Abstract
The current study deals with the mapping and evaluation of forest and land use cover changes in the western Himalayas, Pakistan. These forest types include i) Moist temperate forests ii) Mixed coniferous forests and iii) Sub-tropical broad leaved forests. Moist temperate forest mostly consists of evergreen conifers with some of oaks and deciduous trees. Subtropical pine forest are mostly dominated by Pinus roxburghii. These forest type are mostly mixed by Pinus roxburghii and other coniferous species like Pinus wallichiana at the upper ranges in Dewal, Angoori, Nambal, Aucha and Khanitak etc. The broad-leaved subtropical forests are recorded on the hills and in the lower slopes of Himalaya near Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The high quantity of vegetation index were observed in winter season as compared to summer. The Landsat satellite images of years 1988, 1998, 2008 and 2018 were classified into land-cover units. Vegetation land decreased in the total area whereas the bare land class increased in the total. Water class further reduced and the built- up class increased up in the Murree area, Pakistan.
Highlights
Plant communities are the characteristic assemblage of plant species which is determined by the interaction of vegetation with other biotic and abiotic component and can be differentiated from each other (RIFFAT NASEEM [3]; RIFFAT N [4])
Murree region is among the well-educated parts in Pakistan and exceeds main cities in this respect
Murree Christian School situated at Garial near JikaGali assist educational necessities of kids of missionaries who serve in Pakistan
Summary
Vegetation serves the very first trophic level. Vegetation is the plant composition of any given area which possesses characteristic physiognomy including various taxonomic groups and present in a particular microclimatic space [1, 2]. The course or form of the plant community or types of vegetation is shaped by biotic factors, especially human influences [6]. Different environmental variables have different effects on the vegetation but all the environmental variables have a cumulative dynamic effect on plant species composition of an area [13]. Phytogeographical and phytosociological research all over the globe try to classify vegetation into plant communities based on composition, development and co-occurrence of species [14] which is important in ecological research to explore areas for the first time [15]. It deals with the species composition of plant communities, their evolution and the relationships between the species present. Gradient analyses are its complementary tools to understand functioning and description of vegetation [16, 17]
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