Invasive Plant in an Anthropogenic Disturbed and a Community Protected Forest and their Means as Bio-Resources

The present study deals with an exploratory survey on the uses and role of invasive alien species (IAS) in the local Naga livelihoods in the mountainous region of eastern Himalayas. IAS was randomly sampled from an anthropogenic disturbed forest and a community protected forest to comparatively analyse the type of IAS prevailing in those conditions. Later, group discussions were arranged with local inhabitants to distinguish and identify the various uses of IAS. A total of 31 plant species belonging to 18 different families were identified, out of which 21 species were reported to be used as bio-resources. The majority of the identified species were found to possess medicinal or curative properties. Considering the importance of IAS despite some of their negative impacts, it is important to impart traditional knowledge of their uses to the upcoming generations and initiate necessary steps to distinguish harmful species from harmless ones for better ecological sustenance