Coastal sand dune flora in the Thoothukudi District, Tamil Nadu, southern India

Abstract

Coastal sand dunes (CSD) are found in the Thoothukudi District and the communities living close to the coastal sand dunes know the value of the sand dunes and their bioresources. A study of sand dune flora along coastal sand dune areas was done from March to August 2010. A total of 42 species belonging to 38 genera and 26 families were identified at different distances from the shoreline. The CSD systems are rich and diverse in their floral composition, even over the small areas of Manapadu and Kulasakarapattanam along the Thoothukudi coastal line. CSD constitute a variety of habitats and have vital ecological and economic importance. Such unique sensitive systems have to be protected from habitat degradation in order to protect their native diversity and ecological functions.

Diversity of Psammophytes in Sand Dunes of Periyakadu Coast, Southwest Coast of India

“…According to Ramarajan and Murugesan [14] there are 26 families and 55 species on the Tamil Nadu coast. Herbaceous species predominate in both tropical and temperate coastal sand dunes' vegetation, with climbers, creepers, trees, and shrubs following in order of importance [15,16,10,17]. In this present work also indicates that the study area preserves a rich flora with high number of native dune plants.…”