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Moss Flora of Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary (KWLS), Garhwal Himalaya, India

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Abstract

Mosses are one of the dominant plant communities at higher elevations in the Himalaya and play an important role in the ecosystem dynamics. The authors assessed the diversity of mosses in the Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary (KWLS) of Garhwal Himalaya, India. A total of 113 species of mosses belonging to 65 genera are recorded along with their habitat preference, life strategies, growth forms and pattern of distribution at an altitudinal gradient in KWLS. Seven species of mosses viz., Dicranum orthophylloides Dix., Prionidium setschwanicum (Broth.) Hilp., Funaria microstoma Bruch ex Schimp., Plagiomnium drummondii (Bruch & Schimp.) T. Kop., Aerobryopsis wallichii (Brid.) Fleisch., Barbella turgida Nog. and Thuidium talongense Besch. are recorded for the first time from India. Twelve species of mosses are found new to western Himalaya, which were earlier reported to be endemic to eastern Himalayan region. Fifty two species are new records for Garhwal Himalayan region. Bryaceae (22 spp.) and Bryum (9 spp.) are found to be widely distributed taxa followed by Meteoriaceae (8 genera), Pottiaceae (8 genera) and Dicranaceae (6 genera).

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Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to officials of Kedarnath Wildlife Division, Gopeshwar, Chamoli and Director, High Altitude Plant Physiology Research Centre (HAPPRC), HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar Garhwal for providing necessary facilities during the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar, Garhwal, 246 174, Uttarakhand, India

    Yateesh Mohan Bahuguna & A. B. Bhatt

  2. Herbarium and Plant Systematics Section, Biodiversity and Applied Botany Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Canal Road, Jammu, 180 001, J&K, India

    Sumeet Gairola

  3. Department of Botany, University of Delhi, North Campus, Delhi, 110 007, India

    P. L. Uniyal

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  1. Yateesh Mohan Bahuguna
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  2. Sumeet Gairola
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  3. P. L. Uniyal
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  4. A. B. Bhatt
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Correspondence to Yateesh Mohan Bahuguna.

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Bahuguna, Y.M., Gairola, S., Uniyal, P.L. et al. Moss Flora of Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary (KWLS), Garhwal Himalaya, India. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., India, Sect. B Biol. Sci. 86, 931–943 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40011-015-0531-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40011-015-0531-z

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