A forest genetic resource tree park, developed on 20 acres of land near Vandalur, was inaugurated by Minister for Forests Dindigul C. Sreenivasan on Thursday.
The park has 300 species of trees from both Eastern and Western Ghats.
Researchers who want to study these species can take up their research here.
The park has been raised at a cost of ₹1.85 crore and the Forest Department has allocated ₹7.5 lakh a year for its maintenance.
The park will have an interpretation centre also. The forest officials have transplanted 150 ‘naaval, iluppai and nuna’ trees in the park.
Rare species
Some of the seeds have been procured from the Kerala Forest Research Institute in Peechi.
Besides, seeds were procured from forests in Andhra Pradesh and Bengaluru. Elaborating on the features of the park, a forest official said, “The eye-catching artificial ‘U’ shaped island that we have created will house the nursery and have water canals flowing on either side.”
The purpose of the canal is to ensure that the water from the hills flows without any hindrance indisturbance to the Nedunkundram lake nearby. Four check dams were constructed, which will help in storing excess water and they will also recharge the groundwater table which will be used to water the trees. The visitors will get a feeling of walking into a jungle once the trees are fully grown, the official said.
Centenary for forest research in TN
Forest research in Tamil Nadu commenced in 1918 and the first annual research report was published in 1919. Since then research activities are mainly focused on various thrust areas based on field requirements from time to time.
A research unit in Chennai formed much before Independence had carried out research about in the cultivation of important trees like teak, jack, terminalia tomentosa, terminalia paniculata, dalbergia latifolia, gmelina arborea, etc. State Forest Research Institute has 54 centres spread across all the seven agro-climatic zones of the State, officials said.
