Diversity of Invasive Alien Dicot Species in Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India

Abstract

Objective: Regular assessment of invasive species is essential to understand the status of flora in any area. The current study is the result of a floristic survey of wild dicotyledonous angiospermic plants of Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India. Methods: For the study, field surveys were conducted from the year 2016-2022. Plant specimens were collected, dried, poisoned and herbarium were prepared. Specimens were identified with the help of various Floras. Results: Anthropogenic stresses on the vegetation are on high in the area in the form of intensive agricultural farming, industrial activities, university campus activities, roads and traffic, parks and playgrounds and continuous removal of natural wild vegetation. The natural tarai vegetation of the region is nearly lost or found in patches while a major portion of the vegetation is composed of invasive alien plant species (IAPS). Two assessments of invasive alien angiosperm species have been carried out in the area during the last decade in 2011 and 2015. These assessments reported the presence of 52 species [16] and 85 species [17] of invasive alien dicot plants. The current study, however, reveals the presence of 105 invasive alien dicot species (IADS) from the study region. This large increment of more than 23 % in the IADS in such a short span of time reflects the poor state of natural vegetation and high degree of anthropogenic activities in the area. The nativity analysis revealed the dominance of South American elements (53.33%) in the invasive alien dicot flora of the study region, followed by Tropical American, African and North American elements.