Given the increasing anthropogenic pressures on forests, the various protected areas—national parks, sanctuaries, and biosphere reserves—serve as the last footholds for conserving biological diversity. However, because protected areas are often targeted for the conservation of selected species, particularly charismatic animals, concerns have been raised about their effectiveness in conserving nontarget taxa and their genetic resources. In this paper, we evaluate whether protected areas can serve as refugia for genetic resources of economically important plants that are threatened due to extraction pressures. We examine the population structure and genetic diversity of an economically important rattan, Calamus thwaitesii, in the core, buffer and peripheral regions of three protected areas in the central Western Ghats, southern India. Our results indicate that in all the three protected areas, the core and buffer regions maintain a better population structure, as well as higher genetic diversity, than the peripheral regions of the protected area. Thus, despite the escalating pressures of extraction, the protected areas are effective in conserving the genetic resources of rattan. These results underscore the importance of protected areas in conservation of nontarget species and emphasize the need to further strengthen the protected-area network to offer refugia for economically important plant species.

Phyllanthus emblica and P. indofischeri, commonly known as the Indian gooseberry, are important nontimber forest product (NTFP) species widely distributed across the Indian subcontinent. The fruits of these species are rich in vitamin C and are used in the preparation of a number of herbal medicines for treating a wide range of disorders. Due to the increased demand, they have been harvested extensively and form a major source of income for the forest-dwelling communities living in southern India. There are limited studies to understand the impact of harvesting on the genetic structure of these species. In this study, 15 polymorphic microsatellite markers have been developed for P. emblica and were characterized by screening 20 individuals each of P. emblica and P. indofischeri. The number of alleles per locus ranged 2–9 for P. emblica and 2–11 for P. indofischeri. The observed and expected heterozygosity of P. emblica ranged 0–1 and 0.401–0.825, respectively. Similarly, the observed and expected heterozygosity of P. indofischeri ranged 0.5–1 and 0.366–0.842, respectively. Cross-amplification of the designed primers was assessed with seven related Phyllanthus species. The microsatellite markers developed can be used for studying the population genetic structure, gene flow and genetic diversity of P. emblica and P. indofischeri.

Amphibians show a very high level of diversity and endemism and are facing global declines from the past few decades. Studies have shown that the molecular tools can be helpful in their conservation efforts. In India, more than 80% of amphibians are endemic and most show a narrow range of distribution. Most of the Indian amphibians lack information on their genetic diversity. In this study, were view the overall trend on amphibian studies in India with the specific focus on conservation genetics. Overall, of the 173 studies, only 14 dealt with the conservation of amphibians through genetic tools and five studies estimated the genetic diversity or gene structure. Here, we discuss the gaps and provide future directions on how genetic studies can be helpful in Indian amphibian conservation.