Characterization, quantification and monitoring of biodiversity have been among the major challenges in biodiversity conservation. Until recently, spatial ecological database in India was almost non-existent. There is need of a robust and quality database of the biological diversity at species, community, ecosystem and landscape levels for identification of vulnerable ecosystems and risk species. In order to have a national level database on the spatial distribution of
biological diversity, a nationwide project on the biodiversity characterization at landscape level was implemented and studies were carried out between 1998 and 2010 to characterize and map the flowering plants richness in the forested landscapes.