Plant resource availability and harvesting pressure in Khardung La, Ladakh

Khardung La area (Ladakh, India) happens to be a hot spot for medicinal plant collection by locals and traditional healers but there is hardly any published information on the diversity and abundance of plants from this area. Such an information is a pre-requisite for conservation planning and future reference. We conducted detailed field surveys in and around Khardung La region to know the medicinal plant diversity and current levels of extraction by the local people and herbal healers. Information on vegetation parameters were collected across various habitats (land forms). Group discussions, informal meetings and questionnaire surveys were conducted with the plant collectors to assess the status of collection. Community structure of plants was assessed using standard vegetation sampling method. The study reveals that the area harbors more than 40 medicinal plants species and receives a large number of plant collectors each year. Collection is done mainly for personal use. However, commercial extraction was also evident. The collection method used by locals was destructive which might cause loss of diversity. Fifteen species had very low frequency due to their habitat specificity while 8 of them had very rare occurrence. Indicator Species Analysis (ISA) resulted in 4 communities in different habitats. Current methods and levels of harvesting pressure on various species around this area suggests that many species would soon become extremely rare. Hence, there is a need to generate awareness among the local stakeholders and encourage them to come up with sustainable harvesting practices and self-regulated collection regime so that commercial extraction is minimized.