A study on in situ conservation of Commiphora wightii (Arn.) Bhandari in MPCA model Brindavanam Narasimha Baba1,*, Goraya Gurinderjit Singh2, Singh Santosh Pal1, Bhatt Jayesh3, Paradva Bhagirath3, Poptani Rakesh3, Vadodaria Viral3, Mahato Arun Kumar Roy3, Vijaykumar V.3 1ASNRSD, Amity University, Noida-201303, Uttar Pradesh, India 2ICFRE, P.O. New Forest, Dehra Dun-248006, Uttarakhand, India 3Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology, Bhuj-370040, Gujarat, India *Corresponding author e-mail: brindavanam.nb@gmail.com
Online Published on 30 November, 2022. Abstract Medicinal Plants Conservation Areas (MPCAs) is a novel model for in situ conservation of red listed medicinal plants. Commiphora wightii Arn. Bhandari (Guggul) is an important medicinal plant and is classified under critically endangered (CR) category by IUCN. Government of Gujarat promoted a network of 4 MPCA sites in Kachchh region, for conservation of the species. This study was done with an objective to assess the outcomes of conserving Guggul in MPCA model using regeneration trends and resource health as criteria. Two MPCA sites (Guggliyana and Tharawada) were selected for this purpose. Observations were recorded using a quadrat method in 2% of total area. For comparison purposes, observations were recorded in an equal-sized sample area of Narayan Sarovar Wildlife Sanctuary (NSWS) wherein Commiphora wightii is protected by default. The assessment used different indicators- such as regeneration trends, resource health status, ecosystem indicators and assessment of disturbance factors in study and control sites. The study observed that the stock of focal species is improving through natural regeneration in the study sites with a density of young plants in Guggliyana MPCA 1.090 and in Tharawada 0.860 while these values stood at 0.770 and 0.360 in two blocks of the control site. The Visual Health Score was variable among different sites. However, the difference on this account between two MPCA sites is statistically insignificant. MPCA sites registered higher diversity of shrubs and herbs in relation to the control site. In terms of disturbance index, the study and control sites are comparable with no visible differences. It may be therefore concluded that MPCA model succeeds in meeting the conservation objectives in the context of Guggul. It is desirable to evaluate the functional effectiveness of this model in other sites for Guggluas also for other species- to establish its merits. Top Keywords Commiphora wightii, Conservation, Guggul, in situ conservation, Medicinal plants conservation area, MPCA, MPCDA, MPDA. Top |