Coastal Dune Flora, Nallavadu Village, Puducherry, India

Coastal sand dunes (CSD) are sensitive and fragile ecosystems with variety of specific floral species. Thoughthere are few confined studies on coastal sand dunes in temperate regions, the coastal dunes of tropics, especially the Indiancoramandal coast has received scanty attention. Hence, a detailed vegetation survey of 10 belt transects (5 × 100m) alongcoastal dune in December 2008 was done. A total of 41 species belonging to 35 genera and 20 families were identifiedat different distances from the shoreline towards inland where various edaphic factors decline facilitating more floralcolonization. Thus, the coastal dune systems are rich and diverse in their floral composition, even over a small area. CSDconstitute a variety of habitats and gather vital ecological and economic importance. Such unique sensitive systems have tobe protected from habitat degradation in order to protect their native diversity and ecological functioning.