CEROS

Effects of local and landscape-level drivers in influencing bird diversity and persistence in cashew plantations of northern Western Ghats.

Project Timeline: January-April 2024

People: Nandita Madhu, Vishal Sadekar, Rohit Naniwadekar

Collaborators: Anushka Rege, Rajah Jayapal

Funding: Wildlife Institute of India, Godrej Consumer Products Limited and Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies

What We Do?

Agriculture is responsible for about 60% of tropical forest loss globally. In forest-agriculture mosaics such as the cashew plantation-forest mosaics in the northern Western Ghats, conservation strategies may vary from farm-level habitat diversification to retaining landscape-level wildlife friendly elements. In the landscape of Dodamarg, southern Maharashtra, tropical moist forests are interspersed with monocultures and agroforests of cashew. Our study aimed to assess the influence of site- and landscape-level factors in this landscape on bird species diversity and persistence.

Why This Matters?

Agriculture is responsible for about 60% of tropical forest loss globally. In forest-agriculture mosaics such as the cashew plantation-forest mosaics in the northern Western Ghats, conservation strategies may vary from farm-level habitat diversification to retaining landscape-level wildlife friendly elements. In the landscape of Dodamarg, southern Maharashtra, tropical moist forests are interspersed with monocultures and agroforests of cashew. Our study aimed to assess the influence of site- and landscape-level factors in this landscape on bird species diversity and persistence. Bird species composition varied across forests, agroforests and monocultures. 

Key Findings 

  • Bird species composition varied across forests, agroforests and monocultures. 

  • We found that native trees and canopy cover within plantations boosted taxonomic and phylogenetic diversities and forest specialists such as Trogons and Hornbills benefitted from the prevalence of native trees. 

Publications

Madhu, N., Sadekar, V., Biswas, N., Jayapal, R., Rege, A., & Naniwadekar, R. (2025). Native trees within plantations and surrounding forest cover are essential for bird conservation in cashew-dominated landscapes within a biodiversity hotspot. Forest Ecology and Management, 593, 122878. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2025.122878  

Field researchers sampling birds in a cashew plantation.