Wild edible fruit tree diversity and population status in low and mid hills of Arunachal Pradesh

Wild edible fruit (WEF) diversity and population status was assessed in 3 districts of Arunachal Pradesh, India. In each district 2 sites were selected; one close to district headquarter (HQ) and other farther away. One hectare area was sampled at each site in the form of 500m long and 10m wide linear transects in two directions from the village. A total of 28 species belonging to 21 genera and 17 families were recorded in the field survey the important ones included Phoebe cooperiana, Canarium strictum, Terminalia chebula, Castanopsis indica, C. hystrix, Baccaurea sapida and Dillenia indica. Highest species richness and diversity wererecorded at Kamdi (14 species and 1.05) and lowest at Siluk (8 species and 0.64). In all the districts, species richness was seen to higher in sites closer to the district HQ compared to the sites farther away, but the trend was opposite for tree density. Castanopsis indica had the highest IVI in 5 of the 6 sites and highest density at all sites. According to information from village elders, not all species consumed were encountered in our study indicating the need for a more extensive survey.