Importance of Medicinal plants on Biodiversity and Environmental protection

The cultivation of medicinal plants is economically beneficial for medical and pharmaceutical purposes. These plants are a valuable source of secondary metabolites that can be converted into various drugs. However, these plants' widespread and commercial cultivation is difficult because most of the arable land is used to produce strategically essential crops. Therefore, harvesting from nature has the largest share in medicinal plants, which increases the pressure on rangelands and reduces biodiversity in rangelands. This study aims to study the effects of improper harvesting of medicinal plants on biodiversity and habitat protection. This study showed that increasing the harvest of medicinal plants from pastures reduces biodiversity, increases pressure on other plants, and destroys habitats. Decreasing biodiversity and habitat degradation also increase the risk of extinction of medicinal plants, other plants, and even insects and microorganisms.

Keywords:

Extinction , Gene flow , Mechanized cultivation , Genetic diversity , breeding , Medicinal plants