A tea garden in Coonoor, Tamil Nadu. Credit: Subhra Priyadarshini
Botanists have created Trees of India (ToI), a comprehensive database that lists 3,708 tree species1. It reveals that the country has 609 endemic tree species and is currently home to 347 threatened species.
The study will support conservation planning and ecological restoration efforts in regions with higher numbers of threatened and endemic trees, says a team at the University of Kashmir.
Of 36 global biodiversity hotspots, India contributes a significant portion of its geographical area to four such hotpots but lacks complete data on tree diversity. Scientists, led by Anzar Ahmad Khuroo, generated the ToI by analyzing 313 studies published between 1872 and 2022.
The team found that each state in India has 605.8 tree species and every species is distributed across 5.7 states. Tamil Nadu has the highest number of species, followed by Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. Ladakh has the lowest number.
Each state has an average of 32.08 threatened tree species and 36.08 endemic species. Each of the endemic species are distributed across 2.07 states. Kerala has the highest number of both threatened species and endemic species, followed by Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
Delhi, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir have two endemic species, while Ladakh, Lakshadweep and Chandigarh have none.
The researchers added 320 endemic species to the database and excluded 93 species erroneously included in a previous study.
