Agricultural Science Digest

Riparian vegetation maintains the river ecosystem. This vegetation acts as a filter for the water body. The vegetation also hosts naturally rich flora which the tribal people utilize as traditional herbal drug. With the increase in anthropogenic disturbance, there is a need to document and inventory this rich bioresource.

Vegetation analysis of the Dzucha River was conducted by line transect quadrat method and the diversity Indices were recorded. Ethnobotanical information on the traditional use of the various plants was collected via oral interviews with the indigenous inhabitants.

A total of 31 species belonging to 15 families were recorded from the study site. Species diversity (Shannon-Wiener Index) = 2.775, Species richness (Margalef's Index) = 4.163, Species evenness (Pielou's Evenness) = 0.808 and Species dominance (Simpson's Index) = 0.101, were reported. Maximum IVI (38.45) value was recorded for Ageratina riparia. 11 herbaceous species in the study site were utilized as ethno medicinal items. Such traditional knowledge of medicinal plant species is crucial for the development of novel drugs.