scholarly journals Threat Assessment and Prioritization of High-Value Medicinal Plants in Pindari Valley, Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, India

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 236-249
Author(s):  
Ravindra Kumar ◽  
Dhani Arya ◽  
K. Chandra Sekar ◽  
Monika Bisht
Keyword(s):  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Biosphere Reserve ◽  
Threat Assessment ◽  
Plant Resources ◽  
Threat Status ◽  
Threat Categories ◽  
Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve ◽  
Aconitum Heterophyllum

The communication assesses the high-value medicinal plants reported in Pindari Valley, Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, Uttarakhand, using a score-based method for prioritization and conservation. A total of 42 high-value medicinal plants were assessed, prioritized and scored on the basis of rapid threat assessment. Maximum threat was recorded for Aconitum heterophyllum followed by Picrorhiza kurrooa and Nardostachys jatamansi given their limited number of individuals observed in the study area as well as high utilization patterns. Minimum threat status was recorded for Epilobium angustifolium, where the species was found in higher density in its natural habitat. Among the recorded species, 64% were observed growing in grassland/alpine pastures and open/alpine slopes. 55% of species were native/endemic to Himalaya and 48% were extracted by the inhabitants. Underground portions (roots/rhizomes/tubers) of 40% of the species were utilized leading to destruction in natural habitat. Out of 42 medicinal plants, 16 species have been prioritized for conservation and recognized in different threat categories and most of these species are collected from natural habitat without scientific knowledge. Conclusion of the study might helpful for identifying threatened plants in the region so as to initiate sustainable use and conservation practices of high-value medicinal plant resources.

Habitat characteristics of selected Medicinal Plants of Alpine and Sub Alpine Zone of Uttarakhand

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 159-163
Author(s):  
B.P. Tamta ◽  
◽  
Vishavjit Kumar ◽  
Nafeesh Ahamed ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Medicinal Plant ◽  
Plant Conservation ◽  
Grazing Pressure ◽  
Habitat Characteristics ◽  
Conservation Areas ◽  
Plant Resources ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Alpine Zone ◽  
Aconitum Heterophyllum

The shrinking natural habitats due to unscientific harvesting, grazing pressure and climate change have severely threatened the medicinal plant resources. This paper presents the observation on the population, habitat and occurrence of 3 medicinal plants viz. Aconitum heterophyllum, Nardostachys jatamansi and Picrorhiza kurrooa in the Kandara and Khulia Medicinal Plant Conservation Areas (MPCAs) of Uttarakhand based on studies conducted by the author.

Prioritizing Conservation of Medicinal Flora in the Himalayan Biodiversity Hotspot: An Integrated Ecological and Socioeconomic Approach

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bilal A Tali ◽  
Anzar A Khuroo ◽  
Irshad A Nawchoo ◽  
Aijaz H Ganie
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Biodiversity Hotspot ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
International Union ◽  
Jammu And Kashmir ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Threat Status ◽  
Threat Categories ◽  
Narrow Endemics ◽  
Medicinal Flora

SummaryTo achieve the challenging goals of minimizing loss of species and achieving sustainable use of biodiversity, conservation prioritization merits urgent research attention. The present study identifies the priority of conservation for the medicinal flora of the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) region, a Himalayan biodiversity hotspot. A total of 881 medicinal plant species were scored based on key ecological (endemism, threat status) and socioeconomic (use value, mode of harvesting) criteria, and 50 of these are prioritized for conservation; most of these are narrow endemics. Worryingly, all of the 50 prioritized species are currently recognized under different International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources threat categories, are highly prized for their use in traditional medicine in the region and are precious sustainable bioresources for the herbal industry. Most of these prioritized species are being harvested illegally. This integrated ecological and socioeconomic study has immediate implications for evidence-based and target-orientated conservation policy and practice in this Himalayan region.

scholarly journals An integrated approach to identification and conservation of medicinal plants in the tropical forest—a Brazilian experience

2005 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luiz Claudio Di Stasi
Keyword(s):  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Multiple Use ◽  
Regional Markets ◽  
Toxicological Studies

An integrated and interdisciplinary research programme with native medicinal plants from tropical forests has been performed in order to obtain new forest products for sustainable use in regional markets vis-à-vis ecosystem conservation. For the success of this programme ethnopharmacological studies are very important with respect to (i) identification of useful plants including medicinal and aromatic species; (ii) recuperation and preservation of traditional knowledge about native plants; and (iii) identification of potential plants with economic value. The plants are selected with a view to evaluate efficacy and safety (pharmacological and toxicological studies), and phytochemical profile and quality control (phytochemical and chromatographic characterization). These studies are very important to add value to plant products and also to mitigate unscrupulous exploitation of medicinal plants by local communities, since multiple use of plants represents an excellent strategy for sustaining the tropical ecosystem through ex situ and in situ conservation. Thus, conservation of tropical resources is possible in conjunction with improvements in the quality of life of the traditional communities and production of new products with therapeutic, cosmetic and ‘cosmeceutic’ value.

Sustainable use of wild plant species: A research bibliography

Social Change ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 204-221
Author(s):  
Ghazala Shahabuddin
Keyword(s):  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Wild Plant ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Nature Protection ◽  
Plant Resources ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Field Methods

During the last few decades, there has been a growing realisation that biodiversity conservation cannot be successful without the active involvement of the people living close to and dependent on natural ecosystems for their survival and livelihoods. Consequently, there has been a gradual broadening of the global conservation agenda from strict nature protection to include the sustainable use of natural resources, which is now reflected in governmental policy the world over. However, as conservationists strive today towards the harmonisation of people's needs with biodiversity conservation, one of the most elusive, yet critical, goals for them has been the sustainable extraction of plant resources from the wild. Hundreds of plant species continue to be extracted from natural habitats for use as food, medicine, fuel and fodder in households and for commercial sale, both legally and illegally. As a consequence of unmonitored extraction and over-exploitation, many plant species populations are reported to be declining in the wild. In the face of increasing pressure on forest resources, it has become more important than ever before to devise quantitative management policies for sustainable plant use so that both forests and the livelihoods of millions of rural people who are dependent on them, can be sustained. One of the major stumbling blocks for conservationists in developing countries, who are attempting to design and implement sustainable forest management systems, is the lack of information on the state-of-the-art in this field, especially that relating to field methods, data analysis, data recording and monitoring systems. In order to fill this lacuna, a comprehensive bibliography of studies undertaken so far in the science of sustainable use from terrestrial ecosystems is presented here. The scope of this bibliography includes sustainable

scholarly journals A Contribution to the flora of Rajouri and Poonch districts in the Pir Panjal Himalaya (Jammu & Kashmir), India

Check List ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gh. Hassan Dar ◽  
Akhtar H. Malik ◽  
Anzar A. Khuroo
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Scientific Data ◽  
Current Paper ◽  
Himalayan Region ◽  
Plant Resources ◽  
Jammu And Kashmir

The current paper provides a taxonomic inventory of the vascular plant species collected by the authors during the last two decades from the Rajouri and Poonch districts, located along the Pir Panjal range in the Indian Himalayan State of Jammu and Kashmir. The inventory records a total of 352 species, which belong to 270 genera in 83 families. Of the total taxa, the angiosperms are represented by 331 species in 253 genera and 77 families; gymnosperms by 12 species in 9 genera and 3 families; and pteridophytes by 9 species in 7 genera and 3 families. Asteraceae is the largest family, contributing 42 species; while Artemisia is the largest genus, with 5 species. The inventory is expected to provide baseline scientific data for further studies on plant diversity in these two border districts, and can be used to facilitate the long-term conservation and sustainable use of plant resources in this Himalayan region.

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