Quantify the vegetation-edaphic correlation and important value index in Himalayan ‘ecotone’ temperate conifer forest using the multivariate techniques

F. Ali, Muhammad Nawaz Rajpar, M. Zeb, M. Amin, Siraj Siraj, S. Hidayat

Article ID: 2854
Vol 6, Issue 2, 2023

VIEWS - 2 (Abstract) 3 (PDF)

Abstract


Himalayan ‘Ecotone’ temperate conifer forest is the cradle of life for human survival and wildlife existence. Human intervention and climate change are rapidly degrading and declining this transitional zone. This study aimed to quantify the floristic structure, important value index (IVI), topographic and edaphic variables between 2019 and 2020 utilizing circular quadrant method (10m × 10m). The upper-storey layer consisted of 17 tree species from 12 families and 9 orders. Middle-storey shrubs comprise 23 species representing 14 families and 12 orders. A total of 43 species of herbs, grasses, and ferns were identified from the ground-storey layer, representing 25 families and 21 orders. Upper-storey vegetation structure was dominated by Pinus roxburghii (22.45%), while middle-storey vegetation structure was dominated by Dodonaea viscosa (7.69%). However, the ground layer vegetation was diverse in species composition and distribution. By using Ward’s agglomerative clustering technique, the floral vegetation structure was divided into three floral communities. Ailanthus altissima, Pinus wallichiana, and P. roxburghii had the highest IVI values in Piro–Aial (Group 2), Piwa–Quin (Group 3) and Aial–Qugal (Group 2). The IVI values for Aesculus indica, Celtis australis, and Quercus incana in Aial-Qugal (Group 2) were not determined. Nevertheless, eleven of these species had 0 IVI values in Piro–Aial (Group 2) and Piwa–Quin (Group 3). Based on the CCA ordination biplot, significant differences were observed in floral characteristics and distribution depending on temperature, rainfall, soil pH, altitude, and topographic features. Based on Ward’s agglomerative clustering, it was found that Himalayan ‘Ecotone’ temperate conifer forests exhibit a rich and diverse floristic structure.


Keywords


Elum; conifer; IVI; vegetation; Soil; CCA

Full Text:

PDF


References


1. Moomaw WR, Law BE, Goetz SJ. Focus on the role of forests and soils in meeting climate change mitigation goals: summary. Environmental Research Letters. 2020; 15(4): 045009. doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/ab6b38

2. Zhang W, Li H. Characterizing and Assessing the Agricultural Land Use Intensity of the Beijing Mountainous Region. Sustainability. 2016; 8(11): 1180. doi: 10.3390/su8111180

3. Ali F, Khan N. Do environmental variables and overstory communities affect the spatial pattern of understory vegetation? Lessons from Monotheca buxifolia (Falc.) A. DC. forests in Pakistan. Acta Botanica Brasilica. 2022; 36. doi: 10.1590/0102-33062021abb0210

4. Gong J, Cao E, Xie Y, et al. Integrating ecosystem services and landscape ecological risk into adaptive management: Insights from a western mountain-basin area, China. Journal of Environmental Management. 2021; 281: 111817. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111817

5. Hou XY, Liu SL, Cheng FY, et al. Variability of environmental factors and the effects on vegetation diversity with different restoration years in a large open-pit phosphorite mine. Ecological Engineering. 2019; 127: 245-253. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoleng.2018.12.006

6. Väli V, Odgaard BV, Väli Ü, et al. Pollen richness: a reflection of vegetation diversity or pollen-specific parameters? Vegetation History and Archaeobotany. 2022; 31(6): 611-622. doi: 10.1007/s00334-022-00879-w

7. Ali F, Khan N, Ali K, et al. Vegetation Pattern and Regeneration Dynamics of the Progressively Declining Monotheca buxifolia Forests in Pakistan: Implications for Conservation. Sustainability. 2022; 14(10): 6111. doi: 10.3390/su14106111

8. Daye DD, Healey JR. Impacts of land-use change on sacred forests at the landscape scale. Global Ecology and Conservation. 2015; 3: 349-358. doi: 10.1016/j.gecco.2014.12.009

9. Moisa MB, Dejene IN, Roba ZR, et al. Impact of urban land use and land cover change on urban heat island and urban thermal comfort level: a case study of Addis Ababa City, Ethiopia. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. 2022; 194(10). doi: 10.1007/s10661-022-10414-z

10. Lawrence D, Vandecar K. Effects of tropical deforestation on climate and agriculture. Nature Climate Change. 2014; 5(1): 27-36. doi: 10.1038/nclimate2430

11. Liao W, Rigden AJ, Li D. Attribution of Local Temperature Response to Deforestation. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences. 2018; 123(5): 1572-1587. doi: 10.1029/2018jg004401

12. Gemeda DO, Korecha D, Garedew W. Monitoring climate extremes using standardized evapotranspiration index and future projection of rainfall and temperature in the wettest parts of southwest Ethiopia. Environmental Challenges. 2022; 7: 100517. doi: 10.1016/j.envc.2022.100517

13. Miyamoto M, Mohd Parid M, Noor Aini Z, et al. Proximate and underlying causes of forest cover change in Peninsular Malaysia. Forest Policy and Economics. 2014; 44: 18-25. doi: 10.1016/j.forpol.2014.05.007

14. Alkama R, Cescatti A. Biophysical climate impacts of recent changes in global forest cover. Science. 2016; 351(6273): 600-604. doi: 10.1126/science.aac8083

15. Tsegaye NT, Dibaba WT, Gemeda DO. Spatiotemporal forest cover change and its implication for environmental sustainability in Dedo district of Jimma zone, southwest Ethiopia. Environmental and Sustainability Indicators. 2023; 19: 100262. doi: 10.1016/j.indic.2023.100262

16. Hanz DM, Cutts V, Barajas-Barbosa MP, et al. Climatic and biogeographical drivers of functional diversity in the flora of the Canary Islands. Global Ecology and Biogeography. 2022; 31(7): 1313-1331. doi: 10.1111/geb.13507

17. Manan F, Khan SM, Muhammad Z, et al. Floristic composition, biological spectrum, and phytogeographic distribution of the Bin Dara Dir, in the western boundary of Pakistan. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change. 2022; 5. doi: 10.3389/ffgc.2022.1019139

18. Abedi M, Omidipour R, Hosseini SV, et al. Fire disturbance effects on plant taxonomic and functional β diversity mediated by topographic exposure. Ecology and Evolution. 2022; 12(1). doi: 10.1002/ece3.8552

19. Bisht M, Chandra Sekar K, Mukherjee S, et al. Influence of Anthropogenic Pressure on the Plant Species Richness and Diversity Along the Elevation Gradients of Indian Himalayan High-Altitude Protected Areas. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 2022; 10. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2022.751989

20. Ali F, Khan N, Ali K. Influence of environmental variables on the distribution of woody species in Muslim graveyards of Malakand division, Hindukhush Range Mountains of Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Botany. 2017; 49: 2357-2366.

21. Ali F, Khan N, Ali K, et al. Assessment of variability in nutritional quality of wild edible fruit of Monotheca buxifolia (Falc.) A. DC. Along the altitudinal gradient in Pakistan. Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences. 2023; 30(1): 103489. doi: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2022.103489

22. Burruss ND, Peters DPC, Huang H. The resistance and resilience of Great Plains ecoregion boundaries to the 1930s drought as a lens to future dynamics. Ecosphere. 2023; 14(5). doi: 10.1002/ecs2.4538

23. Chen S, Fu YH, Wu Z, et al. Informing the SWAT model with remote sensing detected vegetation phenology for improved modeling of ecohydrological processes. Journal of Hydrology. 2023; 616: 128817. doi: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.128817

24. Rahman A, Khan N, Ali K, et al. Plant Species Classification and Diversity of the Understory Vegetation in Oak Forests of Swat, Pakistan. Applied Sciences. 2021; 11(23): 11372. doi: 10.3390/app112311372

25. Ullah A, Khan N, Ali F, et al. Vegetation Classification and Distribution Patterns in Sheikh Badin National Park, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Journal of Xi’an Shiyou University, Natural Science Edition. 2023; 19(1): 1376-1389.

26. Qian H, Klinka K, Økland RH, et al. Understorey vegetation in boreal Picea mariana and Populus tremuloides stands in British Columbia. Journal of Vegetation Science. 2003; 14(2): 173-184. doi: 10.1111/j.1654-1103.2003.tb02142.x

27. Wulf M, Naaf T. Herb layer response to broadleaf tree species with different leaf litter quality and canopy structure in temperate forests. Journal of Vegetation Science. 2009; 20(3): 517-526. doi: 10.1111/j.1654-1103.2009.05713.x

28. Nakhoul J, Fernandez C, Bousquet-Mélou A, et al. Vegetation dynamics and regeneration of Pinus pinea forests in Mount Lebanon: Towards the progressive disappearance of pine. Ecological Engineering. 2020; 152: 105866. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoleng.2020.105866

29. Liu J, Gao G, Wang S, et al. The effects of vegetation on runoff and soil loss: Multidimensional structure analysis and scale characteristics. Journal of Geographical Sciences. 2017; 28(1): 59-78. doi: 10.1007/s11442-018-1459-z

30. Pala F, Erman M, Cig F, et al. A study on weed flora and importance value Index of weeds in wheat crop. International Journal of Scientific and Technological Research. 2020; 6(1): 49-59.

31. Ali F, Khan N, Ahmad A, et al. Structure and biomass carbon of Olea ferruginea forests in the foot hills of Malakand division, Hindukush range mountains of Pakistan. Acta Ecologica Sinica. 2019; 39(4): 261-266. doi: 10.1016/j.chnaes.2019.05.011

32. Liu J, Su YG, Li Y, et al. Shrub colonization regulates δ13C enrichment between soil and vegetation in deserts by affecting edaphic variables. CATENA. 2021; 203: 105365. doi: 10.1016/j.catena.2021.105365

33. Augusto I, Dupouey JL, Ranger J. Effects of tree species on understorey vegetation and environmental conditions in temperate forests. Annual Forest Science. 2003; 60: 823-831. doi: 10.1051/forest:2003077

34. Macdonald SE, Fenniak TE. Understory plant communities of boreal mixedwood forests in western Canada: Natural patterns and response to variable-retention harvesting. Forest Ecology and Management. 2007; 242(1): 34-48. doi: 10.1016/j.foreco.2007.01.029

35. Nasrullah K, Fayaz A, Kishwar A, et al. Composition, structure and regeneration dynamics of Olea ferruginea Royle forests from Hindukush range of Pakistan. Journal of Mountain Science. 2015; 12(3): 647-658. doi: 10.1007/s11629-013-2831-1

36. Sîrbu I, Benedek AM, Brown BL, et al. Disentangling structural and functional responses of native versus alien communities by canonical ordination analyses and variation partitioning with multiple matrices. Scientific Reports. 2022; 12(1). doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-16860-6

37. Rahman K, Akhtar N, Jan AU, and Ali F. Multivariate Analysis of Plant Communities in relation to Topographic and Edaphic Variables in the Sultan Khail valley, Hindukush Range of Pakistan. Journal of Xi’an Shiyou University, Natural Science Edition. 2023; 19(1): 691-706.

38. Bennett S, Santana-Garcon J, Marbà N, et al. Climate driven impacts of exotic species on marine ecosystems. Global Ecology and Biogeography. 2021; 30(5): 1043-1055. doi: 10.1111/geb.13283

39. Zhang QP, Wang J, Wang Q. Effects of abiotic factors on plant diversity and species distribution of alpine meadow plants. Ecological Informatics. 2021; 61: 101210. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoinf.2021.101210

40. Nawaz MF, Bourrié G, Trolard F. Soil compaction impact and modelling. A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development. 2012; 33(2): 291-309. doi: 10.1007/s13593-011-0071-8

41. Neina D. The Role of Soil pH in Plant Nutrition and Soil Remediation. Applied and Environmental Soil Science. 2019; 2019: 1-9. doi: 10.1155/2019/5794869




DOI: https://doi.org/10.24294/sf.v6i2.2854

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2023 F. Ali, Muhammad Nawaz Rajpar, M. Zeb, M. Amin, Siraj, S. Hidayat

License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.