Sacred Groves Of Central India: Diversity Status, Carbon Storage And Conservation Strategies
Sacred groves are biodiverse and carbon (C)-rich patches of ecological importance. They play an important role in conservation of local biodiversity and provide numerous ecosystem services. In the present study, fifty-nine sacred groves from Central India were inventoried for plant biodiversity and C sequestration. A total of 109 tree species from 83 genera belonging to 37 families were recorded. Shannon‚Äôs, dominance, evenness and Fisher’s alpha indices varied: 0.77-2.81, 0.07-0.64, 0.28-0.91 and 1.15-20.37 respectively.