Diversity of Homestead Plants in Sreemangal Upazilla, Bangladesh

Abstract

The research was carried out in the Kalighat union of Sreemangal Upazilla, Moulvibazar district, Bangladesh with the objective of discovering the diversity of homestead plants. Five villages were selected randomly from the Kalighat union named Kalighat tea garden, Baraura Tea Garden, 8 No. Line, 8 No Kalighat and 9 No. Basti. To determine the plant diversity, 105 households were surveyed. In comparison to the other villages, the 8 No. Line had more plant diversity, in this study. In the study region, 73 valuable plant species were identified, including fruits, woods, fuel wood, aesthetics, and medicinal. The highest Shannon Wiener Index value was found as 2.95 in 8 No. Line and the lowest Shannon Wiener Index value was 2.21 in Kalighat Tea Garden. On the other hand, Baraura Tea Garden had the highest Index of Dominance (0.47), while 8 No. Kalighat and 8 No. Line had the lowest Index of Dominance (0.09). The Evenness Index was found in the plot of Kalighat tea garden (0.76), Baraura tea garden (0.7) and 8 No. Line (0.77) were more evenly distributed except 8 No. Kalighat (0.84) and 9 No. Basti (0.64) indicated irregular even distribution. Plant species diversity among different villages of Sreemangal Upazilla was found statistically significant (p-value =0.0001173<0.05). The most important value index and top-ranked planted species were Bamboo (Bambusa sp.) (42.20) followed by Mango (Mangifera indica) (37.79), Kathal (Artocarpus heterophyllus) (15.19) and Supari (Areca catechu) (35.88) respectively. Agro-crop diversity was also found to be predominant in different unions of Sreemangal Upazilla. A total of 24 agro-crop species were found in the study area. Rice crop was found the most important crop in the study area. Rice production in each family is 1200 kilograms per year, whereas consumption is 500.5 kilograms per year. Farmers can be authorized more specific species for more production and sustainable homestead forest management in the study area based on findings from the analysis of soil conditions and properties. The present study revealed that homestead plant diversity and homestead crops are the prime resources for the socio-economic development of rural people.