ABSTRACT
Homegardens are best representatives of agroforestry systems and generally perform a wide array of functions. They are often described as land use system involving multipurpose plants such as shrubs and trees along with agricultural crops. During ethnobotanical field trips to remote villages of coastal districts of Karnataka State, a rich divergent plant varieties were observed in the backyard or homegardens of almost every single rural homes. A literature survey on homegarden biodiversity indicated that they play an instrumental role in situ conservation of agrobiodiversity and have been found to contribute significantly towards food security and socio-economic sustainability among these regions. Availability of scientific data on homegardens of Karnataka State is scarce. An attempt was made to enrich the knowledge and compile the floristic composition of selected homegardens across Coastal taluks of Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, India. Initially different village ecosystems have been chosen so as to represent the different farming systems, ethnic diversity and biological diversity of Uttara Kannada.
