Phytodiversity Analysis : a Geospatial Approach

Stratified random sampling with probability proportion to the size (PPS) is adopted for analyzing vegetation composition of all types. Vegetation cover type map derived using satellite remote sensing data have been considered as prime input for phytodiversity analysis of forest ecosystem. Geographic Information System (GIS) has been used to derive landscape indices such as fragmentation, porosity, patchiness, patch density, interspersion and juxtaposition, which depict landscape characteristics. Phytodiversity richness map generated for the Shiwalik hills of Punjab state is based on the disturbance index, terrain complexity, species richness, biological value and ecosystem uniqueness. The resultant maps highlight areas that are rich in phytodiversity. Forests of Shiwalik hills of Punjab state are moderately rich in some fragmented pockets. Deciduous forest showed high degree of richness (55.09% and 12.86% in high and very high categories respectively) followed by moist deciduous forest (17.92% in high and 16.19% in very high categories). Deciduous scrub shows least richness (13.96 % in high and 1.61 % in very high categories) as compared to pine forest (16.72% in high and 4.55% in very high categories). Phytosociological data collected from field sampling was analyzed to derive species richness, biodiversity value and importance value of various forest types.