Species Diversity and Composition of Macrophytes in Shallabugh Wetland, Ganderbal, Jammu, and Kashmir, India

Abstract

Macrophyte diversity, richness, and composition of the Shallabugh wetland Reserve, one of the Important Bird and Biodiversity Area in India. The wetland shows the presence of 39 plant species of 27 families and three tree species belonging to three families and a diversity index of H = 3.12 and Evenness e^H/S = 0.5836. The high Importance Value Index (IVI=22.8) was recorded for Typha latifolia, followed by Ceratophyllum demersum (IVI=19.2). The shift in macrophyte community structure is evidenced by the local extinction of Nelumbo nucifera from the Shallabugh wetland area and the near-disappearance of some economically important plants such as Trapa natans (IVI= 0.24). The investigation of various aspects of the wetland ecology of Shallabugh reveals that species composition has witnessed great changes over the years. The conversion of the 141 hectares of wetland into grassland gave way for terrestrial species to flourish. The study serves as the baseline study of the macrophyte community composition and structure of the Shallabugh wetland.