Eter Abulidze
Ilia State University, Georgia
Title: Biodiversity monitoring in Sno valley (Georgia, Caucasus)
Biography
Biography: Eter Abulidze
Abstract
The valley of Sno in Georgia (Caucasus) is reach with its biological and landscape diversity (http://www.apa.gov.ge) and is one of the most popular destinations for tourists. Currently hydro-electric stations and pylons are planned to deploy in Sno valley, which is supposed to have an impact on the biodiversity of the area. Previous studies have shown that the development of high voltage electro-power transmission system could affect local biodiversity either by destruction of physical environment and by direct influence of electro-magnetic field on plants and animals (https://electricalnotes.wordpress.com 2012.02.17). The direct effects on biodiversity could be numerous. As power lines are particularly bright and their Ultra Violet light is visible for most of the animal species, it will become physical barrier for them which in turn could pose a problem during the migration (https://www.theguardian.com 12 March 2014). Some bird species (Great Rosefinch (Carpodacus rubicilla), Guldenstadt's Redstart (Phoenicurus erythrogaster) and Chiffchaff, (Phylloscopus collybita) spend their lifetime on Sno valley (N. Paposhvili et al., 2016). In winter, they use the Seabuckthorn for feeding which is mostly occurring in the areas where the pylon will be deployed. The large part of this wintering habitat is already destroyed which means that, specific bird species will face to significant problems. High voltage electro-magnetic field have also shown to affect animal and plant species health, development and germination (Balaji, A. 2015; Dib & Mordjaoui, 2014). Hence, monitoring of local biodiversity is an important issue for its maintenance and conservation. The proposed research will help to develop biodiversity database that could serve as a baseline for future biomonitoring of the impact of hydro-electric constructions. In particular, from April I am doing to accurately evaluate the forest coverage in the valley and generate distributional database for wooded plants, bird, large mammal and reptile species.