Abstract
Plant species represent the hierarchical expression of vegetation as it is affected by various environmental gradients. We explored the plant species composition, distribution pattern, communities formation and their respective indicators under the influence of various environmental factors in the Dhirkot region, Azad Jammu and Kashmir. It was hypothesized that different environmental factors were responsible for the formation of various plant communities each with a distinct indicator. Quantitative ecological techniques were used for the sampling of vegetation. A total of 114 quadrats were established in 13 selected sampling sites. Phytosociological attributes were calculated for each plant species at each quadrat. Soil samples were collected and analyzed using different standard protocols. All the collected data were analyzed using Cluster Analysis, Indicator Species Analysis and Canonical Correspondence Analysis of PCORD and CANOCO software, respectively. A total of 145 plant species were recorded belong to 62 different families. Asteraceae and Lamiaceae were the dominant families, represented by 12 species each (8.27%). Cluster Analysis classify all the stations and plants into four major plant communities as 1) Olea-Desmodium-Prunilla community. 2) Abies-Zanthoxylum-Pteracanthus community 3) Cedrus-Elaeagnus-Hypericum community 4) Alnus-Myrsine–Ranunculus community. Soil pH, electrical conductivity, soil saturation, organic matter and altitude were the significant environmental factors that play its essential role in the plant species distribution, composition, formation of major plant communities and their respective indicators in the region. It is recommended that the identified indicator and rare plant species of the investigated area can further be grown for conservation and management purposes in in-situ environment.
Highlights
Components of environmental gradients influence vegetation dynamics and their structure directly or indirectly [1,2]
Is it possible to identify plant communities through indicator species approach in relation to environmental factors? Can this approach to vegetation classification be of help in conservation management? this research was aimed to evaluate the plant communities’ formation, driving factors and indicator species of each group using the robust unbiased statistical approaches to explain the complex plant distribution patterns species composition and the underlying mechanism
Most of the area is covered with plant species that includes Pinus wallichiana A.B.Jacks (Blue Pine), Pinus roxburghii Sarg (Chir Pine), with a variety of mosses, grasses, herbs and shrubs
Summary
Components of environmental gradients influence vegetation dynamics and their structure directly or indirectly [1,2]. Species having structural and floristic traits with definite environmental tolerance are grouped into decipherable plant associations/communities. These plant associations are the mean of the largest biomes of the earth [5]. Different factors like biotic and abiotic of an ecosystem are important phenomena for the ecological studies and investigations [7]. It affects plant population and vegetation heterogeneity as well. Various researchers have studied the interaction of environmental factors along with vegetation structure and composition [8,9] These factors help to recognize the composition, diversity and distribution pattern of plants in different plant communities. These measures revise vegetation features to show their effect on vegetation dynamics and associated flora
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