The present study provides an overview of the diversity and distribution of grass species in Lahaul- Spiti district (cold desert) situated in the Trans-Himalayan region i.e. Himachal Pradesh, India. From the study area 141 taxa (138 species and 3 subspecies) belonging to 14 tribes were recorded. The largest tribe was Festuceae followed by Agrostideae having 48 and 20 species, respectively. Two species Poa koelzii and P. Lahaulensis are endemic to Lahaul- Spiti. Puccinellia kashmiriana is rare as per IUCN status. The present study on the grass floral wealth of Lahaul-Spiti provides an important baseline data on grasses for further quantitative and qualitative investigations like their nutritive values, crop improvement programmes and shall also help in the identification of priority conservation areas in the region.
References
1. Moorcroft W. Travels in the Himalayan provinces of Hindustan and the Panjab; in Ladakh and Kashmir; in Peshawar, Kabul, Kunduz, and Bokhara; by William Moorcroft and George Trebeck, from 1819-1825. London: J. Murray; 1841.
2. Watt G. Notes on the vegetation of Chamba State and British Lahaul with description of new species. Bot J Linn Soc. 1881;18:368-382. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8339.1881.tb01260.x
3. Aitchinson JET. Lahaul, its flora and vegetable products. Bot J Linn Soc. 1886;10:69-101.
4. Joshi AC. Aquatic vegetation of Lahaul. The Paleobotanist. 1952;1:277-80.
5. Bor NL. The Grasses of Burma, Ceylon, India and Pakistan Oxford: Pergamon Press; 1960. https://doi.org/10.1097/00010694-196111000-00009
6. Rau MA. On a collection of plants from Lahaul. The Bulletin of Botanical Survey of India. 1960;2(1-2):45-56.
7. Nair NC. On a botanical tour to Lahaul and Spiti (Punjab Himalaya). The Bulletin of Botanical Survey of India. 1964;6(2-4):219-35.
8. Kapahi BK, Sarin YK. Contribution of the botany of Lahaul. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society. 1979; 74(Suppl.):627-39.
9. Koelz WN. Notes on the ethnobotany of Lahaul, a province of the Punjab. Quarterly Journal of Crude Drug Research. 1979;7(1):1-56. https://doi.org/10.3109/13880207909083272
10. Bhattacharya UC, Uniyal BP. A botanical tour to Pangi and Trilokinath in upper Chenab. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society. 1982;79:57-78.
11. Aswal BS, Mehrotra BN. Flora of Lahaul-Spit Dehradun: Bishen Singh and Mahendra Pal Singh; 1994.
12. Murti SK. Flora of cold deserts of western Himalaya Vol. I (Monocotyledons) Calcutta: Botanical Survey of India; 2001.
13. Chandra Sekar K, Srivastva SK. Flora of Pin Valley National Park, Himachal Pradesh Kolkata: Botanical Survey of India; 2009.
14. Negi JP. Development perspectives in the Himalayan Mountain Desert of Spiti (Himachal Pradesh)-greening the Mountain Deserts. In Special lecture delivered at 72nd session of the Indian Science Congress Association, Lucknow University (January 3-8); 1985; Lucknow.
15. Whistler H. In the High Himalayas London: H.F. & G. Witherby; 1924.
16. Singh RP, Rawat D, Jishtu V. Agroforestry in cold desert areas of Himachal Pradesh. Indian Forester. 1998;124(5):321-30.
17. Rawat YS, Oinam SS, Vishvakarma SCR, Kuniyal CP, Kuniyal JC. Willow (Salix fragilis Linn.): A multipurpose tree species under pest attack in the cold desert of Lahaul valley, Northwestern Himalaya, India. AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment 2006;35(1):43-48. https://doi.org/10.1579/0044-7447-35.1.43
18. Aswal BS, Mehrotra BN. Contribution to the flora of Lahaul valley, North West Himalaya. Journal of Economic and Taxonomic Botany 1985;7:299-307.
19. Report of the Task Force on Grasslands and Deserts. New Delhi: Planning Commission of India, Govenment of India; 2006.
22. Twiss PC. Predicted World Distribution of C 3 and C 4 Grass Phytoliths. In G. Rapp Jr. SCM, editor. Phytolith Systematics: Emerging Issues. 1992;113-128. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1155-1_6
