Taxonomic Compendium of Plant Community of Shankaracharya Reserve Forest

Abstract

The present investigation was carried out to study the taxonomic compendium of plant community of Shankaracharya reserve forest. The hillock over looks famous Dal lake and presents a beautiful look of Srinagar city on the eastern side of Jammu and Kashmir. During the survey, different quadrats were laid and plant samples were collected for identification. The taxonomic compendium of the plant community identified in Shankaracharya Reserve forest includes 72 genera (69 Angiosperms and 3 Gymnosperms) and 84 species (78 Angiosperms and 6 Gymnosperms) out of which 54 were herbs and grasses, 12 were shrubs and 18 were trees. Monocots and dicots contributed nearly 91.2% of the total angiosperm population indicating that the forest grove is rich in pioneer and mid successional species composition. The study area hosts a remarkable floristic richness with majority of taxa belonging to family Fabaceae followed by Rosaceae, Poaceae and Pinaceae.