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BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa campus is located in the South Goa district of the state Goa at latitude 15.3911° N and longitude 73.8782° E. The entire Goa state is divided in to three main physiographic units: (1) hills and valleys along the Ghat zone, (2) a narrow coast line and (3) a mainland with plateaus between the hills and the coast (Joshi & Janarthanam 2004). The major portion of Goa consists of pre-cambian rocks, namely quartz–sericite.). Moist deciduous forests and plateau vegetation are the most dominant habitats, compared with the evergreen and the semi-evergreen forests.
Our campus is located near the coast line on the lateritic plateau close to Zuari river. The campus was established in August 2004 and spread across an area of 167 acres. The campus has a total built up area of 2,17,825.25 m2 and 1,03,870 m2 of open space. Total tree canopy area has been estimated to be 107689m 2. Large number of trees and shrubs have been planted in the campus as part of horticultural operations and multiple plantation drives in the campus with the involvement of students and community members.
Below we present a tree inventory and details of carbon stock in the trees from our campus. This study was supported by Teaching Learning Centre (TLC) for January- March 2024 and October-December 2024 under the guidance of Prof. Saranya G Nair, Department of Mathematics, Prof. Rajiv Kumar Chaturvedi, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences. The students from the campus were actively involved in the study under the leadership of Resaerch Assosciate Anjitha Devarajan, showcasing remarkable enthusiasm and dedication. Ten under graduate students, namely Simran Christy Serrao, Shaachi Khanna, Aditya Shiva Sharma, Adithya Patil, Anish Shastry, Aayush Khodke, Ojasava Saigal, Suryansh Singh, Sparsh Dutta, and Shrey Gupta and one PhD student, Askar Ali were engaged in tree measurements and data collection, alongside two community members Sandipan De and Gopalakrishnan Nair. This hands-on experience provided the participants with valuable exposure to tree identification, field data collection, and the use of datacollecting tools.
➡️ Distribution of campus trees in various taxonomic categories
➡️ Dominant species in the campus
➡️ Different species under the genus “Ficus”
➡️ List of trees with edible fruits in the campus
➡️List of different families and the species under the families
➡️ List of Bamboo species in the campus
➡️ List of Palms in the campus
➡️ Endemic species
Endemic species are those which are only being found in a single defined geographic location, and nowhere else in the world. Endemic species are more likely to develop in geographically and biologically isolated areas. About 28 per cent of the Indian plants are endemic to the country.
➡️ Endemic trees in the campus
➡️ IUCN Redlist category
◾Number of species in the campus according to the IUCN Red list status (EN- Endangered, VU- Vulnerable, NT- Near-threatened, LC-Least concerned, DD- Data deficient, NE- Not evaluated)
According to IUCN Red list criteria one species found in the campus ie., Tectona grandis (Teak) is listed as endangered. Four species are ‘Vulnerable’ and two species are ‘Near threatened’. Vulnerable species are Garcinia indica (Kokum), Ficus hispida (Gobla), Litchi chinensis (Lychee) and Vateria indica (White Damar). Near threatened species are Aegle marmelos (Bael) and Chrysalidocarpus lutescens (Golden Cane Palm).
➡️ Hotspots and cold spots in the distribution of trees in the campus according to the IUCN threatened status
➡️ Carbon stock estimation
Total Biomass (TB), Carbon Stock (CS) and CO2 equivalent of trees in the campus according to habit category
➡️ Student engagement and outreach
The students from the campus were actively involved in the study, showcasing remarkable enthusiasm and dedication. Ten under graduate students, namely Simran Christy Serrao, Shaachi Khanna, Aditya Shiva Sharma, Adithya Patil, Anish Shastry, Aayush Khodke, Ojasava Saigal, Suryansh Singh, Sparsh Dutta, and Shrey Gupta and one PhD student, Askar Ali were engaged in tree measurements and data collection, alongside two community members. This hands-on experience provided the participants with valuable exposure to tree identification, field data collection, and the use of datacollecting tools.
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