Journal of Environment, Ecology, Family And Urban Studies (JEEFUS) Vol. 2, Issue 2, Dec 2016, 5-8 © TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.

PHYTOGEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS OF

DISTRICT OF ,

SAINKHEDIYA JEETENDRA Department of Botany, PMB Gujarati Science College, , Madhya Pradesh, India ABSTRACT

Harda district is situated in the eastern part of Madhya Pradesh, India. Present study deals with phytogeography of Harda district of Madhya Pradesh, India and records 902 wild and naturalized species in the 2645 sq km where is 2.93 species density which show that the area is a meting ground for diverse floristic elements. 382 plant genera are monogeneric where each genus has only one species. The southern part of the Harda district is covered by Satpura hill ranges and extended part of plateau with no obvious natural boundary that can held any endemic flora. Phytogeographical elements of Harda district have been analyzed which show that 33.11 % species of this floristic element are native to India and adjoining areas. The Eastern elements constitute 6.60% while the percentage of these elements in dry deciduous tree forests of Madhya Pradesh is 22%. The western element is 19.03% whereas it accounts 8% for India. 41.25 % is general element in the study area. 25.38 % of the floral elements of the study area Original Article belong to Western and Eastern elements. The area under study thus serves as a meeting ground for elements from other phytogeographical regions. 145 exotic plant species have been recorded in Harda district. These are naturalized in study area which accounts 16 % of total flora. Of these highest numbers of 93 plants are distributed in native of tropical and subtropical America followed by Africa (19), Eurasia (16), Europian (6), China (2), Brazil (1) and others (8).

KEYWORDS: Harda, Phytogeography, Floristic Elements, Species Density, Satpura Hills, Malwa Plateau, Exotic Plant Species

Received: Jul 06, 2016; Accepted: Aug 09, 2016; Published: Sep 09, 2016; Paper Id.: JEEFUSDEC20162

INTRODUCTION

Harda district is one of the unexplored districts of Madhya Pradesh, India and it is situated in eastern part of Madhya Pradesh. This district used to come under district before on 6 th July 1998 and raised as a new district after that. It lies on 21 ◦53’ to 22 ◦36’ longitude and 76 ◦47’ to 77 ◦20’ latitude. The area of the district is 2644.32 Sq. Km. of which forest covers 780.92 Sq. Km. Harda district is bounded by Sehore to the north, Hosangabad to the southeast, Khandwa to south and west and Dewas to northwest. The southern part of the district is covered by Satpura hill ranges and extended part of Malwa plateau. The soil of the area is black cotton soil and chiefly belong to ash of the Daccan trap.The river, Narmada is the sole river of this area and tributaries are Ganjal, Anjal, Sukni, Midkul, Dendra, Machak, Syani and Kalimachak rivers. The rainfall of the area is 1124.2mm.the normal annual mean temperature is 32.8◦ C and minimum temperature is 19.8 ◦ C.

Floristic study and diversity assessments are necessary to understand the present diversity status and conservation of biodiversity. Floristic study plays an important role in the economic development of developing country. Floristic study is a necessary prerequisite for much fundamental research in tropical community ecology. For the conservation and sustainable management of any forest; it requires a good knowledge of its biodiversity.

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In the recent years there has been increasing interest in floristic study and Phytogeographical studies in particular. India has a varied physiographic regions and climatic conditions represented by more than 17,500 taxa of angiospermic plants (Kartikeyen 2000). Sharma (2000) sorted out fourteen distinct foreign elements contributing to the flora of India. Hooker (1904) remarked that India has no native flora, as high amount of exotic floristic elements migrated in Indian flora. 40% plant species are exotic in India (Singh 2012).Sainkhediya (2016) have found out 145 exotic plant species in Harda district. Harda district shows vast diversity in view of its unique Phytogeographical position, variable topography, climate, soil and rich vegetation.

METHODOLOGY

Intensive floristic survey has been carried out in different seasons from 2011-2015 by well planned schedule. For plant collection and preservation of voucher specimens standard methodology has been followed (Jain and Rao 1977). Voucher specimens were collected in polybag and identified in the laboratory with the help of flora (Hooker, 1892-1897; Cook, 1903; Gamble et al., 1915; Haines,1921-1924; Duthie,1960; Verma et.al.,1994; Mudgal et. al., 1997; Singh et.al.,2001; Khanna et.al.,2001). Recent up-to-date nomenclature of ICBN was followed. Herbarium specimens were deposited in PMB Gujarati Science College, Indore. Analysis of the Phytogeographical elements of Harda district have been worked out on the basic data recorded during floristic studies of Harda district.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Analysis of any flora depends upon the understanding of its geographical elements, which helps in correct interpretations of the flora. The flora is composed of elements derived from other far-off and nearby geographical areas. Present study records 902 species of flowering plants which are wild and naturalized. Phytogeographical elements of Harda district have been analyzed (Table 1) showed that 33.11 % species of this floristic element are native to India and adjoining areas. The Eastern elements constitute 6.60% while according to Legris Meher - Homji (1968) the percentage of these elements in dry deciduous tree forests of Madhya Pradesh is 22%.This low percentage of the Eastern element can be attributed to the extreme. The western element is 19.03% whereas it accounts 8% for India. General element in the study area is 41.25 %.

A comparison of floral elements for India (Nayar, 1977) with that of Harda (Table 2) shows that the Indian element in both these regions is almost equal, that there are significant variations between other elements. There is no natural boundary between the surrounding districts which can resist the entry of migratory elements. 25.38 % of the floral elements of the study area belong to western and Eastern elements. The area under study thus serves as a meeting ground for elements from other phytogeographical regions. 145 exotic plant species have been recorded in Harda district which are distributed in 42 families of angiosperms. These are naturalized in study area which accounts 16 % of total flora. Of these highest numbers of 93 plants are distributed in native of tropical and subtropical America followed by Africa (19), Eurasia (16), Europian (6), China (2), Brazil (1) and others (8). Mentioning few of invasive plants in study area are Eichhornia crassipes (Mar.) Sol.; Senna uniflora (Mill.) Irw. & Bar.; Argemone mexicana L.; Ocimum americanum L.; Parthenium hysterophorus L.; Merremia aegyptica (L.) Urb. Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Walp., Lantana aculeata L. etc.

CONCLUSIONS

Present study is the first hand information towards documentation of phytogeographical analysis of Harda district of Madhya Pradesh, India. There are 902 wild and naturalized species in the 2645 sq km where is 2.93 species density. 382 www.tjprc.org [email protected] Phytogeographical Analysis of Harda District of Madhya Pradesh, India 7 plant genera are monogeneric where each genus has only one species. 145 exotic plant species have been recorded in Harda district. The southern part of the Harda district is covered by Satpura hill ranges and extended part of Malwa plateau with no obvious natural boundary that can held any endemic flora. A comparison of floral elements for India with that of Harda shows that the Indian element in both these regions is almost equal, that there are significant variations between other elements. There is no natural boundary between the surrounding districts which can resist the entry of migratory elements.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my boundless and great respect to my supervisor Dr. Sudip Ray Department of Botany, P.M.B. Gujarati Science College Indore for his guidance during this entire study. It gives me pleasure to record my deep sense gratitude to Dr. K. Modi Principal, and Dr. S. Nagar, Ex-Principal, P. M. B. Gujarati Science College Indore for providing research and library facilities. I also thank Dr. J. S. Sikka, Head, Department of Botany for their kind cooperation and valuable suggestions. My sincere thanks are due to forest officials for their co-operation and allowing me to carry out plant exploration work in Harda forest division. I extend my profound thanks to Dr. V.B. Diwanjee Ex-Head, Department of Botany, Holkar Science College, Indore; Dr. B. K. Shukla Senior Scientist, Botanical Survey of India, Allahabad and Dr. S. R. Yadav, Shivaji University, Kolhapur, , for their help in identifying some plant specimens.

REFERENCES

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2. Duthi J.F. (1960). Flora of the upper gangetic plains. Vol.2. BSI Publications Calcutta, India.

3. Gamble J.S.(1915). Flora of the presidency of Madras. Vol.1-3. BSI Publications, Calcutta, India.

4. Hains H.H. 1921-1924.The Botany of Bihar and Orissa.Vol.1-6.BSI Reprint, Calcutta, India.

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6. Jain S.K. and Rao R.R. (1977). A handbook of field and herbarium method, today and tomorrows. Printers and publisher New Delhi, India.

7. Kartikeyen S. (2000). A statical analysis of floring plants of India.In: flora of India. Introductory vol.2 (Eds. Singh, N.P., Singh,D.K., Hajara, P.K. and Sharma, B.D.) BSI Publications Calcutta, India.201-211.

8. Khanna K.K.; Kumar A.; Dixit R.D. and Singh N.P. (2001). Supplementary flora of Madhya Pradesh. BSI Publications, Calcutta, India.

9. Legris, P. AND Mehr-Homiji,V.M. (1968). Floristic elements in the vegetation of India. Proc. Symp. Recent. Adv. Trop. Eco.( Eds. Misra ,R. and Gopal, B.) 536-543.

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13. Sharma ,B.D. (2000). Affinities, paleobotanical and geological evidences, relationship with adjacent regions, past and recent plant migration. In: flora of India. Introductory vol. 2 (Eds. Singh, N.P., Singh,D.K., Hajara, P.K. and Sharma, B.D.) BSI Publications Calcutta, India. 200.

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APPENDICES Table 1: Phytogeographical Elements of Harda District S. No. Floral Elements Number Total Percentage 1. Indian 301 301 33.11% 2. Eastern a. Indo-Malaysian 45 b. Australian 10 60 6.60 % c. Chinese 5 3. Western a. Tropical Africa 58 b. Tropical American steppe 10 c. North American- Indian desert 40 173 19.03 % d. Mediterranean-European 65 4. General element a. Tropical 95 b. Introduced tropical American 11 c. Cosmopolitan 19 d. Indo-Malaysian-African 100 368 40.79 % e. Tropical & sub tropical 6 f. Temperate 20 g. Warm countries 117 Total 902 902 99.98

Table 2: Comparison of Floral Elements

S. No. Phytogeographical Elements India Harda 1 Indian 30 % 33.11 % 2 Eastern 35 % 6.60 % 3 Western 8 % 19.03 % 4 General 26 % 40.79 %

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