FLORISTIC ENUME RATION OF SRI VENKATESWARA ZOOLOGICAL PARK FOR THE FUTURE CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY

Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park is a protected area of an ex-situ conservation for certain fauna and in-situ conservation of natural floral biodiversity comes under Sri Venkateswara Biospere Reserve Forest situated in the Seshachalam Hill ranges of Southern Eastern Ghats of Peninsular India. Floristic studies of protected areas is very much essential to enumerate the plant species for future generations and to maintain Sustainable Biodiversity Conservation. The systematic florist studies for three years resulted a total of 802 plant species include Bryophytes (2), Pteridophytes (13), Gymnosperms (5) along with major taxa of angiosperms (782) includes dicotyledons 639 and monocotyledons 143. Distribution of species to that of the other districts and regional floras showed a great diversity in the ratio of dicots to monocots equally to that of Kurnool and Chittoor Districts floras. Species diversity is closely related with Anantapur, Kurnool, Chittoor districts as the largest genera Euphorbia (15), Justicia (12) and Cyperus (10) and also with largest family Leguminosae (108) (Fabaceae). It also represents red listed species in natural conditions with Pterocarpus santalinus, Santalum album along with 11 other threatened category species in the zoo park. Hence, it is very essential to enumerate and enlist the flora of a protected area for the sustainable conservation for future generation