Zeitschrift für Biodiversitätsmanagement und Forstwirtschaft

Diversity and Regeneration Aspects of Medicinal Plants at Devimane, Uttara Kannada District, Karnataka, Central Western Ghats

G. R. Rao, G. Krishnakumar, Sumesh N. Dudani, M. D. Subash Chandran and T. V. Ramachandra

Diversity and Regeneration Aspects of Medicinal Plants at Devimane, Uttara Kannada District, Karnataka, Central Western Ghats

Plants form an important source of traditional medicines for a major portion of population living in the tropical countries, since time immemorial. The Western Ghats of India is ranked among the 34 global biodiversity hotspots and is a storehouse of exemplarily rich biodiversity including numerous medicinal plants. However, excessive anthropogenic pressures on this ecosystem have resulted in severe depletion of natural resources and hence, this study was taken up to highlight the medicinal plant diversity and their regeneration aspects in Devimane area of Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka. Forest survey was carried out using a transect-based quadrat method revealing the presence of 348 plant species and about 40% of them are endemic to the Western Ghats-SriLanka region.