Vegetation analysis on the mountain slopes of Yanaimalai in southern Tamil Nadu

Abstract

Yanaimalai hill in Southern Tamil Nadu is a rocky granite hill having vegetations in the cracks and crevices. The hill absorbs and irradiates heat waves more in summer making vegetation limited. Despite high temperature and erratic weather conditions, certain vegetations survive. A study on identifying the vegetation can pave way for future breeding programmes. Therefore, this study was undertaken during May 22 to June 5, 2022 to identify the vegetation and classify into weeds, shrubs and trees. Fifty sites identified on the mountain slopes and various phytosociological parameters, viz. weed density, relative density, frequency, relative frequency, abundance, importance value index and summer dominance ratio were estimated. From the study, it was confirmed that vegetation species such as Cleome viscosa, Tephrosia purpurea, Cymbopogon citratus, Canthium spp., Morinda tinctoria and Wrightia tinctoria were predominant. Based on the findings, the identified species can be used for further genetic study on high temperature and drought tolerance for various breeding programmes.