Biodiversity Assessment Of Medicinal Plants In Degraded Forest Ecosystems: Strategies For Conservation

Abstract

Traditional health systems rely heavily on medicinal plants to provide treatments for numerous conditions, especially among rural and indigenous people. Environmental degradation, specifically in tropical forests, represents a big threat to these precious assets. It seeks to evaluate the biodiversity of forest-degraded medicinal plants, specifically the effect of forest degradation on species diversity, ecological distribution, as well as ethnobotanical value. Stratified random sampling was applied at three levels of forest degradation (severe, moderate, and low) in the Nallamala forest range, Andhra Pradesh, India. Diversity and ecological parameters were measured using indices including Shannon-Wiener, Simpson's, and Informant Consensus Factor (ICF). Species richness, frequency, density, and Importance Value Index (IVI) were noted, and multivariate analysis (PCA and NMDS) was utilised to represent species-environment relations. 112 medicinal plant species were recorded in total, and species richness and diversity fell drastically in the more degraded sites. Dominant taxa like Andrographis paniculata and Tinospora cordifolia had high ecological plasticity and cultural significance. Ethnobotanical information revealed excellent informant consensus for digestive disorders. The study points to the necessity of conservation efforts that bring together ecological and cultural understanding, with a focus on the role of degraded forests as viable places for preservation and rehabilitation.