Saturday, July 23, 2016

Montane Ecosystems – Montane Forests – Horton Plaines Future


Montane ecosystems refer to any ecosystems found in Mountains, and Montane Forest in Wikipedia is defined as: Montane forests differ from lowland forests in the same area.[5] The climate of montane forests is colder than lowland climate at the same latitude, so the montane forests often have species typical of higher-latitude lowland forests.[6] Humans can disturb montane forests through forestry and agriculture.[5] 

See details of the previous post for the context in which this entry is written and are interlinked.

In Rohan Pethiyagoda, a biodiversity scientist’s lecture recently, he pointed out how some of the aforesaid forests at the Horton Plaines National Park were in fact dying and pointed out to scientific data on extremely high levels of LEAD in a country that really does not spew out a lot of lead, leading to some concern about how the global effects of lead discharge, perhaps India, perhaps further afield, also affect our own environment, and following on from that our very existence!

The mist particles of Cloud Forests were apparently better at giving plants nutrients, but at the same time, they can also absorb effluents in the air too! This is obviously an area of concern that our scientists, must be aware of, study its effects and possible progression, and if serious get the International Communities cooperation to reverse this trend, which if anything will lead to the complete destabilization of our ecosystem before our eyes, and we can do nothing about it.

This is the very existence of our Country that we are talking about. It is important therefore for the Government to takes steps to identify the gravity of this problem, and take necessary steps to minimize its effects, or scientifically evaluate the extent of the threat and the consequences of it.

This is simply an example of the need for the use of current techniques, and new technology, to be able find reasons for the problems, suggest solutions to them, and measure the effects of the damage and map out a path of eliminating the threat.

This is a clear example of what our scientists can get their teeth into, through international collaboration. After all, those who get first class honors degrees in Sciences are snapped up by US Universities to do post graduate work. It is time they take a topic such as this, get further research funding for it, and study the effects of external factors on our environment and come up with solutions.


It is incumbent upon the Government to encourage this work, assist these students and use the brain power we already have to work for the survival of Sri Lanka.

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