International Biodiversity Day: Degraded Noida land turns botanical mosaic

New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) It was a degraded land with construction debris, tall grasses and a neglected wetland. A decade later, the Thematic Botanic Garden in Greater Noida is a biodiversity haven with birds, insect life and 3,000 plants, right from high altitude ‘rudraksh’ trees to cacti usually found in arid deserts.

Spread across 10 acres near the eastern boundary of the Shiv Nadar Institute of Excellence (IoE) campus, the garden is now home to 805 species of plants, birds, both resident and seasonal/migratory, insects and also nilgais, wild boars and porcupines.

“When this university was being built, the idea was to develop a garden where students and faculty can observe variety of plant species, can study them and can, in general, enjoy the environment,” Sanjeev Galande, dean, School of Natural Sciences at the Shiv Nadar IoE, a short drive from the national capital, told PTI.

The eco-restoration is the brainchild of then pro-chancellor Shikhar Malhotra and vice chancellor Rupanjali Ghosh. Assisting them was botanist Jyoti Sharma, who had earlier developed a similar thematic garden in Kerala.

Thus started a massive experiment of painstakingly converting a rocky site into a living lab. After the debris was removed, a 10-degree slope was created for natural flow of water.

Planting started in February 2015. Sharma travelled to various parts of India and collected vast numbers of plant species, many of them rare and endangered.

These include the barringtonia, baobab (kalpvriksha), Buddha coconut, camphor, chinar, Indian tree of heaven, fern leaf tree, fiddle-leaf fig, kattha, lemon-scented gum, magnolia, mahogany, mahua, red sandalwood, shikakai, reetha, singapore cherry, tea tree and four species of willow.

The result is a phenomenal range that showcases plants found at higher elevation and those from flatlands, almost at sea level, to those from desert areas, all co-existing, albeit in their specially created conditions.

“Many plants were procured from horticultural gardens across the country. Some others came from specific areas of the country. Prof Sharma physically went and brought them here. He and his team studied the plants and their habitat, recreated them here so that those plants can thrive,” Galande recalled.

Once the shrubs were old and sturdy enough, they were planted in designated areas. Ten years on, the plants are now all grown up, some as high as 20 feet.

“The team put to test their scientific knowledge of botany, did plant habitat analysis, studied the ecology of the space and used all of that together here to recreate this environment for different thematic areas,” Galande added.

The 12 theme gardens has plants belonging to 475 species.

The themes include those on medicinal plants, ferns and fern-allies. rare, endangered and threatened (RET) plants, aquatic plants, spices, condiments and herbs.

For instance, one stretch has 108 xerophytic plant species that have adapted to life in dry habitat. The university stands on fertile soil with a high water table where one does not expect cacti to grow. So, cacti were grown on a raised area simulating sand dunes and semi-arid zone with rocky out crops.

The complex also provides an opportunity to observe plants becoming rare due to various anthropogenic factors. Like the khirnee, barhal or kaith fruits that were commonly available 30-40 years ago and can no longer be seen.

“Thematic gardens serve as living repositories for conservation, support research on plant adaptability and restoration, enable seed banking and propagation for reintroduction into the wild, promote public education and awareness on conservation, act as testing grounds for climate resilience strategies, and sustain pollinators by maintaining native plant diversity,” said Galande.

“These functions make them crucial tools in climate adaptation and biodiversity protection efforts.” About one-fourth of the area, all along the boundary, is part of Bil Akbarpur Wetlands, where a natural population of equisetum, commonly known as horse tail or saanp ghaas in Hindi, is conserved.

According to Amit Tripathi, a postdoctoral research associate, equisetum is one of the oldest living genera of vascular plants and is also the sole living representative of a large and ancient group of equisetales, which inhabited the Earth during the Jurassic period.

Visitors can walk down the equisetum trail to observe the luxurious growth of the tall grass. Another species that dominates the area around the wetland is the thick plantation of willow trees (Salix Babylonica) that has helped change the ambient atmosphere there.

“During summer, it is extremely hot around here. But compared to the other areas of the campus, you will feel at least one degree Celsius difference in temperature in the thematic garden. Further, when you reach the wetland, the temperature difference is at least 2 to 3 degrees Celsius,” Tripathi said.

Hemraj Sharma, a gardener, proudly pointed to the rudraksha tree generally found at high altitudes in the Himalayas.

“When it was a tiny shrub, we kept it under a net, covered with wet cloth, and watered it a lot. As a result of such care in the initial days, we are proud to tell you that it has now grown into a healthy adult tree,” he said.

Last year, the tree also bore fruits, rudraksha beads, that the staff distributed to people on the campus.

It’s not just the high-altitude rudraksha tree. One of the theme gardens, the 'gymnosperms garden', houses 33 species, including conifers, pines, cycads, ginkgo, ephedra and gnetum, found typically across altitudes from 1,000 metres to 2,300 metres.

The sprawling acres now a veritable botanical tapestry, an essential green lung amid a concrete jungle, the garden now also serves as a place to carry out botanical experiments and works to spread awareness about different species.

(May 22 is observed as International Day for Biodiversity). PTI NPK MIN MIN