Diversity , distribution , and conservation status of orchids along an altitudinal gradient in himachal pradesh , north western himalaya

Orchids comprise one of the largest families of flowering plants and cover 6.8% of the flowering plants in India. They are prized for their incredible diversity in size, shape, forms, colour, attractiveness of their flowers and high keeping qualities upto ten wks. While exploring the floristic diversity of the biodiversity rich areas of the Himachal Pradesh, an attempt was made to assess the diversity, distribution and conservation status of orchids along an altitudinal gradient in Hirb and Shoja Catchments in Kullu district, Chailchowk-Rohanda-Kamrunag area and Mandi-Pandoh area in Mandi district and Ghanahatti -Shimla area in Shimla district. Extensive and intensive field surveys revealed the occurrence of 29 species of orchids, mostly terrestrial belonging to 16 genera. Amongst genera, Habenaria (8 spp.), Goodyera (3 spp.), Calanthe, Epipactis, Herminium, Listera and Malaxis (2 spp., each) were dominant. Majority of species (25) were distributed between 1800-2800 m altitudes, whereas at elevations higher and lower than these, relatively less diversity of orchids was recorded. Amongst the different sites, Chailchowk-RohandaKamrunag area (19 spp.) represented maximum species of orchids, followed by Hirb and Shoja Catchments (12 spp.), GhanahattiShimla area (7 spp.) and Mandi-Pandoh area (5 spp.). Fifteen species were native to the Himalayan region and 7 species were near endemic to the Indian Himalayan Region. One species (Dactylorhiza hatagirea) was identified as critically endangered and 6 species as endangered and 11 as vulnerable. The over exploitation of orchids for trade, habitat loss and climate change are major factors leading to rapid decrease in their population. These factors have led to habitat destruction, changes and fragmentation. Therefore, assessment of the habitats and populations of the orchids is essentially required to understand the dynamics of the habitats and status of the species which would help in developing appropriate strategy for in situ conservation of the orchids, in Himachal Pradesh. Received: December 14, 2016; Accepted: May 15, 2017 famous for their charming and long lasting flowers. In India, 9% of flora (1300 species and 140 genera) composed of orchids which are present predominantly in temperate Himalaya. They form a diverse group of plants and represent a peak in the evolution of monocots. They are cultivated for beautiful flowers and widely known for their economic importance but less for their medicinal value. They are terrestrial, epiphytic and saprophytic in nature. The diversity of orchids decreases from North East to North West Himalaya (Chowdhery, 1999; Chowdhery and Wadhwa, 1984; Deva and Naithani, 1986; Pangtey et al., 1991; Samant 2002, 2009). The North Indian hill state, Himachal Pradesh, is also very well known for its typical topography, large altitudinal range, diverse habitats and representative, natural, unique and socio-economically important biodivers ity . I t supports 29 Wildli fe Sanctuaries, 05 National Parks, 03 Conservation Reserves and 01 Biosphere Reserve. Most of the protected areas are unexplored and under explored especially for orchid diversity. On the other hand, medicinal properties and traditional uses of orchids are less studied in this state till now. Further, scanty population of these plants due to their complex nutrition J. ORCHID SOC. INDIA (DECEMBER 30, 24 requirement and anthropogenic activities makes them highly vulnerable. In general, a large number of studies have been carried out in the IHR (Arora, 1986; Balodi, 1987; Deva and Naithani, 1986; Duthie, 1906; Samant, 2009; Samant et al., 1995; Verma et al., 2013; Vij et al., 1983). In Himachal Pradesh, a very few studies are available on orchids (Lal et al., 2004; Marpa and Samant, 2012; Pathak et al., 2010, 2011a; Rana et al., 2008, Verma et al., 2015). In general, mention of orchids has also been made in the floristic studies (Dhaliwal and Sharma, 1999; Singh and Rawat, 2000) but not much work has been done in the state on the region specific threat status of orchids in particular. Therefore, the present attempt has been made to; i) assess and identify the diversity of orchids; ii) assess the status of native and endemic orchid species; iii) assess the medicinally important orchid diversity; iv) identify the threatened orchid diversity in Himachal Pradesh region; and v) suggest management options for the conservation. Materials and Methods