Uttarakhand, one of the divisions of Indian Himalayan Region (IHR), is an abode of exclusive floral and faunal biodiversity of India. The state is exceptionally bestowed with multifarious natural ecosystems and the very first province to release the report on the conservation of endemic threatened flora to redress the plant blindness in this era of rapidly declining biodiversity. In this order, the present study is a little attempt to compile a list of total threatened flora of Uttarakhand with the help of state, national and international literature. The results concluded a total of 358 plant species under different threat categories within the state. Moreover, nearly half of the total threatened flora emerged out as endemic (40% bryophytes, 100% pteridophytes and 40.3% angiosperms). Collectively, the angiosperms dominated the threatened list of total flora of Uttarakhand followed by gymnosperms, bryophytes and fungi. This may be due to the less attention paid on lower flora to collect the information at different levels. To ignore such type of plant blindness, the United Nations Biodiversity has also insisted the people to use the new term ‘funga’ alongside ‘flora and fauna’. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is universally acknowledged to assess the red list of the total threatened floral and faunal species. However, the other threat assessing organizations at state, national and international levels should be given equal importance to maintain the threatened data about all the species of the world as IUCN alone is not the last hope. Further, the collaborative efforts, fundings and engagement of governing bodies and non-governmental organizations can broaden the conservation practices.

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Current Status and Cataloging of Threatened Plants of Uttarakhand

  • Shaiphali Saxena,
  • Jitendra Prasad

摘要

Uttarakhand, one of the divisions of Indian Himalayan Region (IHR), is an abode of exclusive floral and faunal biodiversity of India. The state is exceptionally bestowed with multifarious natural ecosystems and the very first province to release the report on the conservation of endemic threatened flora to redress the plant blindness in this era of rapidly declining biodiversity. In this order, the present study is a little attempt to compile a list of total threatened flora of Uttarakhand with the help of state, national and international literature. The results concluded a total of 358 plant species under different threat categories within the state. Moreover, nearly half of the total threatened flora emerged out as endemic (40% bryophytes, 100% pteridophytes and 40.3% angiosperms). Collectively, the angiosperms dominated the threatened list of total flora of Uttarakhand followed by gymnosperms, bryophytes and fungi. This may be due to the less attention paid on lower flora to collect the information at different levels. To ignore such type of plant blindness, the United Nations Biodiversity has also insisted the people to use the new term ‘funga’ alongside ‘flora and fauna’. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is universally acknowledged to assess the red list of the total threatened floral and faunal species. However, the other threat assessing organizations at state, national and international levels should be given equal importance to maintain the threatened data about all the species of the world as IUCN alone is not the last hope. Further, the collaborative efforts, fundings and engagement of governing bodies and non-governmental organizations can broaden the conservation practices.