Diversity of Lianas in Eastern Himalayas and North-Eastern India

Abstract

Lianas constitute an important component of plant diversity in a wide range of ecosystems. The liana diversity has been reported to have critical role in maintaining ecosystem structure and function, with a predicted greater role to play under changing climate conditions. However, our understanding on the diversity pattern of lianas in different forest ecosystems along an elevation gradient is limited. Studies on lianas in the Eastern Himalayas and North-eastern region of India are very few. In this paper, we review the status of liana research in the two biodiversity hotspots viz., the Himalayas and Indo-Myanmar, and conducted primary studies in selected high diversity forests of the region to understand the patterns of liana diversity along elevation gradient in the Himalayas. The diversity and distribution of lianas in three major forest types representing the dominant ecological zones of the region viz. tropical, montane-subtropical and temperate were studied using liana census protocol of Gerwing et al. (2006). We recorded 196 liana species in three forest types in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Meghalaya in north-eastern India through plot-based field survey. The diversity and abundance of lianas were greater in sub-tropical and tropical forests than temperate forests. Threat assessment for liana conservation was suggested for their in situ conservation.