‘Exotic trees taking toll on wildlife’

 Addressing students at the 67th college day of Jamal Mohamed College here on Monday, he said that forests were region-specific and the flora of one region might not grow in another. Even if it grew, it might cause irreparable damage to the ecology of that particular area. “Cassia siamia and many such exotic species have been planted on vast tracts along Chennai-Trichy highway. Most of such species cannot provide conducive environment for animals and birds also refrain from making their nests on it,” he said.

Indirectly referring to the tragedy wreaked by the forest fire in Theni claiming 17 lives so far, he said that forest fire was a natural phenomenon and nature’s course of regeneration. But it had to be manual and regulated as done in the US. The frequent forest fires in US led that country to undertake massive awareness campaigns among the people which also succeeded in containing fire to a greater extent. However, it also led to a drastic decline in some bird species which only nested in branches of young trees. The forests were now burnt manually but in a regulated manner which had proved effective too, he said.