An Inventory of Plant and Their Uses from Devriya Wetland of Kailali District, Nepal

Abstract

Devriya wetland, the present study site is located in Dhangadhi Municipality-7 of Kailali district in Nepal. It is one of the important Oxbow lake areas for eco-tourism and conservation point of view, lies inside Devriya Botanical Garden, which is managed by the government of Nepal. Diversity of aquatic macrophytes, trends in resources use and geography of this wetland was studied. Study shows altogether 120 species (55 families and 105 genera) of macrophytes (5pteridophytes, 33 monocotyledons, 82 dicotyledons). The growth forms of the plant species found as 105 emergent, 6 floating and 9submerged.Eight types of resources have been identified,out of them timber is the most used resource followed by fire wood and fodder sequence and the soil being the least used. Among the three socio-economic classes (High, Medium and Low) of households of adjoining settlements, the Low income group was highest in number and found more dependent on plant resources but are least participatory in resources management. Altogether 35 species of plants (12 herbs, 8 shrubs, 3 climbers and 8 trees) were found with ethno-medicinal importance. Among the 15 categorized health problems the numbers of plants used were highest in abdominal problems (8 species) followed by jaundice (4 species) and pain (4 species). The total area of three lakes namely Jakhor, Murphutta, and Murphutti was found as 17.6hectors while total area of open water being 9.55 hectors.