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Minneriya National Park
Minneriya National Park ( si, මින්නේරිය ජාතික වනෝද්යානය, translit=Minnēriya Jātika Vanōdyānaya; ta, மின்னேரியா தேசிய வனம், translit=Miṉṉēriyā Tēciya Vaṉam) is a national park in North Central Province of Sri Lanka. The area was designated as a national park on 12 August 1997, having been originally declared as a wildlife sanctuary in 1938. The reason for declaring the area as protected is to protect the catchment of Minneriya tank and the wildlife of the surrounding area. The tank is of historical importance, having been built by King Mahasen in third century AD. The park is a dry season feeding ground for the elephant population dwelling in forests of Matale, Polonnaruwa, and Trincomalee districts. The park earned revenue of Rs. 10.7 million in the six months ending in August 2009. Along with Kaudulla and Girithale, Minneriya forms one of the 70 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North Central Province, Sri Lanka
North Central Province ( si, උතුරු මැද පළාත ''Uturumæda Paḷāta'', ta, வட மத்திய மாகாணம் ''Wada Maththiya Mākāṇam'') is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, the first level administrative division of the country. The provinces have existed since the 19th century but did not have any legal status until 1987 when the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils. The province is the largest by size, and second least populated in the country. The province consists of the districts of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, both of which were important ancient Sri Lankan kingdoms. The climate is semi-arid, and the forests are dry evergreen forests. History The centralised system of Sri Lanka, which is a unitary state, failed to satisfy the aspirations of the people. There was growing insistence on decentralisation of administrative processes to achieve rapid economic and social development of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo metropolitan area has a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 in the Municipality. It is the financial centre of the island and a tourist destination. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to the Greater Colombo area which includes Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, the legislative capital of Sri Lanka, and Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. Colombo is often referred to as the capital since Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is itself within the urban/suburban area of Colombo. It is also the administrative capital of the Western Province and the district capital of Colombo District. Colombo is a busy and vibrant city with a mixture of modern life, colonial buildings and monuments. Due to its large harbour and its strategic position along th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Piliostigma Racemosum
''Bauhinia racemosa'', commonly known as the bidi leaf tree, is a rare medicinal species of flowering shrub with religious significance. It is a small crooked tree with drooping branches that grows tall and flowers between February and May. It is native to tropical Southeast Asia. Religious significance In Hindu families it is customary to exchange leaves of the Aapta tree on the Hindu festive day of Dussehra Vijayadashami ( sa, विजयदशमी, Vijayadaśamī, translit-std=IAST), also known as Dussehra, Dasara or Dashain, is a major Hindu festival celebrated at the end of Navaratri every year. It is observed on the tenth day in the Hindu .... An act known as exchanging ''Gold''—pointing to the special significance of the plant on that particular day. This is also why the tree is often referred to as ''Sonpatta'' (literal translation: ''leaves of gold''). Other uses The leaves are used in the production of ''beedi'', a thin Indian cigarette. References Ext ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sacred Fig
''Ficus religiosa'' or sacred fig is a species of fig native to the Indian subcontinent and Indochina that belongs to Moraceae, the fig or mulberry family. It is also known as the bodhi tree, pippala tree, peepul tree, peepal tree, pipal tree, or ashvattha tree (in India and Nepal). The sacred fig is considered to have a religious significance in three major religions that originated on the Indian subcontinent, Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Hindu and Jain ascetics consider the species to be sacred and often meditate under it. This is the tree under which Gautama Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment. The sacred fig is the state tree of the Indian states of Odisha, Bihar and Haryana. Description ''Ficus religiosa'' is a large dry season-deciduous or semi-evergreen tree up to tall and with a trunk diameter of up to . The leaves are cordate in shape with a distinctive extended drip tip; they are long and broad, with a petiole. The fruits are small figs in di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neem
''Azadirachta indica'', commonly known as neem, nimtree or Indian lilac, is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of two species in the genus ''Azadirachta'', and is native to the Indian subcontinent and most of the countries in Africa. It is typically grown in tropical and semi-tropical regions. Neem trees also grow on islands in southern Iran. Its fruits and seeds are the source of neem oil. Description Neem is a fast-growing tree that can reach a height of , and rarely . It is deciduous, shedding many of its leaves during the dry winter months. The branches are wide and spreading. The fairly dense crown is roundish and may reach a diameter of . The neem tree is similar in appearance to its relative, the chinaberry (''Melia azedarach''). The opposite, pinnate leaves are long, with 20 to 30 medium to dark green leaflets about long. The terminal leaflet often is missing. The petioles are short. White and fragrant flowers are arranged in more-or-less drooping a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manilkara Hexandra
''Manilkara hexandra'' is a tree species in the tribe Sapoteae, in the family Sapotaceae. It is native to much of south Asia (China: Hainan and southern Guangxi provinces; the Indian subcontinent: Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka; Indo-China: Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. Its vernacular names vary regionally; for example "Palu", "Palai"(பாலை) in Tamil or "Rayan" (පලු) in Sinhalese. It is locally known as the Khirni tree in parts of Bangladesh and India. In the Tamil language it is called ''Ulakkaippaalai'' or ''Kanuppaalai.'' ''Manilkara hexandra'' is a slow-growing but fairly large evergreen species. It grows in tropical and temperate forests. The tree typically attains some 12 to 25 metres tall and one to three metres in trunk circumference. The bark is grayish and rough. The wood is hard, durable, and heavy; the density is variously reported as ranging from about 0.83 to 1.08 tonnes per cubic metre, partly depending on the degree of drying. It ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terminalia Arjuna
''Terminalia arjuna'' is a tree of the genus '' Terminalia''. It is commonly known as arjuna or arjun tree in English. Description ''T. arjuna'' grows to about 20–25 metres tall; usually has a buttressed trunk, and forms a wide canopy at the crown, from which branches drop downwards. It has oblong, conical leaves which are green on the top and brown below; smooth, grey bark; it has pale yellow flowers which appear between March and June; its glabrous, 2.5 to 5 cm fibrous woody fruit, divided into five wings, appears between September and November. The tree does not suffer from any major diseases or pests, but it is susceptible to '' Phyllactinia terminale'' and rot due to '' polystictus affinis''. Distribution and habitat The arjuna is seen across the Indian Subcontinent, and usually found growing on river banks or near dry river beds in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha and south and central India, along with Sri Lanka and Banglad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The primary factor that distinguishes wetlands from terrestrial land forms or Body of water, water bodies is the characteristic vegetation of aquatic plants, adapted to the unique anoxic hydric soils. Wetlands are considered among the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems, serving as home to a wide range of plant and animal species. Methods for assessing wetland functions, wetland ecological health, and general wetland condition have been developed for many regions of the world. These methods have contributed to wetland conservation partly by raising public awareness of the functions some wetlands provide. Wetlands occur naturally on every continent. The water in wetlands is either freshwater, brackish or seawater, saltwater. The main w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Outcrop
An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. Features Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial deposits are covered by soil and vegetation and cannot be seen or examined closely. However, in places where the overlying cover is removed through erosion or tectonic uplift, the rock may be exposed, or ''crop out''. Such exposure will happen most frequently in areas where erosion is rapid and exceeds the weathering rate such as on steep hillsides, mountain ridges and tops, river banks, and tectonically active areas. In Finland, glacial erosion during the last glacial maximum (ca. 11000 BC), followed by scouring by sea waves, followed by isostatic uplift has produced many smooth coastal and littoral outcrops. Bedrock and superficial deposits may also be exposed at the Earth's surface due to human excavations such as quarrying and build ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grassland
A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica and are found in most ecoregions of the Earth. Furthermore, grasslands are one of the largest biomes on earth and dominate the landscape worldwide. There are different types of grasslands: natural grasslands, semi-natural grasslands, and agricultural grasslands. They cover 31–69% of the Earth's land area. Definitions Included among the variety of definitions for grasslands are: * "...any plant community, including harvested forages, in which grasses and/or legumes make up the dominant vegetation." * "...terrestrial ecosystems dominated by herbaceous and shrub vegetation, and maintained by fire, grazing, drought and/or freezing temperatures." (Pilot Assessment of Global Ecosystems, 2000) * "A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shifting Cultivation
Shifting cultivation is an agricultural system in which plots of land are cultivated temporarily, then abandoned while post-disturbance fallow vegetation is allowed to freely grow while the cultivator moves on to another plot. The period of cultivation is usually terminated when the soil shows signs of exhaustion or, more commonly, when the field is overrun by weeds. The period of time during which the field is cultivated is usually shorter than the period over which the land is allowed to regenerate by lying fallow. This technique is often used in LEDCs (Less Economically Developed Countries) or LICs (Low Income Countries). In some areas, cultivators use a practice of slash-and-burn as one element of their farming cycle. Others employ land clearing without any burning, and some cultivators are purely migratory and do not use any cyclical method on a given plot. Sometimes no slashing at all is needed where regrowth is purely of grasses, an outcome not uncommon when soils are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shrubland
Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It may be the mature vegetation type in a particular region and remain stable over time, or a transitional community that occurs temporarily as the result of a disturbance, such as fire. A stable state may be maintained by regular natural disturbance such as fire or browsing. Shrubland may be unsuitable for human habitation because of the danger of fire. The term was coined in 1903. Shrubland species generally show a wide range of adaptations to fire, such as heavy seed production, lignotubers, and fire-induced germination. Botanical structural form In botany and ecology a shrub is defined as a much-branched woody plant less than 8 m high and usually with many stems. Tall shrubs are mostly 2–8 m high, small shrubs 1–2 m high and su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
