SUMMARY

Pteridophytes, including ferns and fern-allies, are the earliest of all the land plants which originated during the Silurian period and went on to become the dominant vegetation of earth’s surface during the Carboniferous period. They became the first ever group of plants on earth’s surface showing the presence of well-developed vascular system, thereby, playing an important link in the evolution from cryptogams (algae and bryophytes) to phanerogams (gymnosperms and angiosperms). Though they have largely been replaced by seed plants in the course of evolution, they continue to form an important part of vegetation today and can be found distributed in a wide range of habitats in the moist tropical and temperate forests in the world. Due to its diversified topography, variable climatic conditions and its strategic geographical position, India has a rich pteridophytic flora with about 1000 species of which around 320 species find their abode in the Western Ghats Biodiversity hotspot. The southern Western Ghats has the highest pteridophytes diversity (239 species) followed by central Western Ghats (174 species) and northern Western Ghats (64 species). The Uttara Kannada district is one of the important districts encompassing a significant portion of central Western Ghats and having more than 70% of its area covered with forest. Based on our ongoing studies and available literatures, altogether 67 species of ferns and fern-allies are found to be distributed in various taluks of the district. The highest number of pteridophytes species is found to be distributed in Joida taluk (41 species) followed by Siddapur (30 species), Karwar (25 species) and Kumta (15 species). The semi-evergreen to evergreen forests of Castle rock, Kaiga and Yana and the primeval evergreen forests of Gerusoppa Ghats are the richest spots in the district in terms of pteridophytes diversity and luxuriance. The presence of endemic and threatened tree fern species – Cyathea nilgirensis in Kathalekan sacred forests in Gerusoppa Ghats (which is the northernmost limit for this species in Western Ghats) signifies the ecological sensitivity of the forests in the district and emphasizes the need for conservation of the biodiversity and habitat before such species tend to decline and disappear from the nature. The pteridophytes being moisture and shade loving plants congregate at places where humid and damp conditions prevail. However, such habitats are being prioritized by humans for settlements, farming, power generation, setting up of industries etc. posing a threat, especially to the sensitive pteridophytes to vanish from such regions. Hence, for saving the pteridophytes from en-mass destruction, their habitat conservation is of paramount importance along with awareness programmes as knowledge on pteridophytes as such is sorely lacking among the public in general, making conservation of these wonderful group of plants a challenging affair.

Keywords: Central western Ghats, Pteridophytes, conservation,