Ecological Distribution Patterns and Indicator Species Analysis of Climber Plants in Changa Manga Forest Plantation

Abstract

Climbing plants have an important role in forest communities and ecosystems. Despite the significance of the climbers in ecosystems, most of the previous research work in Pakistan has been concentrated on trees, shrubs, and herbs, with little attention paid to climbing plants. The current study investigated the ecology of climbers and the influence of soil characteristics on diversity, richness, and indicator species distribution in the Changa Manga Forest Plantation, Punjab, Pakistan. Field surveys were carried out between 2020 and 2021, with the data gathered using a random sample approach for ordination and cluster analysis of each plant species and edaphic data from sample plots. We reported a total of 29 climber species belonging to 23 genera and 9 families from the area. The Convolvulaceae family was the most prevalent, followed by Apocynaceae and Cucurbitaceae. Herbaceous climbers were the typical life form (70% species) and species showed peak flowering during the months of August and September. The multivariate analysis and cluster analysis grouped the climbers into four distinct communities based on the indicator species, representing filtering of the species pool in the studied area. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) results showed that soil factors had a significant influence (p ≤ 0.002) on the climbers’ diversity and distribution pattern. Our research contributes to a deeper understanding of climbing plant ecology in response to soil variables, with immediate consequences for policy and practice in this Himalayan region, as well as research insights for neighboring Himalayan regions and elsewhere in the world.

The Novel Invader Salpichroa origanifolia Modifies the Soil Seed Bank of a Mediterranean Mesophile Forest

“…Nevertheless, we found that the community with a higher Sa density (HD) was more than half composed by seeds of climber species, inducing us to hypothesize that the overall abiotic and biotic conditions were particularly favorable to this growth form, thus favoring Sa stabilization. This point needs to be disentangled as it may depend on several factors, but in a semi-arid sub-tropical continental forest, the composition and distribution of climber species was found to be associated with soil texture and moisture [ 48 ].…”

Role of Tree Vegetation and Associated Environmental Factors on the Understory Herb-Layer Composition in a Reforested Area: A Study from “Kulon Progo Community Forestry”

“…Tree vegetation determines understory herb-layer species composition [6,9] related to positive impacts on lighting [66], microclimate [59], and litter layer related to nutrient content [60]. Meanwhile, other environmental factors related to topographic and edaphic aspects have been widely recognized as influencing species distribution [21,24,72]. In relation to silt proportion in soil texture (Ed-Silt) and soil organic carbon (Ed-SOC), silty soil is generally fertile and contains a sufficient amount of nutrients [73], while soil organic carbon is one of the most important factors for soil quality, nutrient availability, plant growth and productivity [74].…”

Plant cultural indicators of forest resources from the Himalayan high mountains: implications for improving agricultural resilience, subsistence, and forest restoration

“…For the first time, we employed indicator species analysis to resolve this issue. To determine the plant cultural values of forest resources and identify plant cultural markers in each ethnic group, we used Indicator Species Analysis using PAST software (version 4.12) [ 29 , 30 ]. This gave information on the fidelity of a species to a certain group.…”

“…This gave information on the fidelity of a species to a certain group. Following the determination of each species' indicator values, which were modified from [ 28 , 29 ], a Monte Carlo analysis was carried out to determine statistical significance. The relative abundance of a species in various cultural groups was determined based on the number of citations for each species from a distinct cultural group during indicator species analysis using the following formula: where RA jk means relative abundance, x kj is the abundance of species j in group k , and g means the total number of groups.…”