Classification and Characterization of the Manoor Valley's (Lesser Himalaya) Vegetation from the Subtropical-Temperate Ecotonal Forests to the Alpine Pastures along Ecological Variables.

Inayat Ur Rahman,Shazia Sakhi,Farhana Ijaz,Aftab Afzal,Samina Mumtaz,Elsayed Fathi Abd_Allah,Zafar Iqbal,Mashail Nasser Alzain,Abdulaziz A Alqarawi,Eduardo Soares Calixto,Al-Bandari Fahad Al-Arjani,Niaz Ali,Muhammad Azhar Khan,Uzma Khan

doi:10.3390/plants11010087

Abstract

Plant species are distributed in different types of habitats, forming different communities driven by different sets of environmental variables. Here, we assessed potential plant communities along an altitudinal gradient and their associations with different environmental drivers in the unexplored Manoor Valley (Lesser Himalaya), Pakistan. We have implemented various ecological techniques and evaluated phytosociological attributes in three randomly selected 50 m-transects within each stand (a total of 133) during different seasons for four years (2015–2018). This phytosociological exploration reported 354 plant species representing 93 different families. The results revealed that the Therophytic life form class dominated the flora, whereas Nanophyll dominated the leaf size spectra. There were a total of twelve plant communities identified, ranging from the lowest elevations to the alpine meadows and cold deserts. The maximum number of species were found in Cedrus–Pinus–Parrotiopsis community (197 species), in the middle altitudinal ranges (2292–3168 m). Our results showed that at high altitudes, species richness was reduced, whereas an increase in soil nutrients was linked to progression in vegetation indicators. We also found different clusters of species with similar habitats. Our study clearly shows how altitudinal variables can cluster different plant communities according to different microclimates. Studies such as ours are paramount to better understanding how environmental factors influence ecological and evolutionary aspects.

Highlights

The study of vegetation classification based on species co-occurrence [1,2] and its relationship to ecological variables [3] is known as phytosociology
Our study clearly shows how altitudinal variables can cluster different plant communities according to different microclimates
To the best of our knowledge, this is the only valley within the Himalayas of Pakistan that has never been explored before, due to its harsh terrain and geographical location

Summary

Introduction

The study of vegetation classification based on species co-occurrence [1,2] and its relationship to ecological variables [3] is known as phytosociology. Plant biodiversity research generally focuses on species diversity [7,8,9]. Biological spectrum mirrors the existing ecological and natural surroundings [22,23]. They are the plant characteristics that have been widely applied in vegetation research [24]. High mountains are major hotspots for endemics across the world [25,26,27,28]

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Conclusion