Plant species diversity assessment and monitoring in catchment areas of River Chenab, Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

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.

From desolation to preservation: Investigating longitudinal trends in forest coverage and implications for future environmental strategies

“…This examination underscores the deficiencies in current government policies in mitigating these challenges and underscores the urgency of formulating sustainable development strategies. Furthermore, the collection of biodiversity data is emphasized as pivotal for sustainable development and for informed decision-making pertaining to the preservation of natural resources, as articulated by Ali et al [ 20 ] study. Given Pakistan's precarious status in terms of forest coverage, the focus should shift from the formulation of new afforestation policies to the meticulous implementation of existing policies.…”

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“…We developed a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats analysis (SWOT) to combine the environmental and 3 https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/ggpubr/index.html 4 https://weatherandclimate.com/ anthropogenic characteristics (Trujillo, 2005;Ali et al, 2022). Each site was studied and analyzed to categorize the indication and identify critical elements affecting how effectively a species can acclimate to its environment in the research location.…”

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Documentation of ethnomedicinal plants used by the people living in reserved forests of semi-arid region Punjab Pakistan

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