Prosopis juliflora invasions and ecological dominance in the sacred groves of Western Haryana, India

The present study was conducted in the sacred groves of Haryana in the semi-arid regions. Prosopis juliflora is one of the most common invasive plant species and has varying degrees of ecological consequences. In Haryana, the vast semi-arid conditions has ideally favoured the invasion of P. juliflora including the sacred groves of the State. Therefore, the present study investigated the population structure of the P. juliflora in the two sacred groves of Haryana i.e. Daya (SG-I) and Kharkada (SG-II) with different degrees of invasion. The impact of the invasive tree on the native flora was also examined by the assessment of different ecological parameters like analytical characteristics of vegetation along with four diversity indices (Shannon-Weiner Index, Simpson Index, Pielou Index and Margalef Index). The results of the study revealed that the sacred grove with low Prosopis invasion (SG-I) had high density and Basal area of native plant species as having significant values for the selected diversity indices and thus is better flourished in comparison to the highly invaded site (SG-II). It can be concluded that the native phytodiversity of the sacred groves of Haryana is in peril due to increasing P. juliflora invasion, thus efficient management strategies are required in this direction.