A multifaceted review on the biodiversity conservation of the Valley of Flowers National Park, India

Abstract

The Valley of Flowers National Park (VOF) in the Uttaranchal Himalaya is renowned for its marvellous display of flowering plants and its scenic beauty. For the past two decades it has been caught in a controversy over policies designed to protect the region's botanical diversity and scenic beauty from livestock grazing. The present analysis reviews similar research carried out in the VOF and in its fringes. This multifaceted review indicates that the VOF harbours 520 vascular plant species, 13 large mammals and 40 bird species. Of the 24 plant community types of the VOF, Polygonum polystachyum – mixed forb community type (the centre of present conservation controversy due to increasing comments on its proliferation after imposing a ban on livestock grazing in the VOF) is restricted to the disturbed habitat types. The manual removal of P. polystachyum from the VOF by the Forest Department has led to an advance in the Impatiens sulcata – mixed forb community type and the generation of biodegradable waste. The comparative analysis of floral diversity of the VOF and its adjacent grazed alpine meadows reveals that effect of migratory livestock grazing is species-specific, and that species diversity of natural herbaceous communities does not depend on livestock grazing.