Population and vulnerability assessment of high value medicinal plants in the Alpine regions of western Himalaya
2022
Sharma, Rohit | Kaur, Shalinder | Uniyal, Sanjay Kr
Declining population of medicinal plants in the wild is a major conservation issue. Researchers across the globe have advocated assessments of their populations for effective management prioritization. We, therefore, assessed populations of 15 high valued medicinal plant species of the Himalaya and carried out their rapid vulnerability assessment (RVA). Seven different habitats viz., gentle slopes (GS), moist areas (MA), rocky areas (RA), scree slopes (SS), shrub gaps (SG), under canopy (UC) and undulating meadows (UM) identified based on their physiognomy and landform were surveyed and sampled across six alpine sites in the state of Himachal Pradesh using quadrats. We found that distribution and population of different species varied significantly across habitats. Overall, Trillium govanianum reported the highest density (3.83 individuals/m²) and frequency (58.33%) while the lowest frequency (11.86%) was noted for Picrorhiza kurrooa. Amongst the 7 habitats, the highest species richness (13) and diversity (H′=2.118) were recorded in the GS and UM, respectively. As opposed to other species which occurred in multiple habitats, T. govanianum was restricted to UC only. The RVA score of the species ranged between 20 (reported by Heracleum candicans) to 33 (observed for Aconitum heterophyllum and Fritillaria roylei, each). Based on the conservation status, habitats of occurrence and RVA, A. heterophyllum, Dactylorhiza hatagirea, F. roylei, P. kurrooa, Sinopodophyllum hexandrum and T. govanianum have been identified as the reddest of the red. Since medicinal plants are habitat specific, thus heterogeneous landscape are key to in-situ medicinal plant conservation.
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