Botanist Siddarth Machado’s interest in flora goes back a long way; to his childhood growing up in army cantonment areas surrounded by rich plant life. “When in the city, I always tried to find ways to get back to greenery” he says about his first steps towards becoming a botanist. His love for the environment took him to study Environmental Management at the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun. Siddarth is out of the city for half the year, off in the hills, forests, grasslands, and wherever else in the wilderness his work takes him. When in the city, he can be found hard at work in a lab, or in his workshop where he designs and crafts knives—a hobby he might retire to someday.
One of the first projects Siddarth got involved in as a researcher was a study of the impact of a cluster of small dams at the Yettinahole River basin in Karnataka. The research team examined how river quality and temperature was affected by small dams, and also whether these projects benefited local communities.
Next, Siddarth was part of a team studying the effects of lantana growth in dry forests. The team collected and analysed extensive data about this invasive species. Siddarth has put together a voluminous collection of photographs and information on flora, gathered from across India. “We worked to compile a large database of plants that wasn’t available before. This helps in answering many important questions about the functioning of ecosystems,” he says.
“Bangalore has a good number of scientists and ecologists, and I’ve had the opportunity to work at CES at IISc, ATREE, NCF, WCS,” says Siddarth. Among other projects, he’s currently working on a paper about dam research at NCBS, researching ecosystems including the rainforest and shola forests.
Siddarth believes in a nuanced approach to conservation. “We can do science for the love of science, and ecology for the pure ecological processes, but it’s important to feel responsible, and to contribute towards some form of conservation. Our lab work involves quantifying the impacts or dynamics associated with disturbance. I’d like to move forward taking steps to solve issues, to do more specific conservation-oriented research and active restoration.”
Though they usually deal with academic issues in the lab, botanists are alert to practical activities that they can help with. For instance, Siddarth mentions: “We’ve tried to engage with the Rally for Rivers team. They wanted to plant a lot of trees, but largely, their plan didn’t seem ecologically right and feasible. We gave them useful feedback, instead of just criticizing their initiative.”
Siddarth’s Flickr account has albums of images with detailed studies of some of India’s plant life: www.flickr.com/photos/siddarthmachado/albums
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