COS 176-3 - Human mediated activities play detrimental role in the abundance and distribution of the cannabis sativa in the Western Himalaya

Abstract: The introduction of invasive alien species beyond their known native range is a principle component of human induced biodiversity crisis. The human activity hypothesis states that human mediated activities augment the establishment of invasive alien species possibly by intensifying disturbance in the local habitat and by increasing propagule pressure. The current study aims to assess the abundance and distribution of the Cannabis sativa in the habitats of varied level of disturbance and human activity to test hypothesis in Western Himalayas. Quantitative ecological technique was applied for the sampling of Cannabis sativa, consisting of 170 quadrats. The abundance of C. sativa in relation to biotic and abiotic variable was evaluated through multivariate statistical analysis such as regression analysis, pearson correlation and principal component analysis through R software. Our findings illustrates that the abundance of C. sativa increases significantly with increasing human activities and habitat disturbance supporting our hypothesis. Regression analysis further, elucidate that altitude, temperature and humidity play significantly detrimental roles in restraining C. sativa abundance. Pearson correlation discloses significantly positive correlation among anthropogenic activities and habitat disturbance. Temperature has significantly negative correlation with humidity. PCA further confirm the significance and correlation of these variables. Our findings may be taken as the baseline study in identifying the factor that significantly drives the invasion distribution and could be used as early detection and management of invasive species.

Keyword: Invasive species, human activity, regression, PCA, Western Himalaya.