ABOUT YAMUNA BIODIVERSITY PARK

Yamuna Biodiversity Park is spread over an area of 157 acres in the inactive
floodplain and 300 acres in the active flood zone. It is a home for rich wetland
and grassland species, a wide variety of fruit yielding species and an
abundance of medicinal herbs. It also acts as a natural conservation site for
specific groups of endangered plants.
The park features 2 major zones:-
1. Visitor zone: Visitor zone has various conservation modules such as
conservatory for medicinal plants, conservatory for butterflies, conservatory
for fruit yielding plants, rangelands and productive shallow & deep wetlands,
besides representative ecosystems.
2. Conservation zone: It has sprawling forest communities and grasslands
characteristic of River basin.

CONSERVATION STRATEGIES
Yamuna Biodiversity Park is a great example of in-situ conservation.
Development of YBP has helped bring back a large number of plants and
animals and recreate representative communities & ecosystems which were
once lost. This has been achieved by the creation/establishment of:-
- Wetlands: The ecological diversity within the wetland habitat sustains rich
flora and fauna. It attracts a wide range of migratory birds besides many
resident birds.
- Conservatory of medicinal plants: A large number of species of herbal plants
are maintained here.
- Sacred groves: It has been developed to showcase the plants of religious
importance.
- Conservatory of fruit yielding plants: Dominant here are the fruit trees or
shrubs. The conservatory is home to a variety of fruit eating birds like
parakeets, babblers, yellow footed green pigeon, etc.
- Butterfly conservatory: Plantation of native plants attracts thousands of wild
butterflies. There are 4 small ponds to add humidity and provide moisture to
the butterflies.
- Forest Communities: About 850 plant species have been assembled into 30
different forest communities. These forest communities support several
species of birds and animals.
- Rangelands: Rangelands with 10 mounds representing different ecosystems
present from Himalayan foothills to Yamuna basin have been developed
which supports different wildlife communities.

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Yamuna Biodiversity Park also has gene banks (a type of ex-situ conservation)
in order to preserve for threatened land races and wild genetic resources.
There are gene banks of Petro-yielding, Oil-yielding and many other plants.

RESTORATION OF THE FLOODPLAIN

INITIAL CONDITION OF THE SITE
The Biodiversity Yamuna floodplain, due to rapid industrialisation, pollution
and human encroachments, got converted to barren land which harboured
only salt bushes and low lying marshes. The native species slowly vanished and
the rich flora and fauna were lost.
The site where YBP has been developed posed two main challenges:-
1. High alkaline soil (pH up to 8.9)
2. Saline water (Electrical conductivity up to 5000µS cm-1)
These conditions could not support a rich biodiversity.

KEY APPROACHES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF YBP

A team of scientists was assigned the task of bringing back the flora and fauna
of the floodplain. The land was assessed, soil profile was studied and then
suitable site was selected for the restoration process.
The major techniques and processes involved in developing a self sustaining
ecosystem:-
Phytoremediation
The high salinity made it impossible for plants other than halophytes to
grow. So, this was the first challenge which needed to be overcome.
Salinity was checked by phytoremediation (Involves treatment of
environmental problems using plants). Grasses (Suaeda pluticosa,
Bothriochlora, etc.) that absorb salt were planted first.
Gypsum (CaSO4.2H2O) was also used to check salinity. Calcium from gypsum
has a physiological role in inhibiting the uptake of sodium by plants.
Restoration of water bodies
The wetlands and marshes were restored. The shallow and deep water
bodies located on the floodplains were restored into catchment wetlands.
These wetlands hold the flood water and recharge the ground water.
Conservation of native biota
Excavated material was used to create mounds for showcasing various
ecosystems belonging to the Yamuna River Basin. Propagules of different
native species representing different groups were collected from the river

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 basin and planted in diverse habitat created as per their ecological niche.
The different ecosystems were developed to provide ecosystem services and
act as habitat for wildlife.
Establishing forest community
The forest covering the Biodiversity Park was initially all transplanted from
indoor nurseries. (Now the forest is self-regenrating)
Polyhouse: Works o the same principle as green house but is made of
polyacrylic sheets. Air warmed by the heat from hot interior surfaces is
retained in the building by the roof and wall. Humidity is maintained with
the help of sprinklers. It is used in the Biodiversity Park to germinate seeds
and the plants are transferred to net house when they reach a suitable
height (2-3 feet).

Net house: A net house is a framed structure covered with a plastic net having
different shade percentages. It provides partially controlled atmosphere by
reducing light intensity and effective heat. They are kept inside for 2-3 months
so that they can adapt to the environmental conditions outdoor. During the
monsoon season, the saplings are transplanted from the net house to the park.

FLORA OF YAMUNA BIODIVERSITY PARK

Yamuna Biodiversity Park has been able to grow a wide variety of plants,
shrubs, trees, herbs, etc. under different modules according to their
competition and symbiotic relationship. Hence, one can see the different
ecosystems springing up naturally. These ecosystems are:-
- Subtropical Mixed Evergreen Forest Ecosystem
- Moist Tropical Deciduous Forest Ecosystem with Teak as a Dominant Species
- Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest Ecosystem with Sal as a Dominant Species
- Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest with Teak as a Dominant Species
- Tropical Thorn Forest
- Scrub Jungle
A characteristic feature of a functional forest is vertical stratification and the
scientists have also achieved that with different species forming different
layers: Top Canopy, Middle storey, Shrub layer, Herbs & grasses, Climbers.

FAUNA OF YAMUNA BIODIVERSITY PARK

Most of the forest communities of YBP have reached to canopy height of 30-40
feet and is stratified into layers. These biologically rich communities support
wide range of fauna.
Some of the fauna we observed during the visit:-

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I. Dragonflies & Damselflies

Dragonflies and Damselflies are important components of wetland ecosystems.

They feed on mosquito larvae and thus help maintain the population of the
disease transmitting vector. There are around 50 species of these biological
control agents in YBP.

II. Butterflies
The Butterfly conservatory houses host plants of several butterfly species. The
YBP is a home of around 90 species of butterflies.

III. Other insects

Insects are very important for the propagation of plant species as they act as
pollinators. During the visit we identified many insect species (some directly
and some through indirect evidence like nest).

IV. Birds
Yamuna Biodiversity Park with abundant food and safe nesting sites has
become home for many birds. The wetland also attracts many migratory birds.
Over 196 species have been recorded including resident and migratory bird
species. We identified many birds (some directly some through indirect
evidences like shed feather, nest)
V. Mammals
We were not able to observe any mammal but we did come across the indirect
evidences like scat, pug marks.
Other mammals in YBP: Mongoose, hares, jungle cat, etc.
In 2016, a leopard (a top carnivore) was also seen in the Yamuna Biodiversity
Park.

CONCLUSION
This visit to the Yamuna Biodiversity Park helped us understand the
importance of wildlife conservation. It helped us identify and learn about
different flora and fauna. Yamuna Biodiversity Parks being a great example of
in-situ conservation and ecological restoration also helped understand the
effectiveness of these strategies.
Advantages of in-situ conservation:-
- Both species and its habitat are conserved.
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- Larger populations can be protected.
- Less disruptive than removing organism from its natural habitat.
- Chances of population recovering are greater than ex-situ methods.

Effectiveness of ecological restoration:-

- Can be carried out at all scales.
- Allows whole landscapes to become functional ecosystems.
- Provides education & highlights importance of ecosystem services.
Along with the pros, there are many cons also associated with restoration. It is
generally a very expensive process and there are limits to what it can do
(unlikely to provide fully-functioning ecosystem in most cases). Restored
ecosystems require regular effort and maintenance.
Ecological restoration is a very effective option for bringing back the vanished
biodiversity which can be clearly seen in the case of Yamuna Biodiversity Park
but it is also very expensive. It is better to take care of the biodiversity,
conserve it and prevent its loss than to restore it after its loss.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 https://dda.org.in/greens/biodiv/yamuna-biodiversity-park.html

 Case study on Yamuna Biodiversity Park, Anthropology Department,

University of Delhi

 https://www.sahapedia.org/yamuna-biodiversity-park-overview

 Biodiversity parks programme of DDA-University of Delhi;

http://www.du.ac.in/du/uploads/rti/Biodiversity_Park_2652011.pdf

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