64 new fern species spotted in Arunachal Pradesh

Sixty-four new fern species were spotted during a three-day expedition and cleanlinessdrive at Tale Wildlife Sanctuary in Lower Subansiri districtof Arunachal Pradesh.

The expedition organised by the Hapoli forest divisionof the district in collaboration with Ngunu Ziro, a local NGOworking on conservation, concluded on February 13, officialsources said.

During the expedition, around 64 new fern species,including the rare Polystichum Polyodon, were found, thesources said.

Ashish Soni, a researcher from Botanical Survey ofIndia (BSI), who is currently researching on ferns found inLower Subansiri district, helped in identification of the newspecies.

Soni was part of the expedition team.

Eurasian Woodcock, a rare bird which was hithertonever spotted in the Tale wildlife sanctuary, was alsophotographed by Koj Mama of Ngunu Ziro during the event.

Tale valley is one of the most diverse biodiversityspots in the state with an astounding variety of butterflies,birds, orchids, rhododendrons and ferns.

The area is also revered in the folklore of theApatani tribe.

The event included cleaning of Pange river banks whichis near the boundary of the sanctuary, the sources said.

The cleanliness drive was inaugurated by LowerSubansiri Deputy Commissioner (DC) Swetika Sachan at Pangecamp in the presence of the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO)Abhinav Kumar, Extra Assistant Commissioner Bamin Tarang,Range Forest Officer (RFO) of the wildlife sanctuary NgilyangTachang, and members of Ngunu Ziro on February 11, the sourcessaid.

The DC advised the forest department to installdustbins along the banks of the Pange river to minimiselittering of plastic and other non-biodegradable items leftbehind by visitors.

The DFO acknowledged the problem of garbage litteringin the area and said that plans are underway to regulate theentry of single-use plastics in the sanctuary area incollaboration with an Eco Development Committee (EDC)comprising local land donors.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)