Structure and composition of woody vegetation in western Kachchh, Gujarat

Present study deals with quantitative assessment of the woody species of the western part of Kachchh region of Gujarat state. Based on the species composition of vegetation, the study area was classified into the four major habitats such as Acacia habitat, Prosopis habitat, mixed thorn habitat and mixed habitat. To understand the habitat characteristics data on various aspects like density, abundance, percentage frequency, Important Value Index and species diversity (H’) index were calculated. During present study a total of 13 tree and 37 shrub species were recorded. Results shows that, Acacia senegal and Prosopis juliflora were the most dominant and well distributed within all habitats. All habitats were heterogeneous in nature which reveals the habitat facing threats of defragmentation due to illegal cutting of native species. Due to unique ecological integrity of Acacia forest and mixed thorn forest in the study area, some conservation significance forest patches of these habitats would be proposed as Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESAa). Considering the high species diversity, some of the Reserve Forests should be give more attention towards the conservation through Forest Department. Some of them should also be trait as the natural seed bank for threatened species of arid region.