The status of laokhowa wildlife sanctuary, Assam, India.

ABSTRACT

Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary is situated in the Nagaon district of Assam, India between the latitudes 26030 /N to 26032 / N and longitude 92040 / E to 92047 / E in the flood plains of the river Brahmaputra. The Sanctuary is about 25 km from Nagaon town, the district headquarter of the Nagaon district .The Sanctuary is located just in the central part of the state of Assam. It is situated in the extreme northern boundary of Nagaon district and the southern boundary of Sonitpur district. It is bounded by Burachapori Wildlife Sanctuary, Lawkhowa suti, Haldia suti, and Mara suti in the north, Nagaon –Silghat PWD road in the east, Leterijan in the south and forest road in the west. The soil is mainly clayey loam mixed with silt. The soil is acidic and pH varies from 4.36-6.86. The average annual rainfall remains around 2000 mm and about 70% occurs during June-September. The relative humidity varies between 65-95% and is lowest during the month of March. The present paper deals with the present status of the Sanctuary. The present study reveals the presence of 373 species of Angiosperms. The dicotyledonous plants belong to 74 families, 178 genera and 267 species, and the monocotyledonous to 18 families, 80 genera and 106 species. In addition to this 16 species of ferns were identified these belong to 12 families and 15 genera. Poaceae is the largest family in the sanctuary followed by Euphorbiaceae and Papilionaceae as the 2nd and 3rd largest families respectively.