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Abstract Sacred groves are ecologically and genetically very important. They possess a great diverse gene pool of many forest species having religious attachment and medicinal values. The present study was conducted in Melkalpoondi, Tittakuditaluk of Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu, South India. The study aimed at documenting the plant wealth and diversity. Many sacred groves constitute pristine vegetation, and are particularly rich in climax vegetation with riched flora and fauna. This paper deals with the woody plant diversity in the Melkalpoondi sacred grove. A survey was conducted to record the species richness and diversity of woody species such as trees and lianas. This grove is dedicated to Kayilpirantha Aiyanar with an area of over 9 hectares and is situated in the Tittakudi taluk of Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu, South India. About 46 woody plant species representing 40 genera and 29 families exist in this grove. Of these, 30 species were trees and 16 species were lianas. The dominant families are Mimosaceae (6 species), Fabaceae (4 species), Capparaceae (3 species)andMoraceae (3 species). Apocynaceae, Ebenaceae, Loganiaceae, Rubiaceae and Rutaceae have 2 species in each respectively. Alangiaceae, Anacardiaceae, Arecaceae, Asclepiadaceae, Boraginaceae, Caesalpiniaceae, Celastraceae, Combretaceae, Convolvulaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Meliaceae, Menispermaceae, Myrtaceae, Oleaceae, Salvadoraceae, Santalaceae, Sapotaceae, Simaroubaceae, Verbenaceae and Vitaceae have only one species in each of the families.Density, species richness and diversity of trees were recorded for the detailed study of plant diversity. The vegetation types indicate that this grove is to beconsidered as of theinlandtropicaldeciduous forest type.
Keywords:
Keywords: Melkalpoondi, sacred groves, plant biodiversity, conservation, cultural tradition.
Cite Article:
"Woody species diversity of Melkalpoondi Sacred Grove inTittakudi Taluk of Cuddalore District, Tamil Nadu.", International Journal of Science & Engineering Development Research (www.ijrti.org), ISSN:2455-2631, Vol.3, Issue 7, page no.227 - 236, July-2018, Available :http://www.ijrti.org/papers/IJRTI1807036.pdf
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ISSN:
2456-3315 | IMPACT FACTOR: 8.14 Calculated By Google Scholar| ESTD YEAR: 2016
An International Scholarly Open Access Journal, Peer-Reviewed, Refereed Journal Impact Factor 8.14 Calculate by Google Scholar and Semantic Scholar | AI-Powered Research Tool, Multidisciplinary, Monthly, Multilanguage Journal Indexing in All Major Database & Metadata, Citation Generator