Abstract

One school holds that the grasslands, like the shola forest, are climatic climaxes. The other school holds that they are biotic climax formations. The study involved two approaches: (1) reconnaissance studies in a number of locations, for understanding the pattern of vegetal succession and the variability of vegetal mosaics, and (2) location centered studies were conducted at the Silent Valley National Park (Medium Elevational Zone) and the Eravikulam National Park (High Elevational Zone). The studycomprised investigations on the segments of the vegetations: (1) soils of the grassland-forest ecosystem, (2) studies on vegetal mosaics of grassland-forest ecosystem, and (3) climate of the grassland-forest ecosystem. Community studies of the grasslandsat both the elevations proved that they are not as uniform as we see from a distance. The slow pace of succession of grasslands to wooded communities is found to be due to the paucity of invasion of diaspore populations of the right kind of species into the grassland. Soils of the two elevational zones were found to be uncomparable on grounds of elevational difference and the high deposition of organic carbon and micro-and micronutrients at the high elevational zone. Hostile climate is one of the hurdles in active succession of the high elevational grasslands. The general criteria by which a climax community is identified are :(1) the apex vegetation, (2) the stability of the vegetation indicated by long persistence, (3) the low degree of changes happening in the vegetation, and (4) the successful regeneration of the composed species. As is the case with Tamilnadu, considerable extent of grasslands have been converted to eucalypt and wattle plantations in Kerala too. Plantation activities in grasslands involve the risk of: (1) failure of plantations, (2) improvement of soil fertility(3) loss of specific segements of biodiversity preserved in the grasslands, and (4), inefficient atmospheric carbon dioxide fixing patterns