SOME ECOLOGICAL STUDIES ON DISTRIBUTION OF BRYOPHYTES AND ITS APPLICATIONS IN VISAKHAPATNAM DISTRICT, EASTERN GHATS OF INDIA

In the Evolutionary process, Bryophytes are transitional flora between aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Bryophytes which are commonly known as amphibians of the plant kingdom receive little attention by the scientific community than the other plant groups in the plant kingdom. This investigation aims to deal with the distribution of Bryophytic flora in different regions such as Ananthagiri hills near Aruku, Hukumpeta near Paderu and Chintapalli near Narsipatnam of Visakhapatnam District. Environmental parameters of the study sites were collected and a total of 12 species have been reported from different study sites. Utilization of Bryophytes for various applications also reported in this study. Common genera of this region are Funaria, Marchantia, Polytrichum, Riccia and Spagnum. Effect of the climatic factors on frequency and abundance of the Bryophytic flora was assessed.