A survey of the floristic composition of the Kambat Valley, District Dir Lower, Northern Pakistan

Ullah, Usman; Rahim, Fazli; Jan, Hammad Ahmad; Haq, Shiekh Marifatul; Wali, Sher; Filimban, Faten Zubair

doi:10.1016/j.chnaes.2022.08.002

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…However, Khan et al (2012) reported a higher number of plant species (198) from the Naran valley forest of Pakistan Himalaya but distributed in a lower number of families (68) when compared to our study. Similarly, Verma and Kapoor (2011) reported 160 vascular plant species belongs to 51 families from Ropa-Giavung valley in the cold deserts of District Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh, India (also see Manzoor et al, 2016;Haq et al, 2022d;Ullah et al, 2022). However, at the region level the species richness of our study was comparatively higher than report in previous studies from Kashmir Himalayas (Bhat et al, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 38%

Floristic composition, life history traits and phytogeographic distribution of forest vegetation in the Western Himalaya

Haq

Khoja

Lone³

et al. 2023

Front. For. Glob. Change

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IntroductionScientific documentation of the qualitative forest vegetation parameters of a biogeographical area provides baseline information to guide conservation strategies and design policies for biodiversity management regulations.MethodsWe present one of the most comprehensive qualitative vegetation analyses to evaluate the entire structure and function of an ecosystem in the remote northern part of the Kashmir Himalaya, India. Several multivariate ecological community analyses were conducted after determining the presence of plant species in the various habitats using a random sampling technique.ResultsIn total, 155 plant species belonging to 120 genera and 49 families occurred in the area. Asteraceae was the largest family (12% of plant species) followed by Rosaceae (11%). The patterns of species distribution across families were uneven, with 50% of the species belonging to only 7 families, and 23 families being monotypic. In terms of functional groups, the herbaceous growth form dominated. Therophytes were the dominant life form, indicating that the vegetation was disturbed. According to the phytogeographical research, 65% of the species documented in the study area were native, 15% were invasive, 14% naturalized, and 5% being casual. The majority (30%) of exotic species were reported along roadsides. Of all the species found, 39% grew in their natural habitats, such as forests, and 11% were scattered along roadsides. Plant species were grouped in five different clusters based on their floristic similarity. According to the estimated diversity indices, natural forest has the greatest values for Shannon’s and Simpson’s index. We found that the study area serves as the natural habitat for several significant, endangered medicinal plants, including Arnebia benthamii, Bergenia ciliata, Delphinium roylei, Gentiana kurroo, Phytolacca acinosa, Saussurea costus, and Trillium govanianum. Therefore, we recommend that human intervention in natural regeneration efforts be prioritized in these habitats to increase the population of these species.ConclusionExamining species features from the perspective of functional groups contributes to our understanding of the ecological aspects of the flora. It may also be useful in developing management plans to ensure long-term management of forest landscapes in this remote Himalayan region.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 38%