Sacred groves boost biodiversity and pest control, study finds
A new study by researchers at the Central University of Kerala (CUK) has found that sacred groves—small forest fragments protected by local communities—play a crucial role in conserving biodiversity and maintaining ecological processes, even when they are isolated from larger forest ecosystems like the Western Ghats.
Published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, the study observed that these groves support significantly higher predator activity compared to surrounding human-managed plantations. This suggests that sacred groves contribute to natural pest control and other ecosystem services.
The research team, led by Palatty Allesh Sinu from the university's Ecology Lab, included Bhavya Lakshmi, P.V. Athira, Anju Aravindakshan, Varsha Manohar Pattar, and Gopika Viswan. They examined how habitat type and distance from the Western Ghats—a major biodiversity hotspot—affected predator-prey interactions.
Over two years, the researchers used plasticine caterpillar models and dead mealworms as sentinel prey to monitor predation rates across Kasaragod district in Kerala. The results showed that overall predation was consistently higher in sacred groves than in plantations. Arthropods, mainly ants, were the dominant predators, accounting for 57% to 61% of predation across both years and habitats. Birds were the second most important predatory group, contributing 22% to 35% of total predation.
Despite their small size, these sacred groves function as vital biodiversity reserves and deliver key ecosystem services such as natural pest control, said Mr. Sinu. He added that Kerala, Karnataka, and Maharashtra have the largest number of such sacred green islets, which require policy interventions based on indigenous conservation models.
The researchers stressed that protecting these traditional forest relics is essential to improving the ecological quality of human-modified landscapes and sustaining wildlife corridors.
