Vegetational Diversity in Various Forest of Amakantak Central India an Overview

Achanakmar Sanctuary was established in the year 1975 in Lormi forest area of Bilaspur district of Madhya Pradesh, which is presently part of Mugeli district of Chhattisgarh state, in the year 2007 it was declared as biodiversity area and in the year 2009 (tiger protected area) Declared Tiger Reserve area, India has a total of 53 tiger protected areas in the country, out of which Achanakmar is number 32 tiger protected area The Biosphere Reserve's Bilaspur district contains the Achanakmar Wildlife Sanctuary, a large area dedicated to wildlife conservation. As part of achanakmar biosphere reserve ID, the core buffer as well as buffer zones have been established Chhattisgarh has a 551.55-square-mile core zone, as well as Amarkantak Wildlife Sanctuary has been located within it. There are 3284.36 km2 of buffer and transition zones. In Madhya Pradesh, the buffer zone covers 1224.98 square kilometres, while in Chhattisgarh, the rest 2059.38 square kilometres comprise the buffer zone. The biosphere reserve's terrain ranges from lowland rice fields of Bilaspur,Mugeli ,Marvahi-Pendra and Anuppur to the Satpura mountain ranges of Dindori and the Maikal range. Bauxite rocks make up The biosphere reserve's terrain ranges from lowland rice fields of Bilaspur,mugelianmarvahi pendra and Anuppur to the Satpura mountain ranges of Dindori and the Maikal range. Bauxite rocks make up the topography of the Amarkantak plateau's soil. A number of short-lived streams and Nallas meander through the preserve. An important watershed for peninsular India is located in Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve. It serves as dividing line between Bay of Bengal and also Arabian Sea, where rivers originate. Narmada, Johilla, and Son Rivers are all prominent rivers that originate here (Joshi et.al., 2010). Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve include the Vindhya and Satpura mountain ranges, as well as the Maikal mountains. Rainy (July–October), Summer (March–May), and Winter are the three distinct seasons of the reserve's characteristic monsoon environment. While December and January tend to be the coldest months, May and June are the hottest . The south-western monsoon

BIOSPHERE RESERVE IN INDIA

Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve has a diverse array of wildlife. The Achanakmar Sanctuary has more diverse and healthy wildlife populations than any other protected forest region, including Biosphere Reserve. The Sanctuary's strong conservation measures have resulted in increased security and better habitat conditions. Achanakmar Sanctuary contains habitat to 552 bison (gaur), 376 barking dears, 1369 sambars, 1936 Chitals, 28 bears, 46 panthers, and 26 tigers. Wild giant squirrels, monkeys Samarth, wild boar, Jackals, foxes, wolves, chinkara, black buck are all prominent wildlife species in the reserve. More than 170 bird species belongs to 51 groups can be found in the reserve's natural habitat. The reserve is home to more than a dozen different types of lizards and snakes, as well as a wide variety of frogs (including the bullfrog, toad, ornate thin mouthed frog, tree frog, burrowing frog, cricket frog, etc.,). Red face monkeys, Langurs,red hips monkeys, as well as typical Indian monkey are among the four varieties of monkeys found as in India.Achanakmar- Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve is depicted on map in Figure 1. And Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve was shown as in figure 3. Table 1 lists the ethno botanical uses of the plant species from Achanakmar-Amarkantak biosphere reserve.

Vegetational diversity is a crucial index of the ecological stability and socio-economic viability of a forest. Forest biodiversity, in turn, can be measured at various scales (e.g., genetic diversity, species diversity, functional diversity). Central India is one of the most bio-diverse regions in the world. The forests of Amakantak are home to a variety of flora, The Amarkantak forest region is located in the south eastern part of Madhya Pradesh, India. The forest region is spread over approximately 10,000 square makes the soil acidic, with low levels of nutrients. All this leads to a vegetation that primarily consists of evergreen trees and bushes. In the flora diversity in various forests of Amarkantak India. The major vegetation types found in the forest are tropical to sub-tropical dry deciduous forest. ―Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve has been biosphere reserve in India and has a land size of 383,551 hectares (3835.51 km2) as in region of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh (Achanakmar-Amarkantak2012). Northern Bio-Geographical Zone 6 and Bio-Geographical Province 6 A are home to this reserve (Central highlands and Deccan peninsula). The district of Bilaspur, (Mugeli- marvashi pendra) in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh contains approximately 68.1% of this reserve. Besides the Anuppur and Dindori districts of Madhya Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh has the second and third-largest portions of the reserve‖

ACHANAKMAR-AMARKANATAK BIOSPHERE RESERVE CENTRAL INDIA

These forests have been classified into three distinctive types: 1. Moist deciduous forests which can be commonly seen on slopes rich with streams and lakes 2. Dry deciduous forests which are usually found on slopes that have less water availability and hence do not support moist deciduous species 3. Mixed deciduous forest which is a mixture of moist and dry deciduous species. Forest in the Amarkantak are highly diverse, with a wide range of plants and trees. The Kaimur Range which has a chain of hills and mountains running from the south-east to south-west supports the largest number of forest in Amarkantak.

area covers three types of forest - dry deciduous (DD), moist deciduous (MD) and moist mixed deciduous forest (MM). The study reveals that aprox total number of 1,500 species belonging to 406 genera could be identified in these forests with the most dominant plant family being Poaceae,Fabaceae followed by Asteraceae The forest also has an abundance of medicinal plants that have been used for ages by people living in these areas to cure various ailments Central India is one of the most bio-diverse regions in the world. The forests of Amakantak are home to a variety of flora, including 933 plant species. Here we will discuss a few species found in these forests. The Achanakmar-Bilaspur Biosphere Reserve's natural vegetation differs from place to place. It is possible to divide the reserve's forest into two types: northern tropical moist evergreen as well as southern dry mixed deciduous. The reserve has wide range of the edaphic climatic conditions, and also had wide variety of the plant species. Some of the region's plant species include angiosperms, bryophytes, pteridophytes, gymnosperms, and thallophytes. The reserve is home to nearly 1500 plant species from 151 plant families. Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve has been the home to the numerous angiosperm species. It includes Hypercom japonicum, Curculigo orchioides, Chlorophytum tuberosum, Dioscorea sp., Curcuma aromatica, Gloriosa superba, Tropaeolum majus, Oxalis sp., Biophytum sp., Grewia rothii, Corchorus fascicularis, Hibiscus subdariffa, Abelmoschus ficulneus, Tamarix ericoides, Flacourtia indica, Cocculus hirsutus, Dillenia pentagyna, Talinium portulacifolium, and Thalictrum sp. On the Amarkantak plateau, several planted gymnosperms have flourished thanks to the unique climatic conditions. . A few of them are thought to be endemic species, such as Taxodium sp., Juniperus sp ,Pinus roxburghii, Pinus pseudostrobus, Pinus ponderosa, Pinus patula, Pinus oocarpa, P. mountzumae, P. kesiya, Thuja orientalis, Cupressus torulosa are also regarded as endemic. In addition to these, Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve is home to over 105 different species of medicinal plants, 25 of which are considered rare.In the Amarkantak forest, there is a diverse range of plants that grow and thrive, in this environment to make it their home. The plant species found here range from medicinal plants like, Ficus benghalensis and Cymbopogon citratus to fruit trees like, Eugenia jambolana and guava (Psidium guajava). There also exists many different types of lichen scattered throughout the forest that form on shrubs, tree trunks, and rocks as well as other microbial organisms like fungi and algae.

CONCLSUION

Based on the information shown above, it's important to make sure that this region offers a wide variety of mushrooms due to the abundance of plants. Local and indigenous people are missing out on the financial benefits of many of them because they haven't been effectively documented. Food and medicine can be found in plenty in the Amarkantak forest. The economic and social well-being of tribal people is greatly enhanced by the knowledge of edible wild species and their use. Antifungal, antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidant, and anticanceorus, among other bioactive compounds, are present in the majority of species. It's not just that they're consumed, but that their use in folk treatments helps to open up new enterprises. Additionally, in this Biosphere region, further research into the marketing as well as preservation of famous wild edible macrofungi species will be beneficial to the economy

REFERENCES

1) "Achanakmar-Amarkantak" (2012) United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. 2) Bhat, S.A. and Tiwari, S.C. (2011). Indigenous knowledge of communities of Achanakmar-Amarkantak biosphere reserve in utilization, conservation and sustainability of NTFP in Chhattisgarh (India). Indian Forester 137 (11) : 1313- 1319. 3) Bondya, S.L., Singh, K.P. and Khanna, K.K (2009). Exploitation of ethno-medicinal plants and their marketing status in Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve. J. Tropical Forestry 25 (I&II) : 33- 37. 4) Joshi, K.C.; Negi, M.S.; Tiple, A., (2010) "Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve". Biosphere Reserve Information Series (BRIS). Jabalpur: Tropical Forest Research Institute. 2. 5) Kapale, R. (2012). Ethnobotany of Baiga tribals with reference to utilization of forest resources in Achanakmar biosphere reserve (India). Bull. Env. Pharm. Life Sci. 1 (6) : 73-76. 6) Sahu, P.K. (2011). Plants used by Gond and Baiga women in ethnogynaecological disorder in Achanakmar wild life sanctuary, Bilaspur, C. G. Int. J. Pharm. Life Sci. 2 (2) : 559-561. 7) Singh, L., Kasture, J., Singh, U.S. and Shaw, S.S. (2011) Ethnobotanical practices of tribals in Achanakmar-Amarkantak biosphere reserve. Indian Forester 137 (6) : 767-776. 8) Singh, S. and Dixit, R.D. (2005). Fern allies of central India. J. Econ. Taxon. Bot. 29 (2) : 403-413. C.chr. and Tectaria coadunate (Wall. ex Hook. Grev.) C.Chr. among the tribal communities of Amarkantak Madhya Pradesh. Bot. Soc. Univ. Sagar 39 (2) : 113- 117. 10) Singh, S., Dixit, R.D. and Sahu, T.R. (2005) Ethnomedicinal use of pteridophytes of Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge 4 (4):392- 395. 11) Tiwari, S.C. and Bharat, A. (2008) Natural dye-yielding plants and indigenous knowledge of dye preparation in Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve, Central India. Natural Product Radiance 7 (1) : 82-87. 12) .Srivastava.,A,Patel.,P.S.,And MISHRA.,R.K.at.al Ethnomedicinal importance of the plant of amarkantak region ,madhyapradesh,india

Assistant Professor, Govt.G.D.C.College Shahdol (M.P.), Kalinga University, Raipur (C.G.)