Plant and fungi diversity of Devi Pindiyan Valley in Trikuta Hills of northwestern Himalaya, India

Abstract

The Devi Pindiyan Valley, an abode of Goddess Vaishno Devi, in Trikuta Hills (western Himalaya) is a unique hill-top land ecosystem with a diverse regional mixed subtropical and temperate flora. Because of its suitable geographic location, specific and unique habitat conditions, this mountainous belt of Shivalik Himalaya has a large number of endemic and threatened plant species. This study presents information on the plant diversity of Devi Pindiyan Valley of Trikuta Hills. Several line-transect (100m N-S and 100 E-W) surveys were conducted in which nested quadrats of 10m × 10m were laid for trees, within which interspersed two 5m × 5m sub-quadrats for shrubs and five 1m × 1m sub-quadrants for herbs at different places for determination of floristic composition. In the diverse habitats of this valley, we recorded 213 vascular plant species belonging to 164 genera under 71 families. This study area also harbors rich diversity of fungi, where the most visible 7 species of macrofungi belongs to 7 genera and 4 families were documented. Out of the documented species, 35 species have been categorized as threatened based on the latest IUCN Red list criteria, while 178 species are included in the catalogue of world life. Engelhardtia spicata Lechen ex Blume var. integra (Kurz) Manning ex Steenis has been categorized as Least Concerned (LC) by IUCN Red List site. The species diversity indicates the high conservation value of this area and documenting such an ecologically rich ecosystem becomes a prerequisite for developing and formulating conservation-cum-management strategies. Therefore, we recommend there is need for ecological research in terms of biodiversity conservation on Devi Pindiyan Valley and similar ecosystems.

Keywords

• conservation status
• devi pindiyan valley
• floristic composition
• shivalik himalaya