Ecology and conservation of threatened plants in Tapkeshwari Hill ranges in the Kachchh Island, Gujarat, India

Main Article Content

P.N. Joshi
E.B. Joshi
B.K. Jain

Abstract

The survey was conducted in Tapkeshwari Hill Range (THR) areas, wherever threatened plant species were said to exist, based on secondary information in literature. Thirteen plant species categorized as ‘Threatened’ by the World Conservation Monitoring centre (WCMC 1994) and also listed under various threat categories in the Red Data Book of Indian Plants (Nayar & Sastry 1988) were surveyed in the THR. All the RET plants reported from the study area occupied eight major habitat types. Thorn mixed forests harbored the highest number of individuals (560) of all RET plants, followed by open scrubs (345 individuals), Acacia senegal forests (328) and thorn mixed scrubs (293). Field observations showed that except Helichrysum cutchicum, all the other RET plant species were reported with very low seedlings and regeneration ratio. This paper discusses the status, distribution and threats faced and the conservation implications at border regions of some of the threatened plants of the arid Kachchh district.

Article Details

Section
Communications
Author Biographies

P.N. Joshi

Dr. P.N. Joshi has a research experience of 12 years and published 48 research articles on plant ecology, participatory natural resource management and conservation. He is the registered member of IUCN – The World Conservation Union: Species Survival Commission Indian Subcontinent Plant Specialist Group (SSC-ISPSG) and Indian Association for Angiosperm Taxonomy (IAAT).

E.B. Joshi

Dr. Ekta B. Joshi, has a PhD in Plant Science (Ecology, Taxonomy and Conservation). She has research experience of five years and published eight articles in the fields of plant taxonomy, conservation of rare and endangered plants, ethnobotany among others.

B.K. Jain

Dr. B.K. Jain, Principal in M.G.Science Institute, Ahmedabad and has a research and teaching experience of more than 20 years. He has published several books on vegetation science and is doing research in various branches of botany.