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| Feb - 2009 |
<< Back to Calendars |
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| Dear Nature Lovers, |
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| Greetings from oikos ! |
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Lets all conserve these valuable giants during course of ‘development'. Our convenience should not be a death sentence for these life savers ! They hold ‘heritage' value… and deserve to be preserved ! |
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| Regards, |
| Ketaki & Manasi. |
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| Old Growth Trees – are mammoth trees with towering height, impressive trunk & massive branches. They can date back to even 500 – 1000 years. Their size & spread make us feel tiny. Imagine limitless services offered by these giants during their lifetime… supporting diversity of species from its roots to the leaves. Every canopy layer is special with different micro-climate & function. Mosses, mushrooms, orchids, parasites, climbers, sometimes even a small tree find home here, giving food & shelter to innumerable animal diversity from ants, insects, honey bees, birds, snakes, & mammals.
Every species have carved a niche for itself making it a very functional ‘Tree ecosystem'. The ground level buttress roots and lower branches support insect diversity like Ants and termites. Nests of certain ant species like Humale are commonly seen. Middle level braches carry ‘epiphytes' like orchids or parasites attracting many birds like the leafbirds or flowerpeckers. Still upper level braches support beehives. Holes in the old boles are used by nocturnal animals like civets and birds like Owls. Top canopy serves as roosting sites for Bird of prays like Crested serpent eagle. Leaves are eaten by caterpillars eventually emerging into a beautiful moth that visits nectar filled flowers along with bees & butterflies while fruits offer a treat to bats or hornbills. This association is endless…
Apart from all this, with emergence of its first leaf, the trees have been absorbing CO 2 & giving us our life – The Oxygen. Important services offered by these spirits are immeasurable & we humans owe them much more respect & care ! |
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