Dear Label_Name,

Greetings! I hope you are well.

I am writing on behalf of an international publishing house, Science and Education Publishing, USA (http://www.sciepub.com).

Science and Education Publishing (SciEP) is a multidisciplinary open access publisher of Journals covering the fields of Science, Technology and Medicine. All SciEP publications are subject to high-quality peer review, editorial and production processes and are freely available online.

Welcome to the April, 2013 edition of SciEP newsletter, providing monthly summaries of articles on science & education related topics of interest to scientist and professionals. The mission of our journals is to provide an open access forum for publishing new findings on issues pertinent to scientific and academic field. We also invite you to submit original research papers, review articles, short reports, or case studies are considered for publication in our Multidisciplinary Journals.

American Journal of Public Health Research
DOI: 10.12691/ajphr-1-1-3

The Implementation of a Tele-Homecare System with Service Oriented Architecture and HL7 Message Transmission Standard
Ching-Sung Wang

American Journal of Medical and Biological Research
DOI: 10.12691/ajmbr-1-1-2

The Influence of Ethanol on Pyruvate Kinases Activity in Vivo, in Vitro, in Silico
Lelevich Sergey Vladimirovich, Khrustalev Vladislav Victorovich, Barkovsky Eugene Victorovich, Shedogubova Tatyana Aleksandrovna

American Journal of Medical Sciences and Medicine
DOI: 10.12691/ajmsm-1-1-1

Clinical and Histological Features in Wegener Granulomatosis
Li Cavoli Gioacchino, Passantino Rita, Bono Luisa, Tortorici Calogera, Ferrantelli Angelo, Giammarresi Carlo, Rotolo Ugo

American Journal of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology
DOI: 10.12691/ajidm-1-1-2

The Curse of Lymphatic Filariasis: Would the Continual Use of Diethylcarbamazine Eliminate this Scourge in Papua New Guinea?
Anne Lanham, Lillian Mwanri

We have released issues of some journals on February 2013.
American Journal of Public Health Research
American Journal of Medical Sciences and Medicine
American Journal of Medical and Biological Research
American Journal of Pharmacological Sciences
American Journal of Clinical Medicine Research
American Journal of Nursing Research
American Journal of Cancer Prevention
American Journal of Medicine Studies
American Journal of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology
American Journal of Cardiovascular Disease Research
American Journal of Biomedical Research
American Journal of Mechanical Engineering
American Journal of Microbiological Research
Journal of Preventive Medicine
American Journal of Food and Nutrition
American Journal of Hypertension Research
American Journal of Sports Science and Medicine
Journal of Cancer Research and Treatment
American Journal of Zoological Research
Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Technology
American Journal of Microbiological Research
Biomedical Science and Engineering

We are pleased to announce that submissions are now being accepted for peer review for all the journals across all our subject areas in SciEP.

Please submit your manuscript via our online submission system:
http://www.sciepub.com/author/signin

To unsubscribe from our mailing list, please click on the following link: unsubscribe

I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

David Rain
Email:join@sciepub.com
Science and Education Publishing (http://www.sciepub.com)

Seasonal Plant Diversity of Gautala Reserve Forest, District Aurangabad

Amrin Naimoddin Mirza*, Satish S. Patil

Department of Environmental Science, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad- 431001, Maharashtra, India

Abstract: The Gautala Reserve forest is a Tropical dry deciduous forest. The area has been declared as a Gautala Autramghat Wildlife Sanctuary for the conservation of the flora, fauna and environs of that zone. A comprehensive survey has been carried out during the year 2017-2018. The fifteen sites were selected for the identification of plant species and their existence at Gautala Sanctuary Area. Quantitative characters of plant species were recorded and identified. Total 91 species were found during the survey. Out of it 41 species of trees, 24 species of shrubs, 12 species of herbs and 6 species of climbers belonging to 85 genera in 44 families have been recorded. The Fabaceae family has a maximum number of species (26 species). Based on this data morphological identification of plants was carried out. Based on present study, It is recommended that the botanical collection and documentation of ethnobotanical knowledge be carried out before such rich habitats are lost due to various anthropogenic and other natural causes. Therefore the proper data of plant diversity could play a significant role in planning for the preservation and sustainable use of existing resources in the forest areas.

Keywords: Plants, Morphology, Species, Gautala, Reserve Forest

Received November 12, 2020; Revised December 13, 2020; Accepted December 20, 2020

Citation: Amrin Naimoddin Mirza, Satish S. Patil, Seasonal Plant Diversity of Gautala Reserve Forest, District Aurangabad. Applied Ecology and Environmental Sciences, 9 (1). 92-101. January 2021. doi:10.12691/aees-9-1-15

1. Introduction

Plant diversity is ecological assets to human life and livelihood. Mostly, local people depend on products, services, or even land from nearby natural areas to meet their livelihood needs. The Reserved forests have played an important role in preserving plant diversity although providing substantial advantages to households in rural areas [1,2,3].

Quantitative analysis on plant species diversity gives the morphological status and distribution pattern which may help in biodiversity preservation. Quantitative data are frequently obtained through ecological inventories that are used to determine the nature and distribution of biotic assets of the region to be managed [4]. Evaluation of plant species distribution and abundance is a significant aspect as they contribute to the structural characteristics of the forest and provide assets and habitat for various species [5,6]. Plant diversity varies significantly from location to location due to variety in biogeography territory and disturbance [7]. The details on plant composition and forest structure helps in protecting threatened and economic species, and to understand the forest ecology dynamics for nature preservation [8]. All human societies showed a profound interest in utilization as well as conservation of biodiversity in a sustainable manner to which India has no exception. India has two mega biodiversity centers especially in plant species viz., North eastern Himalayan region and the Western Ghats. Indian forests are rich in medicinal plant species with a wide spectrum of healing characteristics [9]. The sanctuary is suitable for a large number of birds, mammalian, and invertebrate species [10]. It is of utmost importance to assess the actual herbal wealth of Gautala sanctuary [11]. The present study has been carried out of baseline information about the status of different plant species occupying the Gautala reserve forest.

2. Material and Methods

2.1. Study Area

Gautala reserve forest is also renowned as “Gautala Autramghat Wildlife Sanctuary” is situated in the west-north direction of the Aurangabad District, Marathwada region. It has a region of about 261 sq. km. It covered 64 sq. km area of Jalgaon District and 197 sq. km. area of Aurangabad District. Its geographical position is longitude E 740, 55’, latitude N 190, 54’, and altitude 1904 ft. [12]. The annual rainfall is near about 550-600 mm. It goes high up to 45°C in summer and falls down to 8°C in winter. The Gautala sanctuary is very much famous for its well-known flora of medicinal plants, some of the woody shrubs and herbs etc. which are grown in natural conditions [13].

Figure 1. Showing fifteen spots selected from Gautala Reserve Forest

The frequently visited various 15 spots were selected for the identification of plants at Gautala sanctuary (Figure 1). Different types of plant species were observed during the survey. Their qualitative characters were noted at site and photographed by using high-quality digital cameras. Photographs were identified at the Department of Environmental Science, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad, India. Based on the data, morphological identification of plants was done.

Flora of the entire study zone was divided into five quadrats of 1.2 km x 1.2 km each having the area of 100m x 100m. In each of these a 5m x 5m quadrats were marked for sampling of shrubs and herbs etc. The total numbers of trees, shrubs, herbs, climbers etc. were counted in each respective quadrats. The present study demonstrates the average of plant diversity observed in the Gautala forest. Botanical families were grouped by using reference material, recent scientific publications, and morphological studies. The sanctuary areas were surveyed using a systematic sampling technique. The size and number of quadrats were determined using the species area-curve [14].

2.2. Statistical Analysis

To identify plant species with similar diversity based on the diversity of species in rainy, winter and summer season by using K means Clustering method. Analyses were done using statistical and qualitative data analysis software i.e. R Studio.

2.3.1. Clustering Methodology (K)

K-means is one of the simplest unverified learning algorithms. The procedure involves classifying a given plant species into a certain number of clusters (assume K clusters) fixed a prior with similar characteristics. The main knowledge is to describe K centers, one for each cluster. The better choice is to place centers as much as possible far away from each other. The next step is to take each point belonging to a given all Plant Species and associate it to the nearest center. When no point is awaiting, the first step is finished and an early group age is completed. At this point, it is essential to re-calculate k new centroids as the barycenter of the clusters resulting from the earlier step. Afterward, these k new centroids, a new binding, had to be done among the same statistics set points and the nearby new center. A loop had been produced. As a result of this loop, it is noticed that the k centers variation their position phase by phase until no extra variations were completed or in other words centers didn’t change anymore. To conclude, algorithm aims at decreasing an objective function recognized as a squared error function given by:

[picture] | (1)

Where,

‘||xi - vj||’ is the Euclidean distance between xi and vj.

‘ci’ is the number of data points in the ith cluster.

‘c’ is the number of cluster centers.

2.3.2. Algorithmic Steps for K-means Clustering

Let X = {x₁,x₂,x₃,……..,xn} be the set of data points and V = {v1,v2,…….,vc} be the set of centers.

1) Randomly selected ‘c’ cluster centers.

2) Calculated the distance between each data point and cluster centers.

3) Assigned the data point to the cluster center whose distance from the cluster center is the minimum of all the cluster centers.

4) Recalculated the new cluster center using:

[picture] | (2)

Where, ‘ci’ represents the number of data points in ith cluster.

5) Recalculated the distance between each data point and new obtained cluster centers.

6) If no data point is reassigned then stop, otherwise repeat from step 3.

3. Result and Discussion

The records of twelve months rigorous study (i.e. June-2017 to May-2018) were pooled for three seasons and evaluated for seasonal variations regarding rainy, winter, and summer. The outcomes of present study showed a significant variance in plant diversity properties with different seasons. The ecological factors indicated some of most common plant species which occurred in study area is Azadirachta indica, Ficus benghalensis, F. religiosa, F. racemosa, Syzygium cumini (Myrtaceae), Butea monosperma (Fabaceae), Dalbergia sissoo (Fabaceae), Acacia leucophloea (Fabaceae), Gliricidia varieties in various seasons in the exploration area depending upon the topography. Average of plant diversity of seasonal variations in forest areas of study spots are given in (Figure 2). In the present investigation, 91 plant species belonging to 85 genera in 44 families have been recorded, and the results of the study placed in Table 1. A total of 41 species of trees, 24 shrubs, 12 herbs and 6 climbers species have been included (Table 2). The Different families in the present study are Fabaceae (26), Malvaceae (4), Poaceae (3), Apocynaceae (3), Combretaceae (3), Lamiaceae (3), Rutaceae (3) etc. (Table 2). The Fabaceae family has the maximum number of species found at the Gautala sanctuary. In the present study, A total 44 plant families recorded that 4 species are monocotyledons and remaining 40 families have been dicotyledons (Table 2). The present investigation gives baseline and detailed information about the plant diversity of Gautala reserve forest. The whole causes of diversity loss are the similar as those responsible for land use and surface of land change. The existing natural forests protected our living environment [15]. Enormous regions of diverse forest are degraded or lost every year with considerable outcomes for biodiversity. Overexploitation, and invasive species, Fragmentation, Deforestation and climate change are the main factors of forest biodiversity loss [16,17,18,19].

Fabaceae, Poaceae, Rubiaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Acanthaceae, Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, etc as the different families of Indian forest [20,21]. A great similarity is evident at the family level and It's clear that across various tropical forests. Chauhan et al., [22] reported dominant families are Fabaceae (14 species), Euphorbiaceae, Moraceae, and Mimosaceae (7 species each) followed by Caesalpiniaceae and Verbenaceae. These dominant families were found in the Terai-Bhabhar of Sohagibarwa Wildlife Sanctuary, India. Combretaceae, Meliaceae, Mimosaceae, Celastraceae and Rubiaceae were the predominant families of Bannerghatta National Park in Eastern Ghats of southern India [23]. Bokhary and Awad [3], Detailed that the most dominant families were Fabaceae (33.8%) followed by Combretaceae (10.8%), Capparaceae (9.5%), and Malvaceae (9.5%) respectively found in El Reserved forest, Sudan. Shukla and Singh [24], observed that the family Fabaceae signifies maximum quantity i.e., seventeen species, followed through Moraceae (07), Combretaceae (06), Myrtaceae (05) Rutaceae (04), Anacardiaceae, Euphorbiaceae and Rubiaceae with 3 species, respectively. Also, the families Annonaceae, Apocynaceae, Burseraceae, Embenaceae, Lamiaceae and Meliaceae originate with two species of each in the surveyed zone. Fabaceae found the predominant family with 26 species, onward the gradients in the dry deciduous forests of Godavari valley, Telangana State [25].

3.1. Statistical Relationship

K means clustering method is used for clustering the 91 Species into Clusters having the similar diversity and for the current study using the k=5. Therefore, Total 5 Clusters are derived with K means method. Each cluster contains the Plant Species with similar diversity. (Table 3). The clustering analysis in this examination proposed the presence of indicator species. Indicator species are species that are used as a biological indicator community, territory type or Natural changes [26,27].

1. There are only five Plant Species in the cluster 4 having the higher average biodiversity among all other Plant Species.

2. Plant Species in the cluster 3 have 141 average diversity which is lowest among all other Clusters.

3. Cluster 3 contains the highest number of Plant Species with similar diversity.

Following plant species were observed during the survey:

Table 1 Average of Floral Diversity in Gautala Forest (Herbs 1-58; Shrubs 59-81; Climber 82-85; Grass-86-88; Woody climber 89-90; Climbing shrub 91)

Table 2. Arrangement of Taxa of Gautala Reserve Forest

Table 3. Represents The Five Clusters of Plant Species Having Similar Plant Diversity Among Each Cluster

Table 4. Clusters and Respective Plant Species Count

Figure 2. Showing Average of plant diversity of five clusters

Table 5. Seasonal Analysis of Different Types of Plant

Figure 3. Showing season wise diversity of different Plant types

Figure 4. Showing total diversity of different plant types

Table 6. Seasonal Analysis of Plant Diversity of Different Families

Figure 5. Showing seasonal wise variations in plants families

Figure 6. Showing total plant diversity of different family

4. Conclusion

A total of 91 higher plant species in 84 genera and 44 families were recorded. In the present study, Gautala reserve forest Dist. Aurangabad, Observed 91 plant species with different families as: Acanthaceae, Anacardiaceae, Annonaceae, Apocynaceae, Asteraceae, Bignoniaceae, Bixaceae, Boraginaceae, Burseraceae, Celastraceae, Combretaceae, Convolvulaceae, Ebenaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Lamiaceae, Lauraceae, Leguminaceae, Lythraceae, Malvaceae, Martyniaceae, Meliaceae, Menispermaceae, Mimosaceae, Moraceae, Myrtaceae, Nyctaginaceae, Oxalidaceae, Phyllanthaceae, Ranunculales, Rhamnaceae, etc. (Table 2). In the present study, the Fabeceae family found the maximum number of species (Figure 5). The Different varieties of plants in Gautala sanctuary constituted about 50-100 plant species. It is highly probable that the medicinal properties of the remaining plant species have not yet been discovered or documented. It is recommended that the botanical collection and documentation of ethno-botanical knowledge be carried out before such rich habitats are lost due to various anthropogenic and other natural causes [11]. The so far unexplored Gautala sanctuary was surveyed for its plant diversity.

The present study provides basic information about the different plant species, which are presently found in the Gautala Sanctuary. Such a list could play a crucial role in the local and regional structure involved in the conservation of valuable plant diversity for superior and well protected future, use of well-being for upcoming generations and sustainable development of the zone.

Acknowledgements

Thankful to Dr. S. S. Patil Sir for encouragement and guidance and also thanks to Dr. Pardeshi Sir for providing valuable information about related topics. Special thanks to all staff of the Department of Environmental Science and colleagues. The authors would like to thank the Forest Department and Wildlife Staff of the Gautala Sanctuary.

Funding

There is funding from Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), Centrally-Administered Short-Term Doctoral Fellowship, support for this Research Work.

Conflict of Interest

The authors do not have any conflict of interest.

References

[1]   | Worede, Melaku, Tesfaye Tesemma, and Regassa Feyissa. “Keeping Diversity Alive: An Ethiopian Perspective.” Genes in the field: on-farm conservation of crop diversity. Lewis Publishers, IDRC, and IPGRI, Boca Raton, 2000, 143-161.
[2]   | Hooper, David U., et al., “Effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning: a consensus of current knowledge”, Ecological Monographs, 2005, 75 (1), 3- 35.
[3]   | Bokhary A., Awad El A. Plant Biodiversity Assessment and its Contribution in the Livelihood of Local Communities: A Case Study of ElA in Reserved Forest, North Kordofan, Sudan, International Journal of Science and Research, 2016, 5(9): 21-29.
[4]   | Rennolls K., & Laumonier Y. Species Diversity Structure Analysis At Two Sites in The Tropical rainforest of Sumatra. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 2000, 16, 253-270.
[5]   | Huang W., Pohjonen V., Johansson V., Nashanda M., Katigula M.I.L., & Luukkanen O. Species Diversity, Forest Structure and Species Composition in Tanzanian Tropical Forests. Forest Ecology and Management, 2003, 173, 111-124.
[6]   | Mohammad Abdul Motaleb. Selected Medicinal Plants of Chittagong Hill Tracts, Published By IUCN (International Union For Conservation Of Nature) Dhaka Bangladesh, 2011, ISBN- 978-984-33-3650-7.
[7]   | Majumdar K., Shankar U., & Datta B. K. Tree Species Diversity and Stand Structure Along Major Community Types in Lowland Primary and Secondary Moist Deciduous Forests in Tripura, Northeast India. Journal of Forestry Research, 2012, 23(4), 553-568.
[8]   | Naidu M. Tarakeswara, Premavani D., Suthari Sateesh & Venkaiah M. Assessment of Tree Diversity in Tropical Deciduous Forests of Northcentral Eastern Ghats, India. Geology, Ecology, and Landscapes, 2018, 2:3, 216-227.
[9]   | Patil D. A. And Patil M.V. Diversity And Concerns Of Indian Medicinal Plants: A Scenario. Journal Of Ecobiotechnology, 2010, Vol 2(8): 14-20.
[10]   | Sarkar Moumita And Devi Ashalata. Assessment of Diversity, Population Structure And Regeneration Status Of Tree Species In Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam, Northeast India. Tropical Plant Research, 2014, ISSN (E): 2349-1183 1(2): 26-36 pp.
[11]   | Kshirsagar Anil A., Pawar Sanjay M., Patil Nirmala P., And Mali Vasant P. Diversity Of Medicinal Plants In Gautala Sanctuary Of Kannad, District Aurangabad (Ms) India, Bioscience Discovery, 2012, ISSN: 2229-3469, Volume: 3 (3), 355 pp.
[12]   | Gitte T. A., Kare M. A. and Deshmukh A. M. Diversity Of Flowering Plants Of Gautala Autramghat Reserved Forest In Marathwada (M.S.) India. Recent Research In Science And Technology, 2012, 4(10): 31-42, ISSN: 2076-5061.
[13]   | Naik, V. N. (ed.). “Flora Of Marathwada”, Amrut Prakashan, Aurangabad, 1998 .
[14]   | Joy P. P., Thomas J., Mathew Samuel And Skaria Baby P., (ed). Medicinal Plants, Kerala Agricultural University, India, 1998.
[15]   | Singh Mahabir And Kumar Manoj. Study Of Plant Diversity Of Jind District, Haryana, India, Asian Journal Of Plant Science And Research, 2013, 3(3):44-53, ISSN : 2249-7412.
[16]   | Anonymous. Managing Forest Resources for Sustainable Development: An Evaluation of World Bank Group Experience. IEG, 2013, World Bank, Washington, USA.
[17]   | Gardner TA, Barlow J, Chazdon R, Ewers RM, Harvey CA, Peres CA, Sodhi NS. Prospects For Tropical Forest Biodiversity In A Human-modified World. Ecology Letters, 2009, 12:1-21.
[18]   | Morris RJ. Anthropogenic Impacts on Tropical Forest Biodiversity: A Network Structure and Ecosystem Functioning Perspective. Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. B, 2010, 365(1558), 3709-3718.
[19]   | Panda Pratap Chandra, Mahapatra Ajay Kumar, Acharya Pradosh Kumar and Debata Akhil Kumar. Plant diversity in tropical deciduous forests of Eastern Ghats, India: A landscape level assessment, International Journal of Biodiversity and Conservation, 2013, ISSN 2141-243X, Vol. 5(10), 625-639 pp.
[20]   | Dar Javid Ahmad And Sundarapandian Somaiah. Patterns of plant diversity in seven temperate forest types of Western Himalaya, India. Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity, 2016, 280-292.
[21]   | Hooker J D. A Sketch of flora of British India. London. Oxford press, 1906.
[22]   | Chauhan D. S., Singh Bhupendra, Chauhan Shashi, Dhanai C. S. & Todaria N.P. Regeneration And Plant Diversity Of Natural And Planted Sal (Shorea Robusta Gaertn.F.) Forests In The Terai - Bhabhar Of Sohagibarwa Wildlife Sanctuary, India. Journal Of American Science; 2010, 6(3): 32-45.
[23]   | Puttakame Gopalakrishna S., Leckson Kaonga M., Kalegowda Somashekar R., Satyanarayana Suresh H., Suresh R. Tree Diversity In The Tropical Dry Forest Of Bannerghatta National Park In Eastern Ghats, Southern India. European Journal Of Ecology, 2015, 1(2): 12-27.
[24]   | Shukla Ashok K. And Singh Annu. Diversity Of Forest Tree In The Forest Of Sarguja District, Chhattisgarh, India. International Journal Of Science and Research, 2012, ISSN: 2319-7064, Impact Factor 3.358.
[25]   | Suthari S. And Raju V. S. Tree Species Composition And Forest Stratification Along The Gradients In The Dry Deciduous Forests Of Godavari Valley, Telangana, India. European Journal Of Ecology, 2018, 4(1): 1-12.
[26]   | Basyuni M. and Jayusman. Plant species diversity and cluster analysis in difference logged-over peat swamp forests in Riau, Indonesia. IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci., 2019, 284 012022.
[27]   | Cáceres De M, Legendre P, and Moretti M. Improving indicator species analysis by combining groups of sites Oikos, 2010, 119 1674-1684.