithin and Rohit Naniwadekar.

What We Do?

Low-elevation lateritic plateaus (“Sada”) of Konkan are ecologically unique, rocky habitats harbouring endemic flora and fauna, yet they remain unprotected and often labelled as “wastelands.” We studied how agricultural land-use change, paddy conversion, paddy abandonment, and mango/cashew orchards affects amphibians, rock-dwelling fauna, and the ecology of tadpoles inhabiting seasonal rock pools. We also evaluated long-running conservation education programmes on rocky outcrops in Kerala (Kannur) to understand their influence on children’s learning and conservation attitudes.

Why This Matters?

These plateaus combine high species endemism, prehistoric geoglyph heritage, and rapid land-use change. Our findings have informed proposals for declaring selected plateaus as Biodiversity Heritage Sites and guide future conservation and outreach strategies.

Key Findings:

• Land-use changes drastically alter amphibian communities and microhabitats.

• Removal of rocks for agriculture reduces abundance of rock-dwelling reptiles and invertebrates.

• First ecological documentation of tadpole ecology in rock pools.

• Conservation education on rocky plateaus shows strong relational values and improves children’s socio-ecological understanding.

Publications

  1. Jithin, V., Rane, M., Watve, A., & Naniwadekar, R. (2025). Orchards and paddy differentially impact rock outcrop amphibians: Insights from community‐and species‐level responses. Ecological Applications, 35(1), e3058. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.3058

  2. Jithin, V., Rane, M., Watve, A., Giri, V. B., & Naniwadekar, R. (2023). Between a rock and a hard place: Comparing rock-dwelling animal prevalence across abandoned paddy, orchards, and rock outcrops in a biodiversity hotspot. Global Ecology and Conservation, 46, e02582. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02582 

  3. Jithin, V., & Naniwadekar, R. (2025). Effects of abiotic and biotic factors on tadpole occurrence and abundance in seasonal rock pools of rock outcrops, northern Western Ghats. Aquatic Ecology, 59(2), 797-803. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-025-10195-w 

  4. Jithin, V., & Naniwadekar, R. (2025). Listening to children’s and educators’ experiences in long-term place-based conservation education sessions on southern Indian rocky outcrops. bioRxiv, 2025-08. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.05.664756 

  5. Jithin, V., Rane, M., Watve, A., & Naniwadekar, R. (2025). Traditional Paddy Cultivation and Recent Agroforestry Plantations Differentially Impact Rock Outcrop Amphibians. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, 106(1), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.2208 

  6. Jithin, V.; Watve, A. (2024). Between a rock and a hard place. What can turning rocks tell us about land-use change impacts on animals living in a rock outcrop?. OCELOTS, Quantitative Undergraduate Biology Education and Synthesis (QUBES) Educational Resources. http://dx.doi.org/10.25334/VHD5-K932 

  7. Between a rock and a hard place | Land Use Change in rocky outcrops of the Northern Western Ghats (2026). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXd0hs72QzM

  8. Ecological Applications - Rocky Outcrop Amphibians and Agricultural Land-use Change (2024). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8RqvmUwje8