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An evaluation of flora from coastal sand dunes of India: Rationale for conservation and management

DRS at CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography

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Title An evaluation of flora from coastal sand dunes of India: Rationale for conservation and management
 
Creator Rodrigues, R.S.
Mascarenhas, A.
Jagtap, T.G.
 
Subject coastal zone management
sand dunes
vegetation cover
resource management
 
Description A key component that guarantees stability of coastal sand dunes (CSDs) is vegetation. In this study, the floristic composition and distribution from CSDs of India is reviewed. Analysis revealed a total 338 species of CSD flora, of which 92 species are found to be common to the west and east coasts. The west coast showed a greater diversity than the east coast, accounting for 267 and 163 species respectively. Fabaceae members dominated the flora and 62% of dune species exhibited an herbaceous habit. The nonmetric multi-dimensional scaling (nMDS) resulted in three groups at 20% similarity. The CSD vegetation appeared to be more influenced by the geological setting and climatology of the region. The higher number of coastal dune species along the west coast is attributed to larger and extensive sandy areas. The CSD flora of India is under constant anthropogenic pressure due to rapid elimination of sand dunes and its associated vegetation. The prevailing Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification does not guarantee the health of sand dune flora. A coastal vegetation conservation policy that ensures a succession of species in the form of a three layered biozone is proposed as a long term sustainable option to maintain biodiversity of coastal flora
 
Date 2011-01-14T10:32:06Z
2011-01-14T10:32:06Z
2011
 
Type Journal Article
 
Identifier Ocean & Coastal Management, vol.54(2); 2011; 181-188
http://drs.nio.org/drs/handle/2264/3771
 
Language en
 
Rights An edited version of this paper was published by Elsevier. Copyright [2011] Elsevier
 
Publisher Elsevier