Assessment of Wild Edible Plant Diversity in Fringe Forest Areas of Kinnaur District, Himachal Pradesh, India

Abstract

Wild edible plant diversity in fringe forest areas in Kinnaur District, Himachal Pradesh, India, was assessed using stratified random sampling by the quadrat method. A total of 115 plant species comprised 19 trees, 31 shrubs and 65 herb species were found growing in the habitat. Of the total species recorded, the people in the district use 91 plant species (79.1% of the total species) for various edible purposes. Among the edible plants recorded, 16 were trees, 23 shrubs, and the remaining 52 were herbs. Wild edible trees had a higher density (70 trees/ ha) than non-edible tree species (11.25 trees/ ha). Among trees, Prunus persica was recorded with the highest density of 13.75 trees/ha, with a basal area of 1.27 m2/ha and an IVI value of 51.56. Wild edible shrub species had a very high contribution of 75.53% (0.71 bushes/9m2) to the total shrub species density (0.94 bushes 9/m2). The density of all edible shrub species was <1 bush/ m2, and the highest density was of Berberis aristata (0.18 bush/ 9m2). The density of wild edible herbs was (12.07 individuals/ m2) lower than the density of non-edible herb species (17.25 individuals/ m2). Thymus serphyllum a rarely used herb, had the highest density of 5.49 individuals/ m2, frequency (17.28 %) and IVI (26.00) among herbs. Most of the other edible herb species had density <1 individual/ m2. It was observed that the indigenous people in the region frequently visit fringe forest areas for various purposes, which affect the population of wild edible plant species. Further, wild edible plant species knowledge is getting eroded, especially among the younger generation. Hence, public awareness and community based management need to be encouraged at all levels. In addition, forest department and various other government agencies should include important wild edibles in their plantation program.