Background Wetlands are biologically diverse and highly productive ecosystems that support one-third of all threatened and endangered plants of the world. Wetland plants have been studied ethnobotanically much less than terrestrial plants, including in Pakistan, thus information about the uses of local wetland plants in traditional healthcare system is scare. Head Maralla is a non-recognized wetland with diversified flora that has been focused of the current study. Methods The ethnobotanical data were collected from four sites viz., River Tavi, Upstream Chenab, River Manawarwala Tavi, and Bhalolpur through questionnaire and interviews during field trips. Quantitative indices including informant consensus factor (ICF), cultural significant indext (CSI), relative frequency of citation (RFC), and use value (UV) were used to analyze the data. Results On the whole, 119 plant species were identified belonging to 54 families, of which 87 species were dicot, 12 monocots, 11 aquatic, 5 ferns, and 4 species were bryophytes. Of these, 50% of the plant species were utilized for therapeutic purposes, followed by leaves which had more than 20% usage of total consumption. Herbs were the primary source of medicine (73 spp) followed by trees (22 spp), weeds (11 spp), shrubs (9 spp), foliose (2 spp) and thaloids (2 spp) in the area. Fic ranged from 0.66 to 0.93 for constipation and respiratory disorders with an average Fic of 0.87 reflecting a high consensus among the informants about the use of plants to treat particular ailment. Major ailments viz., urination (14%), cough (8.40%), cold (6.70%), stomach (5.90%), asthma (5.90%), skin infection (5%), constipation (5%), and diarrhea (4%) etc., were treated with local plant recipes. The highest CSI value was found for A. vesica (7.55) widely used in respiratory disorders and in digestive problems. RFC ranged from 0.92 to 0.15 with the maximum value obtained for R. communis (0.95). The use values ranged from 0.03 to 0.90 with the maximum use value for R. communis (0.90). A positive correlation was found between CSI and RFC (r = 0.29), and CSI and UV (r = 0.29). The JI values ranged from 7.14 to 0.14 indicating strong affinity with Samahani valley, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. Unique species Osmunda regalis was first time reported from Pakistan with novel uses for renal and blood purifier. Fifteen percent (15%) plants contribute as fodder species consumed by local community for livestock while almost 6.7% species were utilized for timber and fuel purposes. Conclusion The ecosystem of Head Maralla provide a complex habitat for aqauatic, terrestrial, and agriculture wetland vegetation. It is suggested that conservation efforts should be made to conserve the ethnoecological knowledge of these areas and pharmacological studies should be conducted for noval drug synthesis in future.

Background Biodiversity data is crucial for sustainable development and making decisions regarding natural resources and its conservation. The study goal was to use quantitative ecological approaches to determine the species richness and diversity of wild flora and the ultimate impact of environmental factors on vegetation dynamics. Methods Quadrats having sizes of 1×1 for herbs, 5×5 for shrubs, and 10×10 m2 for trees were used. Various phytosociological characteristics were investigated in association with a wide variety of environmental variables. Soil analysis based on texture, moisture, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic matter (OM), available potassium (K), and phosphorus (P) were examined. The existing state of vegetation along the River Chenab was assessed using SWOT analysis and a future conservation strategy was devised. Results One hundred twenty different plant speies were divided into 51 families including 92 dicots, 17 monocots, 6 pteridophytes and 1 bryophyte species. Herbs accounted for 89 followed by shrubs (16 species) and trees (15 species). Correlation analysis revealed a highly positive correlation between relative density and relative frequency (0.956**). Shannon and Simpson’s diversity indices elaborated that site 3 and 7 with clay loamy soil had non-significant alpha diversity and varies from site to site. Diversity analysis showed that site 10 was most diverse (22.25) in terms of species richness. The principal coordinate analysis expressed that different environmental variables including OM, soil pH, P, K, and EC affect vegetation significantly, therefore, loamy soil showed presence and dispersal of more vegetation as compared to loam, sandy and sandy loam soils. Further, 170 ppm of available potassium had significant affect on plant diversity and distribution. Conclusion Asteraceae family was found dominant as dicot while poaceae among monocot. Adhatoda vasica was one of the unique species and found in Head Maralla site. For evenness, site 3 had maximum value 0.971. Most of the soil represented loamy soil texture where site 2 and 4 possess high soil moisture content. SWOT analysis revealed strengths as people prefered plants for medicine, food and economic purposes. In weakness, agricultural practices, soil erosion and flooding affected the vegetation. In opportunities, Forest and Irrigation Departments were planting plants for the restoration of ecosystem. Threats include anthropogenic activities overgrazing, urbanization and road infrastructure at Head Maralla, habitat fragmentation at Head Khanki, and extensive fish farming at Head Qadirabad. Future conservation efforts should be concentrated on SWOT analysis outcome in terms of stopping illegal consumption of natural resources, restoration of plant biodiversity through reforestation, designating protected areas and multiplying rare species locally.

This paper explores the potential of nano seed priming with calcium oxide nanoparticles in maintaining the redox status in carom (Trachyspermum ammi L.) plants by modulating non-enzymatic antioxidants and enzymatic antioxidants. Calcium oxide nanoparticles were prepared in four testing regimes comprising 25, 50, 75, and 100 ppm along with the control treatment of 0 ppm (distilled water). Priming was performed by soaking the carom seeds in the aerated water, and plants were grown under split plots corresponding to drought and water. Seed priming with 75 ppm CaONPs reduced hydrogen peroxide, malondialdehyde contents and electrolyte leakage by 23.3%, 35.9% and 31.6%, respectively, in the water-stressed carom plants. The glutathione s-transferase, superoxide dismutase and peroxidase functions improved under water stress by 42.3%, 24.1% and 44.8%, respectively, in the carom plants raised through 100 ppm primed seeds with CaO_NPs. Priming induced better Ca2+ signaling, which affected the enzymes of the ascorbate glutathione cycle, enabling them to maintain redox status in the carom plants exposed to drought stress. The morpho-agronomic traits of carom plants in terms of number of umbels, hundred seeds weights, shoot and root length and biomass improved significantly upon seed priming treatments. Seed priming with CaO_NPs is a viable strategy to combat reactive oxygen species-mediated damages in the carom plants.

In the present research, selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) were tested for their use as seed priming agents under field trials on tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.) for their efficacy in conferring drought tolerance. Four different seed priming regimes of SeNPs were created, comprising 25, 50, 75, and 100 ppm, along with a control treatment of 0 ppm. Seeds were planted in split plots under two irrigation regimes comprising water and water stress. The results suggest that seed priming with SeNPs can improve tomato crop performance under drought stress. Plants grown with 75 ppm SeNPs-primed seeds had lower hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels by 39.3% and 28.9%, respectively. Seed priming with 75 ppm SeNPs further increased the superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) functions by 34.9 and 25.4%, respectively. The same treatment increased the total carotenoids content by 13.5%, α-tocopherols content by 22.8%, total flavonoids content by 25.2%, total anthocyanins content by 19.6%, ascorbic acid content by 26.4%, reduced glutathione (GSH) content by 14.8%, and oxidized glutathione (GSSG) content by 13.12%. Furthermore, seed priming with SeNPs upregulated the functions of enzymes of ascorbate glutathione cycle. Seed priming with SeNPs is a smart application to sustain tomato production in arid lands.

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