Digital Floristic Documentation and Preliminary Assessment of Understory Vegetation in a Sal-Dominated Forest of Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India

Abstract

Understorey vegetation contributes substantially to forest biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, yet rapid preliminary documentation may be constrained by limited field time, taxonomic expertise, and survey resources. This study presents a georeferenced digital floristic reconnaissance of understorey plants in the Manduwala Forest Region of Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. Undergraduate forestry students conducted opportunistic field observations, photographed herbaceous and shrubby plants, and recorded locations using GPS-enabled cameras. iNaturalist supported preliminary identification, while accepted nomenclature and broad distributional status were subsequently checked using recognised taxonomic resources and relevant literature. Following conservative review, 25 observation records were retained. Eighteen records represented herbaceous or other low-growing forms and seven represented shrubs. The documented flora included native, introduced, disturbance-associated, and potentially invasive taxa, with several records retained only at genus level and two requiring further taxonomic verification. Because the reconnaissance did not use standardised quadrats, transects, repeated sampling, or abundance measurements, the records cannot be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory or as estimates of species richness, frequency, cover, or relative abundance. The observations therefore constitute presence records rather than a quantitative description of understorey community structure. Nevertheless, the approach generated traceable photographic and georeferenced records that can support preliminary biodiversity documentation, student training, and the identification of taxa and locations requiring systematic follow-up surveys.