Diversity of Coastal Plant Communities in India/L.K. Banerjee, T.A. Rao, A.R.K. Sastry and D. Ghosh. Kolkata, ENVIS-EMCBTAP - Botanical Survey of India, 2002, x, 524 p., plates, tables.

    Contents: Introduction. 1. Physiography of Indian Coast. 2. Geomorphology of Indian Coast. 3. General topography of the Coastal Zone. 4. Geology of Indian Coast. 5. Climate of Indian Coast. 6. Potentiality of Indian Coast, shore and off-shore regions. 7. Habitat and plant communities of the Indian Coast. 8. Classification of coastal plant communities. 9. Some of the important habitats in the Wet Coastal system. 10. Assessment of plant communities in different coastal zones. 11. The offshore region of Indian Coastal System (exclusive economic zone). Coastal livelihood. History of coastal flora in India. Special adaptation of coastal plants in India. Flora of Indian Coast. Addition to the Coastal Flora in India. Assessment of coastal plant communities in India. List of sea weeds reported from the Indian Coast. Threat to coastal ecosystem in India. Management. Management strategies, future proposal and approaches towards the conservation of Coastal Areas in India. References. Index.

    From the preface: "The Present endeavour took years of painstaking field tours, collection, preservation and preparation of herbarium materials, systematic research works, library and other information networks on the part of the authors. The present study deals with general introduction, topography, geomorphology, geology, soil and climatic features of different Indian coastal regions along with seaweeds, sea-grass, brief information on coastal fungi and lichens, some of the special habitats of the coastal areas, quantitative assessment of coastal plant communities, floristic studies of Indian coastal plant diversity including key to the genera and species under each family followed by description, distribution, ecological notes of each species. It also includes assessment of coastal plant diversity with special emphasis on rare, endangered and restricted taxa in different coastal zones and general threats, conservation and management strategies of the coastal areas. It also deals with the intricacies of coastal livelihood through the sustainable use of coastal resources. The main objectives of this study are to accumulate all scattered research works on coastal plants from Ecology Unit, Botanical Survey of India and to make detail survey, collection, identification and ecological investigation of the incomplete coastal areas of dry and wet coastal plant communities in India. It may approach towards the integrated network database on coastal plants, their physical and ecological parameters, qualitative and quantitative assessment with a view  to obtain information on plant diversity, ecological notes, distribution and conservation measures.

    The authors hope that this book will be of immense helpful to the students, researchers, foresters, planners and all others enthusiastic about nature and its conservation. This book will also provide basic resources of the coastal plant diversity which are highly valuable for preparation and documentation of the coastal database as a major tool for the modern information technology."

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