Published Paper Details:

The main objective of this study was to record the floristic abundance in the riparian zone of Sabarmati river in Prantij taluka of Sabarkantha district of Gujarat state to highlight its current status. Transect-based quadrate surveys have been conducted in six sampling sites along the Sabarmati riverine stretch. A total of 197 plant species were recorded of which, trees represented 19 species, shrubs represented 27 species, and herb, grasses and sedges were represented by 120 species and 31 species were climbers. Among the tree species, Prosopis juliflora showed the highest density (166.67 ind./ha), whereas among the shrub species, Cassia auriculata showed the highest density (549.33 ind./ha). Regarding herb species, Tephrosia purpurea represented the highest density (2.353 ind./sq.m) and frequency (52 %). Moreover, the highest importance value index was measured in Prosopis juliflora (IVI-57.8) among trees, Cassia auriculata (IVI-27.86) among shrubs and Tephrosia purpurea (IVI-17.44) among herbs. The Abundance/Frequency ratio of trees species showed regular distribution pattern, shrub and climber species showed that 5 species (8%) had contagious distribution, 23 species (40%) had random distribution and 30 species (52%) had regular distribution, whereas herb species showed contagious distribution pattern within the study area. The present study also includes ? diversity (Shannon diversity index, Simpson's Index, species richness, evenness index) of the riparian flora of Sabarmati river.