Diversity and structure of plant assemblages in open scrub vegetation patches of Dachigam National Park at Kashmir Himalayas

Malik, Arif Yaqoob; Singh, Dinesh; Yunus, Mohammad; Bhat, G. A.; Shukla, Gopal; Bhat, Jahangeer A.; Rather, M. Maqbool; Chakravarty, Sumit

doi:10.1016/j.tfp.2020.100060

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 16 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The floristic survey revealed 272 taxa from 196 genera and 64 families categorized in three life-forms, i.e., trees and understorey shrubs and herbs (Table 1 & 2). The number of taxa reported in the present study was greater than most of the floristic studies in temperate Kashmir Himalaya (Shaheen et al 2012;Mir et al 2019;Malik et al 2021) and other Himalayan studies (Ahmad et al 2020;Asif et al 2020;Tiwari et al 2020) and also elsewhere (Bai et al 2011). Compositae and Apiaceae constituted species-rich families in this survey.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 63%

A floristic survey across three coniferous forests of Kashmir Himalaya, India – a checklist

2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study presents a checklist of the flora of three coniferous forests of the Himalayan biodiversity hotspot in Kashmir: low-level blue pine (BP), mixed coniferous (MC) and subalpine (SA) forests. The list includes altitudinal distribution and conservation status of 272 vascular plant species representing 196 genera and 64 families. Excluding neophytes (70 taxa, 62 genera, and 27 families), Magnoliophyta comprised 190 taxa, 139 genera, and 50 families; Pinophyta seven taxa, six genera, and three families; and Pteridophyta three taxa, three genera, and two families. Most speciose families from Magnoliophyta include Compositae, Apiaceae, and Rosaceae. Genera such as Artemisia, Potentilla, Viola, and Saussurea contributed the maximum number of species. In case of Pinophyta, the principal families are Pinaceae with four taxa followed by Cupressaceae (2 taxa), whereas genus Juniperus comprised two species. In Pteridophyta, Pteridaceae (2 taxa) formed the most speciose family. The herbs contributed 177 taxa, followed by tress (15 taxa), shrubs (8) and subshrubs (2). The maximum number of taxa belongs to SA (136 taxa) followed by MC (134 taxa) and BP (83 taxa) forests. The species distribution reveals 20, 30, and 46 taxa are exclusive to BP, MC, and SA forests. More than 16% of taxa are categorized in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, and 24 taxa are endemic to the Himalayan landscape. The checklist provides a roadmap for research, protection and conservation of plant diversity, especially the threatened taxa.

show abstract

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 63%

A floristic survey across three coniferous forests of Kashmir Himalaya, India – a checklist

2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Despite the fact that several floristic investigations have been conducted in the Kashmir Himalaya, the number of tree species varies substantially, reflecting that many factors determine regional species richness, including topography, climate, competition, ecosystem productivity, evolutionary progress, local species pool, and human actions (Mandal and Joshi 2014). Nanda et al (2018) reported four tree species from the treeline in the Daksum and Sinthan regions of Kashmir; Nafeesa et al (2021) reported 20 tree species from the Bhimber Hills of Kashmir; Malik et al (2021) reported three tree species in scrub vegetation from Dachigam National Park in Kashmir; and Dar and Sundarapandian (2016) reported 14 tree species from two forest divisions of northwestern Kashmir. Nevertheless, the numbers of species reported from the Kashmir Himalaya are always lower than those reported for the Eastern Himalayas (Tripathi and Shankar 2014; Das et al 2017; Gogoi et al 2020; Ao et al 2021), owing to lower climatic moisture and Pleistocene glacier disruptions in the northwestern Himalayas (Singh and Singh 1987).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies have focussed on trends in tree species composition, structural patterns and diversity in Himalayan ecosystems along various ecological gradients, including elevation (Sharma et al 2017(Sharma et al , 2018Thakur et al 2021), disturbance (Khera et al 2001;Kaushal et al 2021), aspect (Sharma et al 2010;Tiwari et al 2020), and also across different areas of the Kashmir valley (Dar and Sundarapandian 2016;Hamid et al 2021;Malik et al 2021;Sajad et al 2021;Haq et al 2021a). Yet, ecological studies in this biodiverse Himalayan landscape have been woefully inadequate (Nafeesa et al 2021;Haq et al 2021aHaq et al , 2021b as the reports documenting species diversity in these mountain ranges mostly cover particular regions leaving several areas unexplored.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tree species composition, stand structure and distribution patterns across three Kashmir Himalayan forests, India

Dar

Parthasarathy

2022

Écoscience

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Himalayan ecosystems provide a unique opportunity to analyze the determinants of species richness across large elevation gradients. Understanding forest diversity and structure is fundamental to set conservation priorities. A quantitative assessment of tree species was conducted in Kashmir Himalayan forests to ascertain their composition, stand structure and distribution in 143 plots of 50 × 50 m2. Altogether, 13 species were recorded, ranging from five in subalpine (SA) forests to 10 in mixed conifer (MC) forests. There was a compositional dissimilarity among forest types. Pinus wallichiana was the most important species in low-level blue pine (BP) forests, whereas Abies pindrow prevailed in mid-elevation MC and high-elevation SA forests. Pinaceae contributed around 98% of stems and was the most speciose family, followed by Sapindaceae and Betulaceae. Stand density and basal area differed among forest types and were significantly correlated with elevation and slope. The tree diameter class distribution displayed an approximate reverse J-shaped pattern indicating the influence of disturbance. As the first two axes of the canonical correspondence analysis explained more than 93% of the inertia in the species-environment relation, elevation and slope are the main drivers of species distribution. Information about these forest attributes could provide better ecological insights for sustainable forest management.

show abstract

“…The World Natural Heritage represents the essence of natural areas in geoscience, bioecology and aesthetics, and is the highest level of nature protected area internationally recognized [1][2]. It is of great significance for the study of ecosystem protection and management in the evolution process of earth science and the sustainable development model of harmonious coexistence between human and nature [3][4]. The selection and establishment of natural heritage sites rely on the "Global Geological Framework of World Heritage", "the Global 200 ecological zones", biodiversity hotspots, bird reserves, plant diversity areas and other biogeographic zones, which play a typical demonstration role in the protection of global biodiversity, biological diversity and landscape diversity [5][6][7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological Degradation Assessment of World Natural Heritage: A Case Study of Bogda Site in Tianshan

Liu¹,

Cao²,

Ye³

2023

Pol. J. Environ. Stud.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

World Natural Heritage Site (WNHS) is a typical demonstration of global diversity protection. To realize the sustainable development of WNHSs under the contradiction of protection and utilization, an index system based on the framework of exposure-sensitivity-resilience was constructed to diagnose the ecological degradation of WNHSs, and the degree and structure of ecological degradation were evaluated and visualized in Bogda, Tianshan Mountains, Xinjiang. The results show that:(1) The criterion layers of threat factors, resilience and changes of heritage value showed different spatial distribution characteristics.(2) The level of ecological degradation in Bogda site was mainly mild degradation, while the degradation was serious around the scenic spots with intensive tourist activities and along the road. The seriously degraded area was the least, accounting for 1.89% of the study area, followed by ecological health area (6.22%), moderately degraded area (13.87%), and mildly degraded area (78.03%). (3) The overall conservation management status in Bogda site remained good. Low -low -low is the main type of ecological degradation, followed by high -high -high, high -high -low, low -high -high and low -high -high. The diagnosis and analysis of ecological degradation would provide scientific basis for the conservation, management and ecological restoration of Bogda site.

show abstract

Diversity and structure of plant assemblages in open scrub vegetation patches of Dachigam National Park at Kashmir Himalayas

Cited by 4 publications

References 16 publications

A floristic survey across three coniferous forests of Kashmir Himalaya, India – a checklist

A floristic survey across three coniferous forests of Kashmir Himalaya, India – a checklist

Tree species composition, stand structure and distribution patterns across three Kashmir Himalayan forests, India

Ecological Degradation Assessment of World Natural Heritage: A Case Study of Bogda Site in Tianshan

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About