M. Tarakeswara Naidu , J. Prakasa Rao , D. Srinivasa Rao , P. Prayaga Murty , M. Venkaiah

Abstract

Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary with a total area 70.70 Km² is situated in the Eastern Ghats overlooking the Bay of Bengal. Kambalakonda reserved forest was upgraded to Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary in 2002. An inventory of the flora from 2007-2009 found 319 species of plants in 252 genera and 73 families, bringing out the genus and species ratio as 1:1.26. The dominant families were Fabaceae (23), Euphorbiaceae (22), Poaceae (21), Rubiaceae and Acanthaceae (13 each).

Keywords

Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary, Plant Wealth, Visakhapatnam

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M. Tarakeswara Naidu ¹, O. Aniel Kumar ¹, M. Venkaiah ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Botany, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam-530003, Andhra Pradesh, IN

Abstract

The study undertaken to document the invasive alien plant species in the Eastern Ghats of northern Andhra Pradesh, with background information on family, habit and nativity. A total of 87 invasive alien plant species under 73 genera, belonging to 32 families were reported. Asteraceae is the most dominant family with 11 species, about 50 species of these alien species were introduced from American region. Analysis of habitat shows that herbs are dominant (46 species) followed by trees (17), shrubs (14), grasses (6) and climbers (4). The occurrence of the present share of alien species and their naturalization cannot be considered safe for native and endemic flora. A better planning is need for early detection to control and reporting of infestations of spread of new and naturalized weeds to be monitored.

Keywords

Invasive Alien species, Nativity, Eastern Ghats.

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