Diversity and Ecology of Dendrobiums

[Pankaj Kumar]

Respected Sirs and dear friends,

Please find one of our articles attached with the mail. It got published today.

Kumar, P., G. S. Rawat and H. P. Wood. 2011. Diversity and Ecology of
Dendrobiums (Orchidaceae) in Chotanagpur. Plateau, India. Taiwania,
56(1): 23-36.

Dr.H.P.Wood has written a monograph on Dendrobiums of the world, but
unfortunately he expired last year.
Regards
Pankaj

--
***********************************************
"TAXONOMISTS GETTING EXTINCT AND SPECIES DATA DEFICIENT !!"

Pankaj Kumar Ph.D. (Orchidaceae)
Research Associate
Greater Kailash Sacred Landscape Project
Department of Habitat Ecology
Wildlife Institute of India
Post Box # 18
Dehradun - 248001, India

[Pankaj Oudhia]

Really useful information. Thanks for sharing. Your paper says
 
–"No epiphytic orchids
including Dendrobium were found in Shorea – T. alata
forests."

In selected plot or this finding is for entire study area? May I know about the exact location in Jharkhand to which this statement is related?

Please correct me if I have interpreted it wrongly.

regards

Pankaj Oudhia

[Pankaj Oudhia]

In continuation to previous mail.

It is really surprising to miss the names of Pterocarpus marsupium and Terminalia chebula like species in the paper.

Any comment?

regards

Pankaj Oudhia

[Gurcharan Singh]

Congratulations for your new publication on Dendrobium

-- 
Dr. Gurcharan Singh
Retired  Associate Professor
SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007
Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018.
Phone: 011-25518297  Mob: 9810359089
http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/ 

[Dr Pankaj Kumar]

Respected Oudhia Sir
Thanks a lot for the response.
Coming to your queries.
The study area was whole of Jharkhand We used Stratified Random
Sampling. Stratification was done on the basis of presence of more
than 10 orchids in the region and the habitat, i.e., sampling was done
exclusively in those areas where we had more than 9 orchids.

1. In the present article I didnt talk about the vegetation
composition of each of the 5 habitats.
2. When you do random sampling you are likely to miss species of
orchids as well as host trees, as you can see out of 11 had only 7
species in the plots.
3. Pterocarpus marsupium was undoubtedly there, but I never found
orchid in it, and I never found so much of it in the plot, i.e., it
was not as dominant as other tree species to classify a habitat on its
basis. Infact acording to my findings, orchids were present in the
areas were sal is (w.r.t.) more than 9 orchids. How did I chose.9
orchids? I made some preliminary survey and found the most common ones
which were around 9 in numbers.
4. On Terminalia chebula I did find some orchids, but no Dendrobiums
and this tree was also not as dominant as the other counterparts in a
habitat. Some Vanda tessellata, V. testaceae, Aerides multiflora, if I
remember correctly I found on this.
4. Yes, I never found an epiphytic orchid in Shorea - terminala alata
forests. This doesnt mean, that I didnt find epiphytic orchids on
Shorea or T. alata (I did find them) but not in an area where these
trees formed the major vegetation, in my area, may be because they
were too dense.
5. When you do random sampling, you have to maintain the ramdomness
otherwise you cant calculate the densities and abundance accurately.
6. To prove that, I used species area curve to check if my sampling
effort was adequate, and frankly speaking in all the habitats yes the
curve saturated much before my last plot.

I really appreciate posting your queries.
Regards
Pankaj

[Dr Pankaj Kumar]

By the way, I am off to Chakrata in 1 hrs and hence will respond other
queries in the evening.
Enjoy reading.
Pankaj

On Mar 25, 6:46 am, Gurcharan Singh <singh...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Congratulations for your new publication on Dendrobium
>
> --
> Dr. Gurcharan Singh
> Retired  Associate Professor
> SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007
> Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018.

> Phone: 011-25518297  Mob: 9810359089http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/

>
> On Fri, Mar 25, 2011 at 2:48 AM, Pankaj Oudhia <pankajoud...@gmail.com>wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > In continuation to previous mail.
>
> > It is really surprising to miss the names of Pterocarpus marsupium and
> > Terminalia chebula like species in the paper.
>
> > Any comment?
>
> > regards
>
> > Pankaj Oudhia
>

> > On Fri, Mar 25, 2011 at 2:43 AM, Pankaj Oudhia <pankajoud...@gmail.com>wrote:
>
> >> Really useful information. Thanks for sharing. Your paper says
>
> >> –"No epiphytic orchids
> >> including Dendrobium were found in Shorea – T. alata
> >> forests."
>
> >> In selected plot or this finding is for entire study area? May I know
> >> about the exact location in Jharkhand to which this statement is related?
>
> >> Please correct me if I have interpreted it wrongly.
>
> >> regards
>
> >> Pankaj Oudhia
>

[Pankaj Oudhia]

Thanks for detailed reply.

In early days of my surveys I were adopting random sampling technique as it was required to publish a paper. But later in villages I found that every native in village has different knowledge about herbs growing in surroundings then how random sampling can give accurate result? I started interacting each and every individual and still continuing it. It take many decades and many times entire life but it results in accurate as well as detailed information. Yes, you can not publish it in form of research papers. Who bothers as another option on online articles is there.

Pterocarpus and Teminalia chebula including other Terminalias are store house of orchid diversity (Vijayashankar ji can throw more light on it). I have found many species in visits of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. That's why I was expecting it in your paper. I am sure that more surveys in the same area will result in new information. For time being this paper can be used as reference.

Local people play vital role in such surveys. Expecting that you have taken their services. May be not as I have not seen their names in acknowledgment. ;(

If possible please send the list of reported host trees of Dendrobium in India. If names of Pterocarpus, T.alata and T.chebula like trees are not there then lets start publishing new records by Pankaj and Pankaj from Efloraindia.

regards

Pankaj Oudhia 

[manudev madhavan]

Congratulations...!!

Thanks for sharing.......

I think this could be useful for me, irrespective of the area of study...

regards

--

Manudev K Madhavan

Junior Research Fellow

Systematic & Floristic Lab,

Department of Botany, 
Centre for Postgraduate Studies & Research 
St. Joseph's College, Devagiri
Kozhikode- 673 008
Mob: 9496470738

[Smita Raskar]

Informative article  as usual ...Congrats Pankaj ..keep up:):)

--
Smita raskar

308 Disha Residency,
Salaiwada,Sawantwadi
Mob.09422379568

[Vijayasankar]

Congrats Pankaj, for the publication of your article. It sounds informative and looks attractive (i yet to read it fully :)

Dear Oudhia ji, pl consider these 'missing information' as 'standard errors' which is known, expected and accepted by the scientific community!
In transect studies, we used to come across with situations wherein we see certain species in the areas just adjoining the plot, but we can not include as it falls outside the plot, ultimately it won't reflect in the study. At time even a microhabitat with several unique species would be missed in line transect methods. Realizing this, we relied upon 'criss-cross' methods to cover all types of habitats (espl for floristic studies) and 'ocular estimations' and 'resource maps using inputs from local knowledgeables' to estimate occurrence and population status of a particular species in a particular area. This has yielded more reliable data which were used effectively for designing conservation strategies. But, of course, we can not publish these in scientific journals, as we can't do any extrapolation and estimation for larger areas. I also feel both of these strategies should be combined to get actual and more reliable information at least at a micro level.

 

Regards 

 

Vijayasankar Raman
National Center for Natural Products Research
University of Mississippi

[Balkar Arya]

Congrats Pankaj Ji

--
Regards

Dr Balkar Singh
Head, Deptt. of Botany and Biotechnology
Arya P G College, Panipat
Haryana-132103
09416262964

[Pankaj Kumar]

Thanks Vijay for making it simple.
Respected Oudhia sir,
I have always admired your work in Chhattishgarh, but I would like to
add something here....
1. You cant compare the forests of Chhatisgarh with Jharkhand, they
are two different phytogeograhic zones. Just for example, I have never
seen Orchids growing on Pinus roxburghii trees in Jharkhand, but yes,
I have seen it in Himalayas. Jharkhand is not an orchid hotspot and
hence it doesnt have luxuriant growth of Orchids.
2. As Vijay said, yes you can miss many things outside your plots,
thats not a big deal, as you cant search each and every tree present
in the area for the presence of Orchids.
3. Pterocarpus and Teminalia chebula, can you please send me some pics
to show how many species grow on these two trees? I would be grateful.
When you say storehouse, you may be referring to only one taxa growing
luxuriantly on the tree, not a big deal. I am talking about areas with
more than 9-10 orchids were sampled. I will give you another example.
I went to coal mine areas in Hazaribag, where due to some reasons, the
trees were laden with orchids, but only two species.
4. As you can see, the paper deals exclusively with Dendrobiums and
hence I am not talking about any other orchids, which might be or are
found on these two trees.
5. When you say, if I used locals, my answer is ALWAYS!! except for
some naxallite prone zones where no one was willing to accompany me.
If you say they play vital role in such surveys, then may be yes, but
its not of much help unless you are looking for a particular orchid
which they know. For example, if I wish to know about Pathal Kela
(Pholidota imbricata and P. pallida. The first point here is, they
cant differentiate between two), then for sure, they know places where
these plants grow as they have been using them. But, I can go to a
patch of Pholidota and lay a plot saying its abundant in the area.
That will be ridiculous. For each of my plot, I used to check orchids
on my own for their identity which they cant do.
6. You should understand that there is a difference between devoting
you life in the forest and working for your PhD. If I had 10 years in
hand to work for my PhD, then may be my results would have shown
differences. This answer your question that more survey can lead to
more result. Secondly, for you information, one of my friend went to
Chattisgarh for one week and we had new records of Orchids from that
area, it doesnt mean that you didnt survey well. Its mere luck and
also the area where he worked.
7. Your sampling design is based on your objectives as well as your
duration. One simple example will be, if you wish to calculate the
density of lets say one species of Orchid in an area, then for sure
you will either have to do the total count, which is not possible, or
you will have to lay RANDOM plots and then count inside the plots. You
will surely get chances when you will find that particular orchid
outside your plot, but you are not supposed to count it. Hope you
understand what I mean here.
8. No, I never acknowledged local people in my articles but all those
who helped me have been acknowledged in my thesis, each and every
person. But that doesnt mean that I dont respect them. There are so
many friends here and at Jharkhand who have helped me in my work, I
cant write each and every name there on the articles. Infact my boss
found my acknowledgement in the thesis too long and smiled when I
showed him so many names.
9. I had around 33 new records of Orchid from chhotanagpur and this
doesnt include around 12 species which I know they are present, but
couldnt identify due to lack of flowers. There could be many more new
records of both orchids as well as host trees. I have seen Vanda
growing on ground, it makes no sense as it some how fell down and was
carried away by flow of water. Orchids are very opportunistic. They
can grow anywhere and you wont find a reason to explain. Just because
I found ONE ORCHID GROWING ON ONE TREE, doesnt make it publishable. If
you really want to publish it, then for sure you need to prove it
scientifically.
10. When you say how random sampling can give accurate result: YES IT
CAN...BEST WAY IS TO INCREASE YOUR SAMPLING EFFORT.
11. You send me the list of orchids found on these trees and list of
hosts and may be list of orchids and I would be there to help you
publish it. No authorship needed, no acknowledgement needed. I always
believe in distributing rather than gathering. I thought you should
have known by now.
12. I can give you suggestions how to do scientific interviews and
sampling, which could yield you good PUBLISHABLE results, you just
need to ask...FOR FREE... otherwise you will end with yet another book
on list of medicinal plants, which most of the people do now a days.
There are books on HOROPATHY, if you know. It comes in volumes, and it
is available at ranchi. Then there are so many people writing same
book over and over again. If you wish to come out with better
publication then for sure you need to do it more scientifically. For
which I can help you and it is evident that Dr. Vijay will also be
able to help you.

Regards
Pankaj

[Pankaj Oudhia]

Thanks for your detailed reply once again. Hoping to post the pictures of Dendrobiums collected from many tree species including Pterocarpus and Terminalia sp. from Jharkhand few years back, in near future. I was on visit on request of Ranchi based non-governmental organization. They wanted to prepare a report on impact of mining on Orchid diversity. I was odd man for this work but based on superficial (?) knowledge I have done it for them.Also post pictures about my work on Niyamgiri orchids including Dendrobiums in Orissa.

There is no doubt that you are one of finest orchid experts of India and we are fortunate to have you in our group.

And Vijayashankar ji, I agree with your thoughts on development of new research methodology.

regards

Pankaj Oudhia

[Dr Pankaj Kumar]

I would love to see this report of yours on Mining Impact on Orchid
Diversity, if you can share.
There are distinct Orchid zones on trees, The one growing on the main
trunk is ecologically different from the one growing on the terminal
branches (twig epiphytes) hence it becomes tricky to understand if an
orchid grew by mistake of it really has a preference of the tree over
other trees.
Orchids have seeds without endosperm and hence they need to make
association with specialised fungi called mycorrhiza. Now these fungi
are specific to the host like all other fungi. So where these fungi
are found, orchids can grow. But, once they have germinated, you put
the plant on any tree it will grow. This gets more tricky...
Orchids of Arunachal Pradesh has a picture of Orchid growing
on....ELECTRIC/TELEPHONE POLE....now who will explain that to me.....
Its fun when you see things which you cant explain.....orchids have
lot of such fun...
Pankaj

On Mar 25, 11:27 pm, Pankaj Oudhia <pankajoud...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Thanks for your detailed reply once again. Hoping to post the pictures of
> Dendrobiums collected from many tree species including Pterocarpus and
> Terminalia sp. from Jharkhand few years back, in near future. I was on visit
> on request of Ranchi based non-governmental organization. They wanted to
> prepare a report on impact of mining on Orchid diversity. I was odd man for
> this work but based on superficial (?) knowledge I have done it for
> them.Also post pictures about my work on Niyamgiri orchids including
> Dendrobiums in Orissa.
>
> There is no doubt that you are one of finest orchid experts of India and we
> are fortunate to have you in our group.
>
> And Vijayashankar ji, I agree with your thoughts on development of new
> research methodology.
>
> regards
>
> Pankaj Oudhia
>

[Pankaj Oudhia]

Yes it may be correct if any one sees it as rare case but occurrence of Dendrobiums on said species is not rare case. It was shocking to see the paper having no info on it. That's why I reacted immediately But as Vijayashankar ji said it may be due to standard error, it is not the author's fault.

During the said visit I found insect species damaging Dendrobiums. I posted its picture to International experts but they asked for dead insects for correct identification. Due to laziness the samples are still with me. During visit on Shorea and other species mainly on orchids I observed heavy infestation of scale insects. The guides informed that this year infestation was at higher side. I searched the literature and based on it, in process of submitting a paper in journal. In short visit fortunately I got information about 30 formulations in which Dendrobiums are used. Hoping the Ethnobotanists from Jharkhand have reported it. 

I am sorry as always if I am encroaching your territories i.e. Jharkhand as well as Orchids. ;)  


regards

Pankaj Oudhia

[Vijayasankar]

Well explained, Pankaj. Your knowledge on orchids is really amazing. You are a valuable asset not only for this group but for entire India espl in floristics field :)
Its really nice to see interactions between 'Orchidopedia' and 'Oudhipedia'. I learnt many new things incl. habit & host preferences of orchids, and also 'Horopathy'. Thanks Pankaj.
Thanks also to Oudhia ji for raising questions which yielded a detailed explanation filled with information from Pankaj.

In my area I have seen Vanda growing on rocks! Is it a lithophyte as well?

 

Regards 

 

Vijayasankar Raman
National Center for Natural Products Research
University of Mississippi

[Mahadeswara]

Congratulations for the excellent publication.

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