A Study on the Biodiversity of Devchand College Campus, Arjunnagar, Maharashtra, India

The present study documents the floristic and faunal diversity of the Devchand College campus, Arjunnagar, Tal. Kagal, Dist. Kolhapur, located in the Maharashtra–Karnataka border region of India. Field surveys were conducted over a one-year period from June 2024 to May 2025 across diverse habitats including gardens, open grounds, freshwater ponds, roadsides, and built-up areas, using standard methods such as line transects, point counts, and visual encounter surveys. A total of 148 plant species belonging to 63 families were recorded, with Fabaceae and Arecaceae emerging as the dominant families; habit analysis revealed the predominance of trees (60.81%), followed by herbs (21.62%), shrubs (15.54%), and climbers (2.03%), while 50 species showed notable ethnobotanical importance. Faunal assessment documented 160 animal species representing four major phyla Annelida (5 species), Mollusca (11 species), Arthropoda (66 species), and Chordata (78 species) with arthropods dominating the invertebrate fauna and chordates comprising amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, among which avifauna exhibited the highest species richness. The observed biodiversity reflects habitat heterogeneity, food resource availability, and favorable microclimatic conditions, indicating that the Devchand College campus functions as an important semi-natural biodiversity refuge within a semi-urban landscape and highlighting the role of educational institutions in biodiversity conservation, environmental education, and sustainable ecosystem management; regular biodiversity monitoring and habitat enhancement through native species plantation are therefore recommended to strengthen long-term conservation efforts.