An evaluation of flora from coastal sand dunes of India: Rationale for conservation and management

►The present study reports a total of 338 species of CSD flora from India. ►The CSD flora of the west coast (267 species) showed a greater diversity than the east coast (163 species). Fabaceae members (62%) dominated the flora. ►Most of the dune species exhibited an herbaceous habit. The non-metric multi-dimensional scaling resulted in three groups at 20% similarity. ►The CSD vegetation appeared to be more influenced by the geological setting and climatology of the region. ►A conservation policy in the form of a three layered biozone is proposed as a long term sustainable option to maintain biodiversity of coastal flora.