Quantification and characterization of vegetation and functional trait diversity of the riparian zones in protected forest of Kashmir Himalaya, India

Abstract

Globally, riparian zones along river banks are widely recognized for their vital role in water regulation and conservation of biodiversity. Here, we specifically investigated the floristic and functional diversity of the vegetation of the riparian zones of protected forests in Kashmir Himalaya, India. A random sampling method was used for site selection while a transect method was used for data collection. Data obtained from the field was subjected to taxonomic and functional classification. Floristic analysis revealed a total of 78 species belonging to 68 genera in 40 families, suggesting an unequal distribution of species among families. Nine families contributed half of the species: Rosaceae was the dominant family with nine (12%) species followed by Asteraceae with eight species (10%), while 23 families were monotypic. In terms of functional trait diversity, herbaceous and perennial taxa dominated, and the biological spectrum showed a dominance of the therophytic life form, indicative of disturbed vegetation. The phenological spectrum revealed that the maximum flowering periods starts in March and extends into May, in which a total of 61% of the species were observed to flower. The leading leaf size spectra were mesophyll with 35%, followed by microphyll (31%). Most (64%) of the species had a simple leaf lamina type. The results of the present study serve as a means to evaluate best management practices, assess restoration and mitigation projects, prioritize riparian related resource management decisions, and establish aquatic life use standards.

Ethnobotanical study of indigenous knowledge on medicinal plants used by the tribal communities in tehsil “Karnah” of District Kupwara (Jammu and Kashmir) India

“…This floristic study reported the skewed distribution of species across families and 22 families were found to be represented by only one species. These results are similar to the earlier observed findings from other parts of Himalaya (Rahman et al 2018;Haq et al 2019Haq et al , 2020a.…”

Ethnopharmacology and phenology of high-altitude medicinal plants in Kashmir, Northern Himalaya

“…In the present study, the flora showed two major flowering periods from July to September in which about 62% of plant species (e.g., Anemone obtusiloba, Arnebia benthamii, Aconitum heterophyllum, Dioscorea deltoidea, Foeniculum vulgare, Saussurea lappa, and Gentiana kurroo) were observed in flowering stage, while a second flowering period occured in which 38% plant species (e.g., Arisaema jacquemontii, Atropa acuminata, Ajuga bracteosa, Berberis lyceum, Mentha longifolia, Datura stramonium, Malva sylvestris, Viola odorata, and Taraxacum officinale) were observed in full bloom (Table 2). These findings are in line with those of Malik & Malik, (2014) and Haq et al (2019; who also reported two flowering seasons in other parts of the Himalayan region.…”

“…reported traditional uses of 38 plants from district Bhimber Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. The results were similar to earlier findings(Haq et al 2019;Umair et al 2019;Haq et al 2021a), however, the number of plant species in our study was lower thanHaq et al (2020a) who reported the traditional use of 57 plant species from Kashmir Himalaya, India Gairola et al (2014). reported a total of 948 plant taxa (923 angiosperms, 12 gymnosperms and 13 pteridophytes) belonging to 129 families, 509 genera, 937 species and 11 varieties to have a traditional medicinal use by indigenous communities of Western Himalayan region in his review.…”

Long-Term Impact of Transhumance Pastoralism and Associated Disturbances in High-Altitude Forests of Indian Western Himalaya

“…It has been investigated that the high nutrient levels due to the increase in cattle faeces and urine may allow the establishment of weedy plants [77,78]. The unintentional introduction of weedy plant species to new habitats by creating disturbed habitats such as piospheres has created new opportunities for the dispersal of weedy plants in natural forest habitat [79,80]. The low species richness at the near nomadic forest sites may affect the livelihood of the nomadic people due to the high utilisation pressure of plant resources [81].…”