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1d ago
750-year-old Indian poems reveal a landscape scientists got wrong
- New study links 13th-century Marathi writings to today’s Indian savannas, suggesting long-standing grassland ecosystems.
- Researchers identify 44 wild plant species in ancient texts, many typical of savannas still found in Maharashtra.
- Finding suggests Indian savannas have existed far longer than British-era deforestation, challenging ‘wasteland’ labeling.
- Study argues conservation should protect existing savannas rather than promote broad tree planting in non-forest areas.
- The team used historical narratives to triangulate ecological history of tropical grasslands in western India.
- Key location: Maharashtra, where roughly 37,485 square kilometers are open grasslands today.
- The work links ancient voices to living biodiversity found nowhere else on Earth in India.
- Authors warn that mislabeling savannas could misdirect climate solutions and conservation funding.
- The research was supported by Michigan State University and IISER Pune.
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