Indian sacred groves: Floristic diversity, Ecology and conservation

Abstract

Practice of conservation of biological diversity in India had been carried out since dates back and sacred groves, the socially protected forest patches, are such classic evidence. Since pre-Vedic period, India has its legacy of harbouring numerous sacred groves almost in every part ofthe country especially in the Western Ghats , and North-East Himalayan region. These small fragmented forest patches are well known especially for sustaining rich biological heritage, entailing ecological history of the region and being a local biodiversity hotspot through in-situ conservation of both floral and faunal components especially the rare and endemic ones. Sacred groves also represent ideal community organization for functioning of many ecological processes providing valuable ecosystem services like soil and water conservation, nutrient cycling and many more. Tn India, various systems of traditional conservation practices have been reported as the country is known for its socio-cultural diversity. In the past few decades, the existence of sacred groves is being challenged through serious lhrcals like cncroachment, loss of belief in taboos and many modern developmental practices. It is the need of hour to protect these ecological heritage by adopting integrated sustainable management practices through communlity involvement and convergence of various schemes of different sectors.