Abstract
The present study was conducted to assess vascular plant diversity in a modified habitat in Shivalik region. Extensive surveys were conducted to document the species in each season and identification was done with the help of regional floras. A total of 191 species comprising 181 species of angiosperms (176 genera and 76 families), 2 species of pteridophytes (2 genera and 1 family), and 8 species of gymnosperms (7 genera and 5 families) were observed. The dominant Angiosperms families include Asteraceae (18 genera and 18 species), followed by Fabaceae (16 genera and 18 species), Lamiaceae (8 genera and 9 species), Solanaceae (5 genera and 9 species), Amaranthaceae (7 genera and 8 species), Euphorbiaceae (4 genera and 8 species) and Apocynaceae (6 genera and 7 species). In Gymnosperms, 5 families were recorded which include family Pinaceae, Cycadaceae, Zamiaceae, Araucariaceae and Cupressaceae. In pteridophytes, only two species of the family Pteridaceae were recorded. The categorizations on the basis of species habit, 96 species were recorded as herbs, 23 shrubs, 48 trees, 14 climbers, 8 grasses and 2 species of ferns. On the basis of species economic importance, 111 species had medicinal value, 43 ornamental, 8 medicinal-edible, 8 fodder, 7 edible, 2 medicinal-ornamental, 2 edible-fodder, 1 medicinal-timber, 1 fuel-fodder, 1 fuel-timber-edible-ornamental, 1 medicinal-fiber, 1 medicinal-fuel-fodder-religious, 1 ornamental-fuel, 1 ornamental-religious, 1 condiment uses while rests of the 2 species have other uses. In terms of occurrence, 36.64% species were native, while 63.35% species were non-native. The study provides baseline information on a modified habitat in an important eco-region and would be helpful in monitoring the changes in future. Key words: Doon University, vascular plants, life form, nativity, exotic.
Highlights
India is one of the 19 megabiodiverse countries of the world and consists of 48,158 species of plants (Anonymous, 2016) and 97,514 species of animals (Anonymous, 2016) in its ten biogeographic regions
Shivalik or sub-Himalayan region is the youngest and ecologically fragile mountains have been categorized under the Indo-Gangetic plains with unique significance which integrates ecosystem of Indo-Malayan and palaearctic regions (Shivkumar et al, 2010)
In Uttarakhand State, the Shivalik Himalaya covers Tarai-Bhabhar, Shivalik and lesser Himalayan zones which include the part of district Pauri, Tehri, Dehradun and Haridwar, etc (Sharma et al, 2011)
Summary
India is one of the 19 megabiodiverse countries of the world and consists of 48,158 species of plants (Anonymous, 2016) and 97,514 species of animals (Anonymous, 2016) in its ten biogeographic regions. The. Shivalik or sub-Himalayan region is the youngest and ecologically fragile mountains have been categorized under the Indo-Gangetic plains with unique significance which integrates ecosystem of Indo-Malayan and palaearctic regions (Shivkumar et al, 2010). Several studies have been conducted to understand vegetation diversity and pattern of Shivalik and its adjacent areas such as Upper Gangetic plains (Raizada, 1976), Chakrata, Dehradun and Saharanpur (Kanjilal, 1979), Mussoorie (Raizada and Saxena, 1984), Shimla (Collet, 1980), Garhwal Himalaya (Gaur, 1999; Sharma, 2013), Rajaji National Park (Singh and Anand, 2002), Dehradun (Adhikari, 2008, 2010) and Binog Wildlife Sanctuary (Kumar et al, 2012). Outstanding work on economically important plant species was done by various workers (Nadkarni, 1910; Jain, 1968; Chauhan, 1999; Prajapati et al, 2003; Rawat and Vashistha, 2011)
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