Peppara is a nature reserve near the city of Thiruvananthapuram in southern Kerala , India . The territory of the reserve lies in the Karaman river basin, the source of which is located on the highest peak of the reserve, Mount Chemmunjimottay. The reserve is named after Peppara Dam, built in 1983 in order to supply water to the city of Trivandrum and its suburbs. Given the ecological significance of the region, in 1983 the corresponding territories were declared protected. In terms of relief, they are a hilly plain with heights of 100 to 1717 meters above sea level. The reserve's area is 75 km² and is occupied by humid evergreen tropical forests, including wetlands (1). Peppara Nature Reserve is 44 km (via the highway) from the nearest train station, namely Trivandrama, and 49 km from Trivandrama Airport.
| Peppara Nature Reserve? | |
|---|---|
| IUCN Category IV (Species or Habitat Management Territory) | |
| basic information | |
| Area | |
| Location | |
Content
- 1 History
- 2 Geography
- 3 Biology and Ecology
- 4 trees
- 5 animals
- 6 notes
- 7 References
History
The territory of the reserve was previously part of the Parutippally district of the Trivandram district. The forests of the current reserve were previously protected in the reserves Palode (24 km²) and Kottur (29 km²). The reservoir area is 5.82 km².
Geography
Peppara Nature Reserve is located on the road connecting Thiruvananthapuram and Mount Ponmudi, about 50 km northeast of Thiruvananthapuram.
The territory of the reserve is hilly, elevation ranges from 100 to 1717 meters above sea level. The main mountains of the reserve: Chemmunjinotai (1717 m), Atirumalai (1594 m), Arumamkamkunnu (1457 m), Kovilterimalay (1313 m) and Nachiyadikunnu (957 m). The average annual rainfall in the reserve is 2500 mm. Main rivers: Karamana and its tributaries.
Biology and Ecology
Types of forests in the territory of the Peppara nature reserve: western coastal tropical evergreen forests, southern mountain tropical evergreen, western coastal semi-deciduous forests, wet humid deciduous forests, swampy forests with a predominance of trees of the genus Myristica , valley swampy forests, etc.
Trees
Common tree species in the reserve are: Terminalia paniculata, T. bellerica, pterocarpus sacciform , gutta-percha tree Palaquium ellipticum, Ceylon iron tree Mesua ferrea, Hopea parviflora, cotton tree Bombax ceiba, jambolan , Lagerstroemia alaria micropa.
Animals
The reserve is home to 43 species of mammals, 233 species of birds, 46 species of reptiles, 13 species of amphibians and 27 species of fish. Common mammals are tiger , leopard , sponge bear , elephant , zambar deer, Indian macaque , hood gulman , Nilgirian tar .
Notes
1. Jump up ^ Menon, ARR; Verghese, A O. “Structure, diversity and status of the landscape of Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary” (PDF). Evergreen 45: 15-17. Retrieved April 4, 2016.