Conservation of biodiversity in managed landscapes is of critical importance due to the rapid degradation and loss of primary habitat in the tropics. Soppinabetta forests are farmer-managed, fragmented evergreen forests of the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot in India. We hypothesized that these forests have immense importance in conservation of epiphytic orchid flora, although management intensity may differentially affect the diversity. Orchid diversity of
the Soppinabetta forests of two degrees of management (sustained Soppinabetta, N = 11; degraded Soppinabetta,

Conservation assessments are critical to the long-term survival of species, communities, ecosystems, landscapes and vast ecological regions. The Western Ghats is amongst the globally recognized biodiversity hotspots that are in dire need of a regional conservation plan. The ecological region is known for high levels of endemism, especially amongst vertebrate animals. Not less than 35% of the 1,282 species of vertebrates known in the region are endemic.

Ecologists have long hypothesized that fragmentation of tropical landscapes reduces avian nest success. However, this hypothesis has not been rigorously assessed because of the difficulty of finding large numbers of well-hidden nests in tropical forests.

Pachmarhi biosphere reserve is one of the richest biodiversity regions of Madhya Pradesh. Various weeds are abundant in the croplands as well as in the forests of this region.

Across the world there exists a large overlap of biodiversity hotspots with
areas experiencing high levels of socio-political and ethnic conflicts, making the