Floristic composition and ecological gradient analyses of the Liakot Forests in the Kalam region of District Swat, Pakistan

Abstract

Kalam Kohistan is a dry, temperate hilly region in the Hindu Raj Series of the Greater Hindu Kush Mountains with diverse forests. As plant distribution and composition is expression of a range of various environmental variables, ecological and floristic attributes of vegetation in the Laikot Forests were therefore evaluated via consecutive explorative trips. These forests have not been evaluated ecologically before due to harsh climatic conditions and issues of accessibility and the study in hand is one of the first in its nature. Quantitative ecological techniques were used to sample forest vegetation and identify species in quadrats of 2 m × 2 m for herbs, 5 m × 5 m for shrubs and 10 m × 10 m for trees. All the data of 195 plant species and environmental factors were analyzed via Two-way Cluster Analysis and Canonical Correspondence Analysis using PCORD and CANOCO software. Among 195 plant species from 63 families were 27 species of Asteraceae, the most-speciose family, followed by Poaceae (20 spp.). The dominant life form was therophyte (86 spp.; 44% share), followed by phanerophyte (41 spp.; 21% share). For the leaf size spectrum, most prevalent was nanophyll (73 spp.; 44%) followed by microphyll (66 spp., 34%) and mesophyll (44 spp.; 23%). Calcium carbonate, pH, potassium, sand, silt, organic matter, slope aspect and grazing significantly influenced species composition, distribution and habitat. The floristic variation in the region was diverse due to elevational and aspect gradients and thus devided into three zones. This vegetation zonation can be utilized for forest management, species and habitat conservation. Both in situ and ex situ conservation of threatened plant species may improve their conservation status in future if address properly.

Keywords

Floristic composition / Ecological factors / Life form spectra / Leaf form classes / Elevation zones / Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA)

References

[1] Abbas H, Qaiser M, Alam J. Conservation status of Cadaba heterotricha Stocks (Capparaceae): an endangered species in Pakistan. Pak Bot Soc, 2010, 42: 35-46.

[2] Adamu G, Aliyu A. Determination of the influence of texture and organic matter on soil water holding capacity in and around Tomas Irrigation Scheme, Dambatta Local Government Kano State Research. J Environ Earth Sci, 2012, 4: 1038-1044.

[3] Ahmad S, Fazal S, Valeem EE, Zafar I. Evaluation of ecological aspects of road side vegetation around Havalian city using multivariate techniques. Pak Bot Soc, 2009, 41: 53-60.

[4] Ahmad Z, Khan S, Ali S, Rahman I, Ara H, Noreen I, Khan A. Indicator species analyses of weed communities of maize crop in district Mardan, Pakistan. Pak J Weed Sci Res, 2016, 22: 227-238.

[5] Ahmad Z, Khan SM, Abd_Allah EF, Alqarawi AA, Hashem A. Weed species composition and distribution pattern in the maize crop under the influence of edaphic factors and farming practices: a case study from Mardan, Pakistan. Saudi J Biol Sci, 2016, 23: 741-748.

[6] Ali S. Significance of flora with special reference to Pakistan. Pak J Bot, 2008, 40: 967-971.

[7] Ali A, Badshah L, Hussain F, Shinwari ZK. Floristic composition and ecological characteristics of plants of chail valley, district Swat, Pakistan. Pak Bot Soc, 2016, 48: 1013-1026.

[8] Anup K, Manandhar R, Paudel R, Ghimire S. Increase of forest carbon biomass due to community forestry management in Nepal. J For Res, 2018, 29: 429-438.

[9] Bano S, Khan SM, Alam J, Alqarawi AA, Abd Allah EF, Ahmad Z, Rahman IU, Ahmad H, Aldubise A, Hashem A. Eco-Floristic studies of native plants of the Beer Hills along the Indus River in the districts Haripur and Abbottabad, Pakistan. Saudi J Biol Sci, 2018, 25: 801-810.

[10] Birhane E, Fatumah N, Gidey K, Zenebe A, Mohammed S. Vegetation cover density and disturbance affected arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi spore density and root colonization in a dry Afromontane forest, northern Ethiopia. J For Res, 2018, 29: 675-686.

[11] Busing RT. Disturbance and the population dynamics of Liriodendron tulipifera: simulations with a spatial model of forest succession. J Ecol, 1995, 83(1): 45-53.

[12] Cerrillo RMN, Vieira DJE, Ochoa-Gaona S, de Jong BH, Serrano MdMD. Land cover changes and fragmentation in mountain neotropical ecosystems of Oaxaca, Mexico under community forest management. J For Res, 2019, 30: 143-155.

[13] Curtis JT, McIntosh RP. The interrelations of certain analytic and synthetic phytosociological characters. Ecology, 1950, 31: 434-455.

[14] Dufrêne M, Legendre P. Species assemblages and indicator species: the need for a flexible asymmetrical approach. Ecol Monogr, 1997, 67: 345-366.

[15] Fazal H, Ahmad N, Rashid A, Farooq S. A checklist of phanerogamic flora of Haripur Hazara, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Pak Bot Soc, 2010, 42: 1511-1522.

[16] Gonçalves FM, Revermann R, Cachissapa MJ, Gomes AL, Aidar MP. Species diversity, population structure and regeneration of woody species in fallows and mature stands of tropical woodlands of southeast Angola. J For Res, 2018, 29: 1569-1579.

[17] Haq FU, Ahmad H, Alam M. Species diversity of vascular plants of Nandiar valley western Himalaya, Pakistan. Pak Bot Soc, 2010, 42: 213-229.

[18] Hill JL, Curran PJ. Area, shape and isolation of tropical forest fragments: effects on tree species diversity and implications for conservation. J Biogeogr, 2003, 30: 1391-1403.

[19] Hjeljord O, Histøl T, Wam HK. Forest pasturing of livestock in Norway: effects on spruce regeneration. J For Res, 2014, 25: 941-945.

[20] Hussain F, Shah SM, Badshah L, Durrani MJ. Diversity and ecological characteristics of flora of Mastuj valley, district Chitral, Hindukush range, Pakistan. Pak Bot Soc, 2015, 47: 495-510.

[21] Ijaz F, Rahman IU, Iqbal Z, Alam J, Ali N, Khan SM (2018) Ethno-ecology of the healing Forests of Sarban Hills, Abbottabad, Pakistan: an economic and medicinal appraisal. In: Plant and human health, Vol 1. Springer, pp 675–706

[22] Iqbal M, Khan S, Khan MA, Ur Rahman I, Abbas Z. Exploration and inventorying of weeds in wheat crop of the district Malakand, Pakistan. Pak J Weed Sci Res, 2015, 21: 435-452.

[23] Iqbal M, Khan SM, Khan MA, Ahmad Z, Abbas Z, Khan SM, Khan MS. Distribution pattern and species richness of natural weeds of wheat in varying habitat conditions of district Malakand, Pakistan. Pak Bot Soc, 2017, 49: 2371-2382.

[24] Iqbal M, Khan SM, Khan MA, Ahmad Z, Ahmad H. A novel approach to phytosociological classification of weeds flora of an agro-ecological system through cluster, two way cluster and indicator species analyses. Ecol Ind, 2018, 84: 590-606.

[25] Jabeen T, Ahmad S. Multivariate analysis of environmental and vegetation data of Ayub National Park Rawalpindi. Soil Environ, 2009, 28: 106-112.

[26] Jackson M. Interlayering of expansible layer silicates in soils by chemical weathering. Clays Clay Miner, 1963, 11: 29-46.

[27] Joshi PP, Murthy IK, Hegde GT, Sathyanarayan V, Bhat S, Patil V, Esteves T, Ravindranath NH. Biophysical quantification of biodiversity and ecosystems services of forest ecosystems in the Western Ghats: a case study of Uttara Kannada District, India. J For Res, 2018, 29: 735-748.

[28] Khan SM (2012) Plant communities and vegetation ecosystem services in the Naran Valley, Western Himalaya. University of Leicester

[29] Khan SM, Ahmad H (2015) species diversity and use patterns of the Alpine Flora with special reference to climate change in the Naran, Pakistan. In: Climate change impacts on high-altitude ecosystems. Springer, pp 155–175

[30] Khan IA, Ullah Z, Hassan G, Marwat K, Jan A, Shah S, Khan SA. Impact of different mulches on weed flora and yield of maize. Pak Bot Soc, 2011, 43: 1601-1602.

[31] Khan M, Musharaf S, Shinwari ZK. Ethnobotanical importance of halophytes of Noshpho salt mine, District Karak, Pakistan. Res Pharm Biotechnol, 2011, 3: 46-52.

[32] Khan SM, Page S, Ahmad H, Harper D. Ethno-ecological importance of plant biodiversity in mountain ecosystems with special emphasis on indicator species of a Himalayan Valley in the northern Pakistan. Ecol Ind, 2014, 37: 175-185.

[33] Khan W, Khan SM, Ahmad H, Ahmad Z, Page S. Vegetation mapping and multivariate approach to indicator species of a forest ecosystem: a case study from the Thandiani sub Forests Division (TsFD) in the Western Himalayas. Ecol Ind, 2016, 71: 336-351.

[34] Khan W, Khan SM, Ahmad H, Alqarawi AA, Shah GM, Hussain M, Abd_Allah EF. Life forms, leaf size spectra, regeneration capacity and diversity of plant species grown in the Thandiani forests, district Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Saudi J Biol Sci, 2016, 25: 94-100.

[35] Khan M, Khan SM, Ilyas M, Alqarawi AA, Ahmad Z, Abd_Allah EF. Plant species and communities assessment in interaction with edaphic and topographic factors; an ecological study of the mount Eelum District Swat, Pakistan. Saudi J Biol Sci, 2017, 24: 778-786.

[36] Khan W, Khan SM, Ahmad H, Shakeel A, Page S. Ecological gradient analyses of plant associations in the Thandiani forests of the Western Himalayas, Pakistan. Turk J Bot, 2017, 41: 253-264.

[37] Khan W, Khan SM, Ahmad H (2018) Ethno-ecology, human health and plants of the Thandiani Sub Forest Division, Abbottabad, KP, Pakistan. In: Plant and human health, Vol 1. Springer, pp 547–567

[38] Kitayama K, Aiba SI. Ecosystem structure and productivity of tropical rain forests along altitudinal gradients with contrasting soil phosphorus pools on Mount Kinabalu, Borneo. J Ecol, 2002, 90: 37-51.

[39] Liu SM, Wang H. N, P, and K characteristics of different age groups of temperate coniferous tree species in northwestern China. J For Res, 2018, 29: 471-478.

[40] Madoffe S, Hertel GD, Rodgers P, O’Connell B, Killenga R. Monitoring the health of selected eastern arc forests in Tanzania. Afr J Ecol, 2006, 44: 171-177.

[41] Melese SM, Ayele B. Woody plant diversity, structure and regeneration in the Ambo State Forest, South Gondar Zone, Northwest Ethiopia. J For Res, 2017, 28: 133-144.

[42] Monteith D, Evans C, Henrys P, Simpson G, Malcolm I. Trends in the hydrochemistry of acid-sensitive surface waters in the UK 1988–2008. Ecol Ind, 2014, 37: 287-303.

[43] Naghdi R, Solgi A, Zenner EK, Behjou FK. Soil physical properties degrade further on skid trails in the year following operations. J For Res, 2018, 29: 93-101.

[44] Nasir E, Ali S, Stewart RR. Flora of West Pakistan: an annotated catalogue of the vascular plants of West Pakistan and Kashmir, 1972, Fakhri: Mumbai.

[45] Parthasarathy N. Changes in forest composition and structure in three sites of tropical evergreen forest around Sengaltheri, Western Ghats. Curr Sci, 2001, 80(3): 389-393.

[46] Pukkala T. Effect of species composition on ecosystem services in European boreal forest. J For Res, 2018, 29: 261-272.

[47] Qureshi R, Bhatti G, Shabbir G. Floristic inventory of Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University research farm at Koont and its surrounding areas. Pak Bot Soc, 2011, 43: 1679-1684.

[48] Ramachandran V, Swarupanandan K. Structure and floristic composition of old-growth wet evergreen forests of Nelliampathy Hills, Southern Western Ghats. J For Res, 2013, 24: 37-46.

[49] Raunkiaer C (1934) The life forms of plants and statistical plant geography; being the collected papers of C. Raunkiaer the life forms of plants and statistical plant geography; being the collected papers of C. Raunkiaer

[50] Saima S, Dasti AA, Hussain F, Wazir SM, Malik SA. Floristic compositions along an 18-km long transect in ayubia National Park district Abbottabad, Pakistan. Pak Bot Soc, 2009, 41: 2115-2127.

[51] Salvatore P, La Mantia T, Rühl J. The impact of Pinus halepensis afforestation on Mediterranean spontaneous vegetation: Do soil treatment and canopy cover matter?. J For Res, 2012, 23: 517-528.

[52] Shaheen H, Qureshi R, Akram A, Gulfraz M, Potter D. A preliminary floristic checklist of Thal Desert Punjab, Pakistan. Pak Bot Soc, 2014, 46: 13-18.

[53] Sher Z, Khan Z. Floristic composition, life form and leaf spectra of the vegetation of Chagharzai Valley, District Buner. Pak J Plant Sci, 2007, 13: 57-66.

[54] Shinwari ZK, Malik S, Karim AM, Faisal R, Qaiser M. Biological activities of commonly used medicinal plants from Ghazi Brotha, Attock district. Pak Bot Soc, 2015, 47: 113-120.

[55] Taj R, Ur Rahman I, Shah AH, Khan SM, Afzal A, Ali N, Iqbal Z, Ijaz F (2018) Plant resources and human ecology of Tarnawai area, District Abbottabad, Pakistan. In: Plant and human health, Vol 1. Springer, pp 731–756

[56] Tareen RB, Qadir S. Harnai, Sinjawi to Duki regions of Pakistan. Pak Bot Soc, 1993, 25: 83-92.

[57] Ter Braak CJ, Smilauer P (2002) CANOCO reference manual and CanoDraw for Windows user’s guide: software for canonical community ordination (version 4.5). http://library.wur.nl/WebQuery/wurpubs/341885

[58] Walkley A, Black IA. An examination of the Degtjareff method for determining soil organic matter, and a proposed modification of the chromic acid titration method. Soil Sci, 1934, 37: 29-38.

[59] Wilson MJ, Bayley SE. Use of single versus multiple biotic communities as indicators of biological integrity in northern prairie wetlands. Ecol Ind, 2012, 20: 187-195.

[60] Wittmann F, Junk WJ. Sapling communities in Amazonian white-water forests. J Biogeogr, 2003, 30: 1533-1544.

[61] Yang XQ, Yan HB, Li BH, Han YZ, Song B. Spatial distribution patterns of Symplocos congeners in a subtropical evergreen broad-leaf forest of southern China. J For Res, 2018, 29: 773-784.

[62] Zhang ZM, Yu SX. Potential tradeoffs between intraspecific and interspecific trait variations along an environmental gradient in a subtropical forest. J For Res, 2018, 29: 1731-1740.

[63] Zubizarreta-Gerendiain A, Pukkala T, Peltola H. Effect of wind damage on the habitat suitability of saproxylic species in a boreal forest landscape. J For Res, 2018