Wild Plants Used as a Forest Ecosystem Services by the Local Inhabitants of Champawat District of Uttarakhand to the Subsistence of Their Livelihood

Materials And Methods

The research work was carried out in the Champawat district of Kumaun Himalaya, Uttarakhand during the years 2017–2018. In this research work, different places in the Champawat district and its nearby areas, namely, Pancheshwar, Munch, Tamli, Mudiyani, Pokhari, Kharhi, and Pati were regularly surveyed for the documentation of economic plant resources of this area. During this survey period, a number of local fruit vendors, natives (older household members and women), farmers, and experienced personnel in the forest department were interviewed. Group discussion and other participatory methods were also used to learn about the economic uses of these plants used by local peoples. Necessary permissions have been taken from the forest department for the collection and documentation of plant specimens. Plants collected during the survey period have been properly processed as per the standard method given by Jain and Rao (1976). Some plant specimens were identified in the field, and others were identified by matching them with authenticated specimens housed at the BSD herbarium, Dehradun. Asterisk marks (*) indicate that information was gathered by local peoples.