Int J Pharma Bio Sci 2019 July; 10(3): (B) 107-112

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Original Research Article Allied Sciences

International Journal of Pharma and Bio Sciences ISSN

0975-6299

ASSESSMENT OF ANGIOSPERMIC DIVERSITY WITH EARLIER

FLORA OF AMBALA DISTRICT, HARYANA (INDIA)

DR. MANDEEP KAUR*

Department of Botany, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra-136119 (Haryana), India

ABSTRACT

The assessment of plant diversity could play an important role in planning conservation strategies and sustainable use of available resources. A total of 414 plant species belonging to the 294 genera and 90 families were recorded from this area. Considerable reduction in the number of members of Cyperaceae, Scrophulariaceae and Solanaceae has been observed in the study area when compared. The phytogeographical analysis of data of Ambala district reveals that tropical Indian elements form the major part (ca 44 %) of the flora of Ambala district, this is followed by American, Cosmopolitan whereas Australian, Mediterranean, African, Malayan and Himalayan and temperate elements are equally represented. During survey it has been noticed that the changing environmental conditions, human activities and introduction of invasive species are resulting in the loss of native floristic diversity of the area. As a result of habitat fragmentation and habitat destruction some of species such as Gloriosa superba, Oroxylum indicum, Clitoria ternatea, Sphagneticola calendulacea, Martynia annua, Bacopa monnieri, Heliotropium strigosum, Pentatropis nivalis and Plumbago zeylanica are in queue for becoming extinct in the future from the study area as these has been reported at one or two study sites in the district.

KEYWORDS: Angiospermic diversity, Assessment, Habitat fragmentation, habitat destruction, invasive species, extinct.

Received on: 26-04-2019

Revised and Accepted on: 24-06-2019

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22376/ijpbs.2019.10.3.b107-112

Creative commons version 4.0

DR. MANDEEP KAUR *

Department of Botany, Kurukshetra University,

Kurukshetra-136119 (Haryana), India

Int J Pharma Bio Sci 2019 July; 10(3): (B) 107-112

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INTRODUCTION

Biodiversity is the heritage of millions of years of evolution. The enormous variety of life on earth is the result of complex interactions among all living organisms including microscopic species. At present, the number of species described is more than 1.7 million, including 270,000 species of plants. Although, there is no correct idea about the total number of species, scientists believe that it could be anything from 5-100 million. There may be 10 million described species in the deep sea alone

1 (Biodiversity is important for our survival as it

provides us ecosystem services, food, medicines, natural products, economic benefits, and natural beauty. As mentioned earlier, the survival and well being of the present day human population depends on several substances obtained from plants and animals. The conservation of plants has not generated a sense of urgency or the funding that drives the conservation of animals, although plants are far more important for us. There are an estimated 500,000 species of land plants (angiosperms, gymnosperms, ferns, lycophytes, and bryophytes), with diversity strongly concentrated in the humid tropics. Many species are still unknown to science. Perhaps a third of all land plants are at risk of extinction, including many that are described or are described but otherwise data deficient. There have been few known global extinctions so far, but many additional species have not been recorded recently and may be extinct.

2 hence, it was realized that we must conserve

biodiversity. The first step in this direction is to measure biodiversity occurring in various regions of the earth periodically. A measure of a number of species present

(species richness) at a given site, in a given area or country and ultimately in the whole world is still the most straightforward and in many ways the most useful measure of biodiversity. It has been realized that the study of local or regional flora is of much more significance than those covering big areas because explorations can be carried out intensively in small areas. Increased industrialization and urbanization are adversely affecting biodiversity of our planet. Therefore, work was started to explore the species diversity of the state of Haryana in phases. The present paper is based on five years of extensive surveys conducted in the study area from March 2011 to March 2016. The work was initiated with the purpose of compiling the floristic diversity of the region in order to provide reference material for many other scientific disciplines. Ambala has a semi-arid as well as tropical climate. Elements of the temperate and alpine region are less recorded in the study. Therefore, the flora of this region is compared with that of Upper Gangetic plain, Delhi and Punjab.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Study area Ambala district lies on the North-Eastern edge of Haryana (27-39"-45' N to 76-36"-52' E) was the area chosen for study (figs. 1 & 2). It is bordered by the district Yamuna Nagar to the South-East and Kurukshetra district lies to its south while in its west is situated Patiala and Ropar districts of Punjab along with the Union Territory of Chandigarh.The rainfall is monsoonal and the chief portion of this is received from July to September.

Figure 1 Figure 2 Map of Haryana showing Ambala District Map of Ambala district showing forest Division

METHODOLOGY

The surveys were conducted in the different areas of Ambala district during the year 2011 to 2015. The ultimate aim of the present study was to explore the forests of Ambala district of Haryana in order to analyze

the floral diversity in angiosperms of this area. Following procedure had been followed during the surveys

3:

Collection The plants in flowering and/or fruiting conditions were collected so far as possible all morphological details including flower/or fruit are retained in the specimen. A

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field note book was prepared for labeling the plants, which comprised of the specimen number, date of collection, locality of collection, habit, habitat, flower color and any special feature of the plant, if present. Plants were photographed in natural habitat.

Preservation The specimens were sprayed with 10% solution of formaldehyde in order to protect them from infection or attack by insects and fungi. The formaldehyde solution taken in plastic bottle will be sprayed on newspaper containing specimens placed in polythene bags. After this, the specimens are sealed in air tight with cellophane in same polythene bags. Pressing and drying The collected and preserved specimens were taken out from the polythene bags after 20-24 hours. Drying of specimens is done by placing the specimens in the folders of absorbent material such as blotting paper under some pressure in wooden plant press fitted with screws on four corners. Drying folders will be changed after suitable period depending upon moisture content of the specimens and climatic conditions. Identification and comparison The polythene bags containing collected specimens were opened from time to time and the specimens were taken out to study their morphological details for the purpose of identification. The identification and assessment of the specimens collected was done with the help of available literature.

[4, 5….11]

Mounting and labelling The collected and processed plants were mounted on standard sized herbarium sheets (28×42 cm).These sheets were properly labelled with the species names as followed in the description of work. The mounted and labelled sheets are deposited in the Herbarium of Botany Department, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

This research paper focuses on the current status of angiosperm plant diversity, the major threats to its continued persistence, and the priority actions for its conservation. Floristic information and in-depth knowledge about vegetation dynamics is considered as a necessary prerequisite for understanding the plant diversity of any region.

12A few floristic studies have been

conducted about some parts of Haryana but no specific reference is available on the floristic composition of this region. Therefore, the present study has been conducted to document the floristic diversity, composition and exotic species of this region. Ambala has a semi-arid as well as tropical climate. Elements of the temperate and alpine region are less recorded in the study. Therefore, the flora of this region is compared with that of Flora of India, Upper Gangetic plain, Delhi and Punjab. During the floristic study 414 species belonging to 294 genera and 90 families have been described from the various sites in Ambala district, Haryana (Fig 3 & 4). Out of total 90 families reported, 14 belong to monocots and 76 to dicots. The ratio of monocot to dicot family is 1: 5.2 while this ratio is 1: 4.37 for Haryana. Genera wise the ratio of monocot to dicot is 1: 4.89 while this ratio for India is 1: 7, for Upper Gangetic Plains 1: 2.2, for Delhi 1:1.6 and for Haryana 1: 4.82. Species-wise ratio of monocots to dicots is 1: 5.2 and for Haryana it is 1: 3.89. Ratio for family to genera for dicots is 1: 3.22 while it is 1: 4.59 for Haryana and for monocots it is 1: 3.5 and 1: 4.12 for Haryana, further genera to species ratio for dicots is almost equal to that of Haryana while monocot ratio is higher than ratio for Haryana as depicted in (Table 1). Comparisons indicate that there is an increase in the number of dicot families and species, whereas there is almost no change in the family to genera ratio. In comparison to Delhi and other parts of Gangetic plains and in Haryana, the ratio of the family to genera is higher but considerably less in comparison to overall flora of India.

Figure 3 Total number of families, genera and species recorded.

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Figure 4 Comparison of families, genera, species of Monocot and Dicot.

Table 1

Comparison of ratio of monocot to dicots, family to genera and genera to species with Haryana (Jain et al., 2000)

S.No. Category Taxa Ratio (Haryana, Jain et al. 2000)

Ratio (Present Study)

1.

Monocot to Dicot Family Genera Species

1: 4.37 1: 4.82 1: 3.89

1: 5.25 1: 4.88 1: 5.2

2.

Family to Genera Dicot Monocot

1: 4.59 1: 4.12

1:3.22 1:3.5

3.

Genera to Species Dicot Monocot

1: 1.65 1: 2.05

1: 0.84 1: 1.5

An analysis on the basis of habit revealed the dominance of herbaceous flora (239 species) followed by shrubs (95 species) and trees (80 species), respectively (Fig 5). The High percentage of herbs and shrubs may be due to existing soil quality and prevailing climatic factors like temperature and rainfall. It is

particularly pertinent to mention herbs complete their life cycle in the rainy season and only hardy perennials can survive in this region especially during adverse environmental conditions and growing anthropogenic activities.

Figure 5 Habit of plant species

Dominance of Families and genera Comparison of ten dominant families in the present work with earlier works on adjoining regions as well as that of India (Table 2) suggests that in most of these works,

family Poaceae tops the list as per number of species concerned except flora of India (Hooker, 1907) and in this region this family has been shifted to the second position as evident by present work as well as by Jain et

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al. (2000). Orchidaceae, the largest family in India (Hooker, 1907) has no representation in this area at present, which may be due to sub-arid climatic conditions in the region not conducive for the growth of orchids. The family Leguminosae (Fabaceae) occupies the first position in the present study as well as in the earlier study by Jain et al. (2000). Asteraceae ranks third, in almost all the studied flora except the Flora of

India (Hooker, 1907) where it ranks seventh. Considerable reduction in the number of members of Cyperaceae, Scrophulariaceae and Solanaceaehave been observed in the present study in comparison to earlier works in this region. This may be due to changes in climatic and edaphic conditions due to lots of industrialization and urbanization in this region. (Jain et al. 2000; Duthie, 1903-22; Nair, 1980).

Table 2

Dominant families in Ambala district and its comparison with some previous studies

Sr. No.

Ambala District Present Work

Flora of Haryana (Jain et al. 2000)

Fl. Upp. Gang. Pl.

(Duthie, 1903-22)

Punjab Plains (Nair, 1980)

Flora of India (Hooker,1907)

1 Leguminosae (Fabaceae)

Leguminosae (Fabaceae)

Poaceae Poaceae Orchidaceae

2 Poaceae Poaceae Leguminosae Leguminosae Leguminosae

3 Asteraceae Asteraceae Asteraceae Asteraceae Poaceae

4 Euphorbiaceae Cyperaceae Cyperaceae Cyperaceae Rubiaceae

5 Convolvulaceae Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae Malvaceae Euphorbiaceae

6 Solanaceae Convolvulaceae Orchidaceae Acanthaceae Acanthaceae

7 Malvaceae Lamiaceae Acanthaceae Euphorbiaceae Asteraceae

8 Amaranthaceae Scrophulariaceae Urticaceae Convolvulaceae Cyperaceae

9 Cyperaceae Amaranthaceae Lamiaceae Scrophulariaceae Lamiaceae

10 Acanthaceae Verbenaceae Convolvulaceae Amaranthaceae Urticaceae

Diversity of the Exotic plants: According to the Ministry of Environment and Forests 4th annual biodiversity report (2009)

13, 173 invasive

alien species were recorded in India. In India, the Indo-Gangetic Plains and the Thar Desert regions are very rich in exotic flora

14, while Himalayan and peninsular

regions are poor in exotic flora (Ahmad, 1999). In the present study, 53.26 % species were of exotic origin. The phytogeographical analysis of data of Ambala

district reveals that tropical Indian elements form the major part (ca33 %) of the flora of Ambaladistrict, this is followed by Cosmopolitan, American, and African. Australian and European are equally represented followed by Himalayan temperate and Malayan elements (Fig 6). However, Jain et al. (2000) reported predominance of Afro-Asian element in the flora of North-East Haryana, closely followed by Indian elements.

Figure 6 Comparison of % of various phytogeographical elements in the

flora of Ambala district A comparison of the species described by Earlier worker from Ambala A comparison of the species described by Jain et al. (2000) from Ambala with species recorded during the

present work revealed that out of 414 species, 296 species are common and 118 species are not reported by Duthie (1903-22) from the present study. 237 species are common when compared with Nair (1980) out of 414

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species collected. Whereas 177 species are not described by Nair (1980) from the present study area. Species that are not reported by Duthie (1903-22) are Holoptelea integrifolia, Croton bonplandianum, Euphorbia granulata, Euphorbia helioscopia, Alternanthera paronychioides, Mecardonia procumbens, Hyptis suaveolens, Verbascum chinense, Merremia aegyptia, Galium aparine , Cleome gynandra, Cassia javanica, Cassia siamea, Cassia floribunda, Cassia tora, Acacia auriculiformis, Eucalyptus crebra, Saccharum bengalense, Eragrostis tenella, Echinochloa crus-galli, Digitariaabludens, Bothriochloa insculpta, Cymbopogon martini etc. A comparison of the species described by Jain et al. (2000) from Ambala with species collected during the present work revealed that out of the 414 species, 67 species are common in both of these works, whereas 11 species described by Jain et al. (2000) were not recorded during the present study. Species described by Jain et al. (2000) from the study area but are not recorded in the present study. Some of them are Ranunculus arvensis, Ranunculus cantonensis, Nymphaea nouchali, Capparis zeylanica, Casearia tomentosa, Casearia graveolens, Flacourtia jangomas, Dodonaea angustifolia, Crotalaria spectabilis, Medicago lupulina etc. In the present study 336 species are those which are not described by Jain et al. (2000) from area few of them are Berberis lycium, Berberis asiatica, Barleria cristata, Vetiveria zizanioides , Gloriosa superba , Cleome gynandra, Flacourtia indica,

Cardiospermum halicacabum, Rhynchosia minima, Tephrosia candida, Teramnus labialis, Wendlandia heynei , Mecardonia procumbens, Streblus asper, Holoptelea integrifolia etc.

CONCLUSION

Changing environmental conditions due to global warming which results in floods and drought conditions in the area may be responsible for changes in the floristic patterns of this region. Human activities such as intensive cultivation, grazing, rapid urbanization, industrialization and construction of roads are the important factors which are affecting the vegetation. Invasive species are growing profoundly in the area resulting in the loss of native floristic diversity of the area As a result some of the species Gloriosa superba, Oroxylum indicum, Clitoria ternatea, Sphagneticola calendulacea, Martynia annua, Bacopa monnieri, Heliotropium strigosum, Pentatropis nivalis and Plumbago zeylanica are in queue for becoming extinct in the future from the study area as these have been reported at one or two study sites in the district.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Conflict of interest declared none.

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