ECOLOGICAL STUDY OF Swertia chirayita (Roxb. ex Fleming) H. Karst IN LAPRAK AREA, GORKHA, NEPAL

Abstract

Swertia chirayita (Roxb.ex Flem) Karst is one of the highly traded medicinal plants from Nepal. Systematic sampling was done in three different places of the Gorkha district (Laprak-2360- 2825masl, Barpak-2080-2790masl and Kashigaun-1860-2036masl) to understand the existing ecological status of S. chirayita. The soil pH in these sampling sites ranged from 3.2 to 5.9. The soil total nitrogen content (0.01%-0.14%) and total soil organic carbon (0.3%-4.65%) in the sampling sites was low. The phosphorous content of the soil in the sampling sites ranged from 47.84kg/hectors to 85.9kg/hector. The slope angle of the sampling plots ranged from 19.70 to 37.40 . The density of S. chirayita had significant positive correlation with total nitrogen content of soil (0.57), total organic carbon (0.61) which means it grows well in the soil rich in nitrogen and organic carbon and significant negative correlation with phosphorous content of the soil (-0.61), which means the plant doesn’t favors the high amount of phosphorous. The distribution of S. chirayita was not uniform, and was either contagious or random in the study area. The most common associated species were Anaphalis contorta, Osbeckia stellata, Boehmeria platyphylla, Miscanthus nepalensis Artemisia indicia, etc. Invasive plant species like Ageratina adenophora, Bidens pilosa and Oxalis latifolia were also found associated with S. chirayita in the study site.