Diversity and Distribution of Medicinal Plants along Altitudinal Gradient in Temperate Himalayan Ecosystem

The present study was carried out to determine the floristic diversity and their distribution in Bangus valley of Langate Forest Division, District Kupwara (J&K) India. The aim of this study was to evaluate the distinction in diversity of medicinal plants at varying altitudes based on the onsite vegetation analysis. Hence, the phytosociological study was conducted to assess the floristic diversity of the region and the discussions were held with local people to ascertain the socio-economic importance of the plant diversity. The study reveals that majority of the medicinal plant species are mainly distributed between 2900 to 3200 meters altitude from this relatively unexplored valley. In all the sampled sites, around 51 plant species belonging to 24 families were recorded, among which 2 were tree, 3 shrub and 46 herb species. The tree vegetation was found to be dominated by Abies pindrow whereas Pinus wallichiana has very rare distribution in all the sampled sites. The shrub vegetation was dominated by Viburnum grandiflorum followed by Rosa brunonii and Berberis lycium respectively. In addition, around 80 plant species were reported to be used in different systems of traditional medicine. Therefore, the study provided first comprehensive baseline information on the distribution, diversity and use of plants in different traditional systems of medicine in Bangus valley of Kashmir. This baseline study can be effective for framing various conservation strategies of medicinal plants.