ANALYSIS OF ANGIOSPERM FLORA OF SHOOLPANESHWAR WILDLIFE SANCTUARY, GUJARAT, INDIA.

The present study documents the Angiosperm species biodiversity of Shoolpaneshwar wildlife sanctuary (SWLS), Gujarat, India in terms of taxonomic categories and looks into the threat by exotic plant invasions towards conservation. There are 983 taxa pertaining to 522 genera from 105 families documented in the sanctuary out of 1,265 field numbers assigned. There are ten threatened taxa and nine endemic taxa. The flora of the sanctuary is more evolved with the phylogenetically advanced clades such as Super Rosids (38.96%) and Super Asterids (35.20%). The Monocots almost constitute one fourth (24.31%) whereas the primitive Basal Angiosperms, Magnoliids and Monocots combined are less than 2%. The Fabaceae are the most dominant family, followed by Poaceae, Asteraceae, Acanthaceae, Euphorbiaceae and Cyperaceae. The top five dominant genera in the sanctuary are Ipomoea, Indigofera, Crotalaria, Cyperus and Alysicarpus. The rich taxonomic diversity of the sanctuary emphasizes the need for conservation efforts to safeguard this unique landscape with its endemics. Efforts are needed to selectively remove or control the dominant invasive weeds which are largely therophytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]