A Review on Sacred Groves of South Gujarat, India

The reverence of nature is ingrained in human nature, particularly in India. Sacred Groves are special vegetation preserved by the indigenous people and dedicated to the local deity. They are one type of nature worship. (Rajesh et al., 2016). Sacred groves are areas of natural vegetation or woodlands that have been preserved by indigenous people for ages via cultural and religious customs (Gadgil and Vartak, 1975). The sacred grove's size ranged from one to a thousand hectares, and it is home to a wide variety of plants and animals. Because sacred groves are thought to be the homes of gods, bhutas, saints, etc., indigenous communities have long protected these patches of vegetation, forbidding hunting, grazing by livestock, and tree-cutting and lopping (Brandis, 1897). This practice has kept the grove undisturbed over time (Hughes and Chandran, 1998). (Patel et al., 2014). Because they provide habitat for mammals and birds, sacred groves and trees indirectly aid in the preservation of living things. Five sacred forests are a treasure trove of rare and endemic species and are the religious practice of protecting biodiversity with strong beliefs, customs, and taboos. (Maru et al., 2013). Sacred Groves are a collection of trees or an area of flora that the locals have conserved via cultural and religious customs that have been developed to reduce damage. Sacred Groves are generally seen to be a treasure trove of rare, indigenous, and therapeutic plants. (Patel et al., 2013). Sacred groves are considered "mini biosphere reserves" due to their remarkable plant wealth and capacity for self-conservation (Gadgil & Vartak, 1975). The sacred trees found in sacred woods are revered by the populace. Because of their cultural and religious significance, the indigenous people conserve these trees, which are either edible or medicinal plant species (Sukumaran et al., 2008). Communities, nations, and future generations rely on biodiversity, which is the fundamental pillar of human survival and economic growth (Rampilla et al., 2015). Birds (Kangah-Kesse et al. 2009), amphibians (Rathod & Rathod 2013), small animals (Decher 1997), butterflies (Bossart et al. 2006), and even fungi (Kumar & Kaviyarasan 2011) are among the many taxa that have been identified from sacred forests worldwide (Kulkarni et al., 2018). The significance of sacred groves in biodiversity conservation has long been acknowledged. They are thought to be a repository of biodiversity gene pools and a treasure trove of several unique, endangered, and commercially significant plants utilized in Ayurvedic, tribal, and folk remedies (Sreeja et al., 2016). The goal of the current study was to raise awareness of the value of traditional knowledge and to discover new therapies by revealing the floristic diversity and ethnomedicinal wealth of the chosen sacred groves. The indigenous tribal societies use the medicinal flora wisely to treat infections and illnesses in order to stay healthy (Nair et al., 2024). "Botany" is the study of plants, and "ethno" is the study of humans. It symbolizes the interaction between humans and plants at every stage as well as how plants affect the environment and, in turn, human society (Chanda et al., 2019). Protecting several valuable food plants and numerous medicinal plants, sacred woods were surrounded by a diversity of landscape features, including savannah, fields and fallows, permanent agricultural zones, shifting agriculture, and secondary forests (Kawat et al., 2013). Generally speaking, sacred groves are thought to be a sanctuary for a region's relic flora, a source of seeds, and a treasure trove of rare, endemic, and therapeutic plants (Whittaker 1975). Gadgil and Vartak (1975) recognized them as'mini biosphere reserves' due to their remarkable plant wealth and conservation potential (Sukumaran et al., 2008).

SACRED GROVES IN INDIA

Sacred groves have been discovered in several parts of India where the native population resides, including the central hilly regions, the northeastern region, and the Western Ghats region. Although there are more than 14,000 known sacred groves in India, some scholars believe there may be as many as 150,000 (Solanki et al., 2021). Sacred groves have previously been documented in India, especially in areas where indigenous communities reside, such as the Himalayas, northeastern India, and the highlands of Bihar, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. Previous researchers have addressed the floristic and ethnobotanical features of sacred groves in India. (Panda et al., 2014). Many groups in India revere nature on the grounds that all of nature's creations must be preserved. Traditional values, religious beliefs, taboos, and sociocultural customs are the overarching ideas of the holy groves (Rajesh et al., 2016). According to Fergusson (1971), sacred groves were first documented by Brandis in 1857 and are believed to have pre-Vedic origins. Gadgil and Vartak (1981) reviewed sacred groves in several states. There have been about 13,270 intact sacred groves found. These sacred groves are known by different names in different parts of India (Ramakrishnan et al., 1998). Tamil Nadu is said to have 1270 of these holy groves. (Krishna et al., 2014). In addition to India and the Indian subcontinent, sacred groves can be found in America, Australia, Africa, Asia, and Europe. Most of India's sacred groves are found in the following states: Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, and the Union Territory of Puducherry. (Warrier et al., 2023). This practice was common in Roman, African, and Asian civilizations, albeit it took diverse forms. The majority religion in India, Hinduism, worships a wide range of living and nonliving natural phenomena. Numerous unique medicinal and ornamental plants, animals, and birds can be found on the sacred Himalayan peak. Because the whole mountain range is known as Dev Bhum, or "God's land," the villagers carry out a lot of rituals to make sure that these natural elements survive (Kumar et al., 2022).