Medicinal plants of Nepal: Distribution pattern along an elevational gradient and effectiveness of existing protected areas for their conservation

Abstract

This study explores patterns of medicinal plant species richness along an elevational gradient in Nepal and the effectiveness of existing protected areas for their conservation. The authors used published data on the distribution of medicinal plants. The number of medicinal plants and the number of protected areas present in each 100 m elevation band were collated by interpolation. They tested the number of protected areas and the number of species as the response variables against elevation as a predictor variable. To explain the relationship between the total medicinal plant richness and..