floristic survey

Bhadrak district of Odisha, India harbors many water bodies, varying in shape and size, which remain underwater during the rainy season and provide a good habitat to various plant taxa. To assess the status and distribution of aquatic flora, trips were conducted in the intensive study area. A total of 167 plant species were recorded, of which 38 species of hydrophytes (including three pteridophytes) were found in aquatic habitat and 129 species in moist habitat. The most represented plant families were Poaceae (28 sp.) and Cyperaceae (19 sp.). Alternanthera philoxeroides (Mart) Griseb., Alternanthera sessilis (L.)R.Br.ex DC., Centella asiatica (L.) Urb., Commelina benghalensis L., Cyperus alopecuroides Rottb. Descr., Eclipta prostrata (L.) L., Eichhornia crassipes Solms, Hydrilla verticillata (L.f.) Royle., Hygrophila auriculata (Schum.) Heine., Ipomoea aquatica Forssk., Ipomoea carnea Jacq., Glinus oppositifolius (L.) A.DC., Ludwigia adscendens (L.) Hara, Nymphaea pubescens Willd., Oxalis corniculata L., Pistia stratiotes L., and Typha angustata Bory. & Chaub. were the most common species in all the habitats. Therophytes with 41.9% (70 species) were the highest life form followed by Hydrophytes (22.7%) and Chamaephyte (15%). The status of flora, management and its ecosystem services has been discussed in the paper. In order to conserve the aquatic biodiversity in this region, some strategies and measures are suggested including strengthening scientific research and biodiversity education in the local people, balancing economic development and ecological conservation.

Thar desert is one of the ecosystem possessing highest biodiversity among the desert ecosystems of the world. The floristic survey of Thar desert was carried out during 2013-2015. A total of 62 families, 157 genera and 206species were documented from the area. Three most dominant families of plants in the study area were Fabaceae (29species), followed by Poaceae (26 species) and Asteraceae (15 species. The habit wise analysis of the results depicted that herbaceous vegetation (60.10%) were highest prevailing vegetation in Thar dessert followed by shrubs (16.26%), trees (14.29%) and climber (9.36%). The results of the study will be helpful for conservation and sustainable utilization and management of the plant resources of the Thar desert of the western Rajasthan.