Invasive Plants Diversity, Ecological Status, and Distribution Pattern in Relation to Edaphic Factors in Different Habitat Types of District Mandi Bahauddin, Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

Our understanding of the diversity and distribution of living things is crucial to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. Because biological invasions by alien species pose a significant threat to native biodiversity, tracking alien species at various geographical scales has recently gained prominence. The current study is designed to evaluate the diversity and composition of invasive plants in different habitats of Mandi Bahuddin, Punjab, Pakistan. The investigation explores the impact of environmental factors on the distribution of alien species in association with edaphic and geographic patterns. Diversity patterns, ecological impact, and the distribution of alien species with respect to environmental variables were recorded. A randomized sampling technique was used taking data from 120 sites with triplet quadrates in each, 360 overall, between 2019 and 2021 to record the data on alien flora and associated environmental variables. Important value indices for each alien species were determined with respect to environmental data, by cluster and ordination analysis. Overall, 43 invasive alien plants from 37 genera and 18 families were documented in the district Mandi Bahuddin. The prominent family was Poaceae with ten species (23.25%) followed by Leguuminosae with six species (13.95%), Compositae with five species (11.62%), Amaranthaceae with three species (6.97%), and Convolvulaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Malvaceae, Polygonaceae, and Scrophulariaceae with two species each (4.65%). Out of 65 alien species comprised herbs 52.13%, grasses 23.25%, shrubs 9.30%, and trees 9.30%. In case life form Therophyte (48.83%) was leading, followed by Chamaephyte with (16.27%) species, Nanophanerophyte and Megaphanerophyte with (11.62%) species each, Geophyte with (6.97%) species, and Hemicryptophyte with (4.65%) species. With leaf size spectra, microphylls (41.86%) were dominating and followed by mesophylls (27.90%), leptophylls (13.95%), nanophylls (11.62%), and macrophylls (4.65%). PCA was applied in order to further understand the species distribution and abundance pattern and to find significant connections among the species with sampling locations comprising various habitats. Ward’s agglomerative clustering technique classified the one hundred and twenty transects into four major groups. Ordination analysis showed that different ecological factors had a significant (p ≤ 0.002) influence on vegetation. The current study provides a foundation from which to comprehend the influences of environmental variables on alien plants’ composition, diversity, structure, and links. These will be useful for developing scientifically informed management strategies for use by administrative agencies in the ecological restoration of the degraded habitat of the studied area.

Quantifying Landscape and Social Amenities as Ecosystem Services in Rapidly Changing Peri-Urban Landscape

“…The concluding part of the research will clarify the overall situation of the area with respect to associations between green spaces, green areas, and ecosystems and also introduce their research methods for assessment along with recommendations. The research attempts to quantify the ecosystem services by [60][61][62][63] stabilizing the local indicators and providing evidence for policy-making.…”

Evaluation of Climatic and Anthropogenic Impacts on Phytosociological Aspects and Conservation Status of Native Flora in One of Protected and Unprotected Habitats of Cholistan Desert, Pakistan

“…Data from each quadrant was recorded following the methodology outlined by Hussain, Ludwig and Ahmad [22][23][24]. Garmin eTrex, Global Positioning System (GPS) was used to determine the geographic aspects (altitude, latitude, and longitude) for all site of Derawar region of Cholistan Desert, Punjab, Pakistan [25]. During the survey, wild plants were sampled, carefully pressed, dried, and affixed to herbarium sheets measuring 41×29 cm.…”

Prediction of the potentially suitable areas of Ligularia virgaurea and Ligularia sagitta on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau based on future climate change using the MaxEnt model

“…Climate change will lead to changes in the suitable ranges of some species and accelerate the decline in global biodiversity (Huang et al, 2021). Both native and non-native species have the ability to modify habitats and ecological processes, which not only poses serious threats to biodiversity and ecological processes, but also affects the composition and structure of plant communities (Jamil et al, 2022). After habitat degradation, invasive species are the second leading cause of biodiversity loss due to their ability to compete with and replace native plants (Haq et al, 2022).…”