World Journal of
Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences

THREATENED PLANTS OF TUNGAL VALLEY. NORTH WESTERN HIMALAYAS: THEIR DIVERSITY, DISTRIBUTION, INDIGENOUS USES AND NEED OF CONSERVATION.

Tara Devi Sen* and Tanuja Thakur

ABSTRACT

Western Himalayas is a rich store house of plant diversity, radially utilized as a source of food, fodder, fuel, timber, medicine and materials by local communities due to tremendous nutritive, medicinal and economic values of these wild floral elements. From recent few years with advancement in technology, changed food habits and life style of even a common man, there is outbreak of many serious diseases. Therefore, search for medicinal plants, their processing, utilization and marketing has gained attention round the world. Himachal Pradesh being top repositories of medicinal herbs among the states lying in Western Himalaya is also one of the major sources of raw material of important medicinal plants to the global market. So, many important plants whose reproductive parts are utilized for medicinal purposes are harvested from natural habitat unsustainably. This unsustainable extraction of medicinal herbs has threatened several high value taxa. So present study has been undertaken to document threatened plants of the Tungal Valley lying Tungal Tehsil (31°75'70.3 " N latitudes and 76°87' 32.5" E longitudes) of Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh, North West Himalaya covering approximately 64.04 hectare land and 64 villages. The total human population of study area is 25,860. and altitudinal range varies from 1150-2100m. Threat categories of the species documented in present study have been calculated based on habitat, distributional range, nativity, wild status, UV and its DMR value of the plants, Total 30 plant species (Herbs=13, Shrubs= 6, Tree= 11) belonging to 21 families and 29 genera has been documented as threatened plants.Among families Liliaceae was found dominant represented by 3 spp and among genera Polygonatum was dominant represented by 2 spp. These plants were abundant in past but their natural population in natural habitat has declined significantly from last few years due to over exploitation, habitat fragmentation and climate change.All the threatened attributes were divided into three grades; highest (10 marks); subsequent (6 marks) and least (2 marks). The species fulfilling all the attributes in highest grade resulted in highest CU(cumulative values). On the basis of CU score plants were categorized as critically endangered (CR), endangered (EN) and vulnerable (VU). To ensure sustainable harvesting of assessed plants mass awareness and ex-situ cultivation through community involvement is looked as probable solution to meet raw material market demand and diluting in-situ extraction pressure.

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