Guwahati: A comprehensive checklist of Indian plants has been brought out by Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) which will be a useful resource for researchers, conversationalists, and the public alike.
It was released on the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) in Bengaluru on August 18.
The checklist contains updated plant names in consensus with the global taxonomic practices. It will provide every flowering plant’s “accepted name” linked to the most relevant categories of associated names available so far. All the names will have their authenticated source as a result of verification with sources available nationally and internationally.
Curated plant names as part of biodiversity data at the species level will be the backbone of species data for biodiversity conservation in India, a nation that is endowed with four global biodiversity hotspots. In many parts of the country that are rich in biodiversity, for example, the Northeast, and the Andaman and the Nicobar Islands, there is a dearth of information about species occurrence and distribution.
ATREE’s Founder President, Kamal Bawa said, “The curated plant checklist will form the platform for digital databases to better catalogue and assess our country’s rich and unique biodiversity.”
He added, “An authenticated checklist of plants will be critical for further explorations and evolutionary studies, especially with molecular and computational tools. Ultimately the checklist can contribute to the compilation of people’s biodiversity registers, and once integrated with other plant databases, provide a solid base of information for our plant wealth at one place.”
The plant checklist made available by ATREE in the online portal is easily accessible and an important contribution to achieving various commitments by the Government of India, especially various sections of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Every plant name in the checklist has resources such as type, and protologue sourced from national and international agencies.
“It can be used by amateur plant enthusiasts and botanists to help understand the distribution and habitat of plants across various states in India and globally too,” said KN Ganeshiah, Founder-Trustee of ATREE and leading agricultural scientist.
Rohini Nilekani, Chairperson, Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, added, “A comprehensive checklist of Indian plants is a critical resource for researchers, conversationalists and the public alike. I hope these ready resources arouse the curiosity of nature lovers and help them appreciate and further explore the country’s rich biodiversity. We encourage more of you to enrich this repository and keep the database active and growing.”
“The plant checklist will benefit the common public, students, academicians, researchers, biodiversity managers such as the forest department and biodiversity authorities, and policymakers,” said Regain Ganesan, Senior Fellow at ATREE, leading the effort.
The effort will help in the conservation of biodiversity and biological resources to be sustainably used. The plant checklist portal will facilitate users to refer to the updated names as it is regularly vetted by the experts (national and international) as part of the editorial activity.
ATREE’s mission is to generate rigorous interdisciplinary knowledge for achieving environmental conservation and sustainable development in a socially just manner, to enable the use of this knowledge by policymakers and society, and to train the next generation of scholars and leaders.
Also Read | India records 15,754 fresh COVID cases; 39 deaths