Status of medicinally important herbs along canopy disturbance in Quercus leucotrichophora, A. Camus Forest of Central Himalaya, India

The present study focuses on the structure of the herb community and the status of selected medicinal plants across the different canopies of the Q. leucotrichophora forest. The study revealed that 81 herbaceous species encountered in the sample and 26 species had shown IVI&ge;5. The maximum number of species were from Asteraceae (14 nos.), followed by Poaceae (10 nos.), Lamiaceae (9 nos.), and Acanthaceae (4 nos.) families. Around 54% of species were common across the canopies, 17% species restricted in open, 10% in moderate, and 1% in close canopy. LSD indicated significantly high species richness (p<0.05) in the open canopy. Most of the recorded herb communities were in the rare category in all the three canopies, while no species was under the mostly and constantly present categories among the different canopies. The frequency distribution of selected medicinal plants also indicated Origanum vulgare was rarely present in the moderate and close canopy, while Hedychium spicatum in the open and moderate canopy. Further, Rubia cordifolia and Boenninghausenia albiflora were rarely and seldom present in all the three canopies. Therefore, the conservation and management of selected medicinal plant species should be given high priority.