ABOUT THE BOOK This Publication is a conversion of a project report of 1997 into a book form. Therefore I had to elevate two of my then assistants as my co-authors due to their valuable contributions. In fact they are the actual workers – I am only a compiler of data and the writer. This has biographies of Six tanks from Tamilnadu and Pondicherry. Some of these are non-system type and all vary from each other in many characteristics. For each water body we collected data on water, soil, plants and animals, and peoples' perceptions. From these, inferences are drawn. Suggestions for management to restore and improve these ecosystems are made. This work is relevant to about 200, 000 similar waterbodies in the semi-arid regions of India spread in Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamilnadu ABOUT THE AUTHOR CBSR SHARMA, retired as a Professor from the Pondicherry University, is nearly 80 years old by virtue of which becomes the Senior Author of this book ! Dr. TRK YOGANAND is a Senior Scientist of the WWF currently in South East Asia, such as Laos, Myanmar, etc. Earlier he worked in USA, South Africa and earned laurels for himself, his friends and teachers at Pondicherry University. His work has been recognized by the Smithsonian Institute, among others. Basically a physics student turned into an excellent ecologist. Dr. M. AMRUTH, is a Senior Scientist in Forestry Research. A versatile genius, he is equally proficient in Plants, Soil, Human components as well as the Political economy that operates in the forests of India. He had the distinction of completing a 4-Semester Post Graduate Course with in 3 Semesters. Probably this record remains unequalled so far He is currently at Forest Research Institute, Peechi, Trissur, Kerala CONTENTS Foreword ........................................................................................................... 9 Acknowledgments ............................................................................................ 11 Preface to the Current Edition ........................................................................ 13 Preface of the Project Report .......................................................................... 15 I. Introduction ......................................................................................... 19 II. Methodology ........................................................................................ 27 III. Water Bodies ........................................................................................ 33 1. Kaveripakkam ................................................................................ 34 2. Pillaipakkam .................................................................................. 58 3. Kaliveli .......................................................................................... 75 4. Ousteri .......................................................................................... 108 5. Mirattunilai .................................................................................. 130 6. Kambikudi.................................................................................... 151 IV. Discussion .......................................................................................... 169 V. Perspectives ....................................................................................... 197 VI. Summary ............................................................................................ 209 VII. References ......................................................................................... 215 VIII. Appendices ....................................................................................... 217 1. Questionnaire ............................................................................... 218 2. Biodiversity .................................................................................. 227 3. Bibliographies .............................................................................. 268 4. Document From PWD, T N ......................................................... 300 5. Three Publications ....................................................................... 353 6. Confessions .................................................................................. 372 Index .................................................................................................. 375 The Title 'Irrigation Tanks in Arid and Semi Arid Ecosystems written/authored/edited by C. B. S. R. Sharma [Retd], T. R. K. Yoganand, M. Amruth', published in the year 2020. The ISBN 9789353242794 is assigned to the Paperback version of this title. This book has total of pp. 345 (Pages). The publisher of this title is Kalpaz Publications. This Book is in English. The subject of this book is Water Tanks. Size of the book is 13.34 x 21.59 cms Vol:-