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Conservation and prioritization of threatened plants in Indian Himalayan Region

Biodiversity and Conservation volume 29, pages 1723–1745 (2020)Cite this article

Abstract

Assessing the impact of threats, identification, prioritization and predicting conservation pockets are vital for the conservation and management of threatened species. This study investigated the diversity and distribution through inventorization and analysis of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) categorized threatened plants and their prioritization for conservation. A total of 456 threatened taxa belonging to 233 genera coming under 87 families were recorded as threatened under various threat categories of IUCN. Among lited taxa, 64 species were falls under higher risk of extinction categories of IUCN viz. Critically endangered, Endangered, and Vulnerable with 13, 28 and 23 species respectively. Maximum number of threatened plants was found (84 species) in family Fabaceae followed by Cyperaceae (65 species) and Poaceae (36 species). Richness of threatened plants was found maximum in the Sikkim (203) followed by Himachal Pradesh (190) and Jammu & Kashmir (189). Major causes of depletion of threatened taxa were anthropogenic activities such as habitat loss, overgrazing, deforestation, over-exploitation and unsustainable harvesting of medicinal plants. Therefore, conservation of all the inventorized 64 threatened plants is needful at its earliest. Thus the strategies for the conservation of threatened species must be directed towards those species facing highest risk of extinction, biologically distinct and ecologically valuable for the ecosystem as well having socio-economic significance. Considering this, prioritization of the threatened species was done following existing methodologies. Among the threatened taxa, Angelica glauca, Coptis teeta, Lilium polyphyllum, Nardostachys jatamansi, Aconitum heterophyllum and Gentiana kurroo etc. are ranked at apex, thus needs higher priority for conservation. The study further indicate that six species such as Angelica glauca, Coptis teeta, Gymnocladus assamicus, Illicium griffithii, Piper pedicellatum and Saussurea costus are endemic, having restricted distribution, however highly traded in the IHR. Thus, it is proposed that these species must be taken under special apprehension for conservation planning. Besides this for the conservation of higher risk of extinction species, grid mapping of targeted species was done for identifying specific distribution areas for effective conservation.

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Abbreviations

IH:

Indian Himalayan Region

IUCN:

International Union for Conservation of Nature

CR:

Critically endangered

EN:

Endangered

VU:

Vulnerable

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to Director, GBPNIHESD, Kosi-Katarmal, Almora for providing the necessary facilities and encouragement. The funding support from Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India under National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE)-Task Force-3 ‘Forest Resources and Plant Biodiversity’ (DST/SPLICE/CCP/NMSHE/TF/GBPIHED/2014 [G] dated 2/09/14) is gratefully acknowledged. We are highly indebted to anonymous reviewers for providing valuable comments and suggestion for improvement of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Biodiversity Conservation and Management, G. B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment, Kosi-Katarmal, Almora, Uttarakhand, 263 643, India

    Poonam Mehta, K. Chandra Sekar, Deepika Bhatt, Kapil Bisht, Shashi Upadhyay & Vikram S. Negi

  2. Centre for Land and Water Resources Management, G. B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment, Kosi-Katarmal, Almora, Uttarakhand, 263 643, India

    Ashutosh Tewari

  3. Centre for Environmental Assessment & Climate Change, G. B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment, Kosi-Katarmal, Almora, Uttarakhand, 263 643, India

    Bhawana Soragi

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  1. Poonam Mehta
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Correspondence to K. Chandra Sekar.

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Mehta, P., Sekar, K.C., Bhatt, D. et al. Conservation and prioritization of threatened plants in Indian Himalayan Region. Biodivers Conserv 29, 1723–1745 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-020-01959-x

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Keywords

  • Threatened plants
  • Distribution
  • Diversity
  • Grid mapping
  • Indian himalayan region

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