Floral Diversity Assessment of India’s Largest Chromite Mine and Adjacent Polluted Areas with the Special Reference of Native and Alien Invasive Species

Kalicharan Mandal, Nabin Kumar Dhal, Nirad Chandra Rout

Abstract


The number and dominance of alien invasive species in India's floral diversity continues to grow. One of the main reasons for this continuous increase is anthropogenic human activity and environmental pollution. We have studied the floral diversity of India’s largest chromium Mine Valley and the surrounding area, where anthropogenic activity and environmental pollution are very high. In our study, we have documented a total of 292 plant species, of which 107 are alien invasive species belong to 34 different families, and the remaining 185 are native species, which belong to 57 families. Most of the alien invasive species here came from Tropical America (35 species), Central America (25 species) and the African continent (20 species). Some invasive species Chromolaena odorata (L.) R.M.King & H.Rob., Croton bonplandianus Baill., Cuscuta reflexa Roxb., Lantana camara L., Parthenium hysterophorus L., Pennisetum pedicellatum Trin., Mikania micrantha Kunth., Tridax procumbens L. these invasive species are spreading the habitat of this mining valley and surrounding area quite faster than the native species, and they have put intense pressure on the diversity of native species as well as the ecosystem. Our study will help to recover diversity of native species by the management of alien invasive species in the future

Keywords


Alien invasive species; Floral diversity; Chromium mine; Environmental pollution; Native species

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References


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