Assessment of Herbaceous Species Diversity in Kanakbira and Ramtak Regions of Gomarda Wildlife Sanctuary, Chhattisgarh, India

Abstract

The herbaceous diversity serves as primary nutritional foundation for diverse range of fauna within tropical sanctuary ecosystems. Therefore, systematic evaluation of community structure of herbaceous plant species is essential to manage habitat of both carnivores and herbivores Present research work was carried out in Ramtek and Kanakbira villages located inside GWS, Sarangarh-Bilaigarh District under Chhattisgarh State. The species richness was evaluated using Circular Quadrats method (with circumference of 354.4 cm). The taxonomic classification of plant species was performed according to Bentham and Hooker classification system. Vegetation was sampled in triplicate to determine Mean IVI and Standard Deviation for each species across 71 recorded plant taxa. We have observed 71 plants species distributed across 23 families. The maximum taxonomic dominance was noted with Poaceae family (17 species, 23.9% contribution). The Heteropogon contortus (L.) P. Beauv. was identified as most ecologically significant herb with highest Mean IVI of 22.64 ±4.05. Family viz., Asteraceae, Fabaceae and Cyperaceae were contributed 9.9% (each) to total richness. Conversely, Rosa mollissima L. were exhibited lowest ecological presence with Mean IVI of 0.75 ±0.13. Primary limitation of present study was its focus on specific village-adjacent sites which may not fully represent entire biodiversity of GWS. Future research should involve long-term, multi-season monitoring of plant species.