Himalayas are globally important biodiversity hotspots and are facing rapid loss in floristic diversity and changing pattern of vegetation due to various biotic and abiotic factors. This has necessitated the qualitative and quantitative assessment of vegetation here. The present study was conducted in Sangla Valley of northwest Himalaya aiming to assess the structure of vegetation and its trend in the valley along the altitudinal gradient. In the forest and alpine zones of the valley, 15 communities were recorded. Study revealed 320 species belonging to 199 genera and 75 families. Asteraceae, Rosaceae, Apiaceae, and Ranunculaceae were dominant. Among genera, Artemisia followed by Polygonum, Saussurea, Berberis, and Thalictrum were dominant. Tree and shrub's density ranged from 205 to 600 and from 105 to 1030 individual per hectare, respectively, whereas herbs ranged from 22.08 to 78.95 individual/m2. Nearly 182 species were native to the Himalaya. Maximum altitudinal distribution of few selected climate sensitive species was found to be highest in northeast and north aspects. This study gives an insight into the floristic diversity and community structure of the fragile Sangla Valley which was hitherto not available.
The aim of this study is to document the traditional knowledge on the utilization of Biofencing plants of Himachal Pradesh, Northwest Himalaya. The study was imperative because of dearth in the data pertaining to Biofencing plants in the study areas. The whole study area was stratified into three zones and a widespread field survey and random sampling method was adopted to assess the live fencing diversity of the region. The region occupies total 61 species. 10 (trees), 45 (shrubs), 4 (herbs) and 2 were climbers. These belong to the 25 families. Rosaceae, Fabaceae, Berberidaceae, Elaeagnaceae and Euphorbiaceae are dominant families. Among genera, Berberis and Rosa are dominant. Of the total, 55 species are medicinally important and among these 20% are used for stomach disorders; 17% (skin complaints), 14% (asthma), 11% (fever and joint pains), 3% (aphrodisiac and snake bite), 1% (anticancerous and nerve disorders). Ethnobotanical assessment showed that 33 of the recorded species are used as fuel, 20 (edible), 8 (fodder) and 4 (fiber and ornamental). This traditional knowledge of Biofencing plants contributes to the conservation of biodiversity and provides resource of economic and ecological interest and also decreasing the pressure on forests. So there is need to encourage the practice of using plant species for fencing in this region.
Materials and Methods Study area Sangla valley is located at Latitudes 31°10′01.00′′-31°30′17.16′′ N and Longitudes 78°10′26.52′′-78°52′ 41.75′′ E and altitudes varying from 1800 to 4600 m (Figure 1). The mountains of the valley are composed of carbonaceous slates, quartz schists, phyllite, garnetiferous schists, quartzite and lenticular limestone (Srikantia and Bhargava 1998). The valley is highly glacierized and the winter runoff of the valley is mostly contributed by dry precipitation than wet precipitation, which is on an average <150 mm per annum. The climatic conditions vary from dry temperate to alpine, and vegetation is mainly of temperate, sub-alpine and alpine types. The flora is represented by alpine pastures, dwarf Juniper scrub, subalpine forests/scrubs and temperate forests (Champion and Seth 1968). The socioeconomic livelihood of people (dominated by the tribal community Kinnauri) is largely based on agriculture and animal husbandry, along with seasonal collection of medicinal and other economic plants from natural habitats. Surveys, sampling, data collection Field work was done for two years, i.e., 2011 and 2012 between April to October, the most active period for floristic studies in the high mountains. The species were identified on site and herbarium specimens were brought to the working office of the
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.