Hill myna of Bastar makes snags as their roost and nest. I am told that one of the reasons of the breed almost disappearing from Bastar forests is disappearance of snags from the forests. Man of course is the main reason who are fond of keeping them as pet birds as it is known as the best mimic bird in the world. akbhatt
On Fri, Jun 26, 2009 at 5:04 PM, kiran srivastava <[email protected]>wrote: > Whilst looking at the importance of snags and dead wood in Sanjay Gandhi > National Park(SGNP) in Mumbai I wanted to know how important these were in > our forests. > > A good forest is where there are plenty of dead trees, scattered on the > forest floor waiting to rot in a natural way. Dead wood is a natural and > essential component of the forest ecosystem. A multitude of species > specialized in feeding on dead wood, and the number of species eating these > "dead wood eaters" is even greater. Those groups of coexisting organisms are > dependant on a supply of dead wood. > > Bacteria and fungi and live on the dead wood. Many species of insects feed > on such bacteria and fungi. Those insects serve as a food for other insects, > arachnids, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. In addition fungi which > decompose dead wood are a host for other species of fungi which parasitize > on them. The organic matter that was once a tree, passes through a chain of > organisms and returns to the environment, where bacteria and fungi decompose > it to simple chemical substances, that are again used to "build" new > generations of trees. > > The first bird species that I can think of is the woodpecker and several of > them have a penchant for feeding on snags – I have seen the beautiful > Heart-spotted Woodpecker looking for grubs, beetles, etc., on them. Hollow > tree trunks can be homes for woodpeckers, bees, other insects, as well as > rodents and small mammals. > > I read that dead wood: (i) is a source of nitric compounds needed for > growth of plants slowly released into the soil (ii) keeps carbon atoms which > delays the release of carbon dioxide (iii) enriches the forest floor. > > Source: http://nature.poland.pl/values/dead_wood/index.htm > > Snags are standing dead trees often with their top branches missing. > > Meanwhile, look out for mushrooms and some bright and colourful fungi on > trees and fallen tree trunks. > > Cheers, > > Kiran Srivastava > > Mumbai > > > > > > -- Anand Kumar Bhatt A-59, B.S.F.Colony, Airport Road Gwalior. 474 005. Tele: 0751-247 2233. Mobile 0 94253 09780. My blogsite is at: http://anandkbhatt.blogspot.com And the photo site: www.flickr.com/photos/akbhatt/ --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "indiantreepix" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.co.in/group/indiantreepix?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
