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Volume 64, Issue 2, December 2022

Articles

Floristic inventory of plant communities in selected Indian civil airfields

https://doi.org/10.20324/nelumbo/v64/2022/172395

Published 2022-12-31

  • S. Jeevith
    • ,
  • P.N. Anoop Raj
    • ,
  • P.V. Karunakaran
    • ,
  • P. Pramod
    • ,
  • P.P. Ashiq
    • ,
  • Angel Joy
    • ,
  • M. Sri Sowmiya

S. Jeevith
Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Anaikatty (PO), Coimbatore - 641108, Tamil Nadu

P.N. Anoop Raj
Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Anaikatty (PO), Coimbatore - 641108, Tamil Nadu

P.V. Karunakaran
Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Anaikatty (PO), Coimbatore - 641108, Tamil Nadu

P. Pramod
Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Anaikatty (PO), Coimbatore - 641108, Tamil Nadu

P.P. Ashiq
Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Anaikatty (PO), Coimbatore - 641108, Tamil Nadu

Angel Joy
Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Anaikatty (PO), Coimbatore - 641108, Tamil Nadu

M. Sri Sowmiya
Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Anaikatty (PO), Coimbatore - 641108, Tamil Nadu

Abstract

The present study aimed to assess the floristic composition and plant diversity of selected eight Indian civil airfields. Overall 241 species were identified from the study sites, which belong to 179 genera and 51 families. The major life form recorded in the airfield was herbs (66.39%) followed by trees (14.11%), shrubs (12.03%), and climbers (7.47%). Surat has the highest species richness among the eight airfields with 104 species, followed by Agartala (96 spp.), Coimbatore (91 spp.), Ahmedabad (59 spp.), Indore (57 spp.), Patna (45 spp.), Bhopal (44 spp.), and Kannur (33 spp.). The study also documents 150 species of invasive alien plants in the selected Indian civil airfields. The observations in the study will help airport managers to take precautionary actions for vegetation management in airfields.

Keywords

Airport, Checklist, Flowering Plants, Grasses, Invasive, Vegetation Management

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Author Biography

P.P. Ashiq

Junior Research Biologist

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