in Sri Lanka - Ministry of Environment

Conclusions and RecommendationsLowland rainforests, sub-montane and montane forests are the major natural vegetationtypes supporting the biodiversity of Pteridophytes in Sri Lanka. However, these ecosystemsare heavily affected by various biotic and abiotic influences and already highly fragmented.Increasing population pressure and climate change further worsen the situation. These factshighlight the importance of conserving the remaining forest ecosystems of the wet zone ofthe country. It is also essential to conduct further research to fill the gaps of knowledge ofSri Lankan pteridophytes which will provide a basis to resolve many of the taxonomic andconservation issues pteridophytes face today.ReferencesAbeywickrama, B.A. (1956). The Genera of Ceylon Pteridophytes. The Ceylon Journal of Science (BiologicalScience) 13(1): 1-30.Abeywickrama, B.A. (1964). The Pteridophytes of the Knuckles region. The Ceylon Journal of Science (BiologicalScience) 5(1): 18-29.Abeywickrama, B.A. (1978). A checklist of the Pteridophytes of Sri Lanka. National Science Council of Sri Lanka,Colombo, Sri Lanka.Abeywickrama, B.A. and Dassanayeke, M.D. (1956). Crepidomanes bilabiatum (Neem et Bl.) Copel. A fern new toCeylon from Ritigala. The Ceylon Journal of Science (A). 13(1): 1-2.Abeywickrama, B.A. and De Fonseka, R.N. (1975). The Ceylon Ophioglossaceae. The Ceylon Journal of Science(Biological Science) 10(2): 132-142.Beddome, R.H. (1883). Handbook of the ferns of British India, Ceylon and the Malay Peninsula. 2nd edition. Todayand Tomorrow's Printers and Publishers. New Delhi.Christenhusz, J.M., Zhang, X-C and Schneider, H. (2011). A linear sequence of extant families and genera oflycophytes and ferns. Phylotaxa 19:7-54.Dhanasekara, D.M.U.B. (Undated). Current taxonomic status of fern in Sri Lanka. Royal Botanical Garden,Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. Unpublished and available at the Royal Botanical Garden, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka(available at the Royal Botanical Garden, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka).Dassanayake, M.D. (1964). The development of buds of the Polypodium vulgare. The Ceylon Journal of Science(Biological Science) 5(1): 30-37.Fernando, B. (2002). Ferns of Sri Lanka. The fern Society of Sri Lanka. Katuneriya, Sri Lanka.Fraser-Jenkins, C.R. (1984). An introduction to ferns genera of the Indian subcontinent. Bulletin of British Museumnatural History (Botany) 12(2): 37-76.Herat, T.R. and Rathnayake, P. (2003). An illustrated guide to the fern flora of Knuckles conservation area. ForestDepartment, Digana.Jayasekara, P. (1996). The Hymenophyllaceae of Sri Lanka. In: J.M. Camus, M. Gibby and R.T. Johns (eds.).Pteridology in Perspective, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 173-174.Jayasekera, P.W.B. and Wijesundara, D.S.A. (1993). A herbarium survey of Pteridophytes of Sri Lanka. Proceedingsof the Forty Ninth Annual Session of the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science, December1993. Part 1-Abstracts. Vidya Mandiraya, Vidya Mawatha, Colombo 7, Sri Lanka. pp. 66.Jayasekara, P., Herat, R.T. and Weerasinghe. (1996). Rediscovery of three rare ferns species from low land rainforest. PHYTA 4(1): 47-51.Linnaeus, C. (1747). Flora Zeylanica. Laurentius Salvius, Holmaiae.Manton, I. (1953). The cytological evolution of the fern flora of Ceylon. Symposia Society of Experimental Biology7: 174-175.Manton, I. and Sledge, W.A. (1954). Observations on the cytological and taxonomy of the Pteridophyte flora ofCeylon. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences, 238 (654):127-185.\Ranil, R.H.G., Pushpakumara, D.K.N.G., Wijesundera, D.S.A., Dhanasekara, D.M.U.B. and Gunawardena, H.G.(2004) Biodiversity of Pteridophyta in Kanneliya Man and Biosphere Reserve. The Sri Lanka Forester 27:1-10.152