Ethno-botanical plant diversity in home gardens based agroforestry system in kanchendzonga biosphere reserve, Sikkim, India

A study was conducted to assess the present status, plant diversity, structure, uses, and importance of homestead garden for biodiversity conservation in Dzongu area, Sikkim, India. Assessment was done by means of multistage random sampling from a total of 100 households using a semi-structured questionnaire. A total of 102 plant species belonging to 54 families and72 genera were recorded from the study area. Dominating family in the homegarden was Moraceae with eight species followed by Rosaceae and Solanaceae with seven species each. The most dominating habit was observed for trees representing 39% of species followed by 38% represented herbs, 7% represented shrubs. Out of the total documented species, the most dominating plant part used by homestead growers was fruits (45%) followed by leaves (29%) and wood (13%). The majority of the species is utilized for edible purpose (71%) followed by fodder (34%) and fuelwood (29%). This study presented the baseline data about plant diversity in the home gardens, uses of plants and arrangement of the plants in the home gardens.