Ms. Reshma Bedekar will present her APS as per the details below:

Date: Tuesday, 10th February 2026 

Time: 1030 - 1200 hrs.

Venue: C-TARA Conference Room No.1

Title: Open Natural Ecosystems (ONE): The Concept and Indian Context

Guide: Prof. Pankaj Sekhsaria

RPC Members: Prof. G.N. Hariharan and Prof. Sarmistha Pattanaik

Abstract:

Non-forest ecosystems are termed ‘open natural ecosystems’ (ONE) in India. These ecosystems cover almost 59 per cent of the Earth's terrestrial area, which is more than the area covered by forests. Paleoecological evidence indicates that open ecosystems originated naturally and in the absence of humans, natural fires and herbivory maintained their openness. They exhibit evolutionary functional characteristics such as underground storage organs, bud protection and shade-intolerance. However, there is a worldwide historical bias towards forests owing to the influence of European and eastern North American ecologists’ understanding of non-forest ecosystems. The forest-centric colonial influence is evident in independent India in most widely considered contemporary land and forest classifications.
 

This APS presents the concept of ONE and reveals gaps in the understanding of ONE worldwide and in India. It also introduces the geography of the western coastal Maharashtra (Konkan region) as a proposed study area.

Keywords: non-forest ecosystems, open natural ecosystems, wastelands