Next Article in Journal
Physiological and Morphological Responses of Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.) to Rhizoglomus irregulare Inoculation under Ample Water and Drought Stress Conditions Are Cultivar Dependent
Next Article in Special Issue
Genomic and Meiotic Changes Accompanying Polyploidization
Previous Article in Journal
Increase in Phytoextraction Potential by Genome Editing and Transformation: A Review
Previous Article in Special Issue
Metamitron, a Photosynthetic Electron Transport Chain Inhibitor, Modulates the Photoprotective Mechanism of Apple Trees
 
 
Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
Journals
Plants
Volume 11
Issue 1
10.3390/plants11010087
plants-logo
Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Propose a Special Issue
► Article Menu

Article Menu

share Share announcement Help format_quote Cite question_answer Discuss in SciProfiles
first_page
settings
Order Article Reprints
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
Article

Classification and Characterization of the Manoor Valley’s (Lesser Himalaya) Vegetation from the Subtropical-Temperate Ecotonal Forests to the Alpine Pastures along Ecological Variables

by
Inayat Ur Rahman
1,2,*,
Aftab Afzal
1,*,
Zafar Iqbal
1,
Mashail Nasser Alzain
3,
Al-Bandari Fahad Al-Arjani
4,
Abdulaziz A. Alqarawi
5,
Elsayed Fathi Abd_Allah
5,
Niaz Ali
1,
Shazia Sakhi
6,
Muhammad Azhar Khan
1,
Uzma Khan
1,
Farhana Ijaz
1,*,
Samina Mumtaz
7 and
Eduardo Soares Calixto
8,9
1
Department of Botany, Hazara University, Mansehra 21300, Pakistan
2
William L. Brown Center, Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
3
Department of Biology, College of Sciences, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
4
Botany and Microbiology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
5
Department of Plant Production, College of Food and Agriculture Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
6
Center of Plant Sciences and Biodiversity, University of Swat, Swat 19200, Pakistan
7
Department of Animal Sciences, Karakoram International University, Gilgit-Baltistan 15100, Pakistan
8
Department of Biology, University of Missouri, St. Louis, MO 63166, USA
9
Entomology and Nematology Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Plants 2022, 11(1), 87; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11010087
Submission received: 8 October 2021 / Revised: 28 November 2021 / Accepted: 29 November 2021 / Published: 28 December 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 10th Anniversary of Plants—Recent Advances and Perspectives)
Browse Figures
Versions Notes

Abstract

Plant species are distributed in different types of habitats, forming different communities driven by different sets of environmental variables. Here, we assessed potential plant communities along an altitudinal gradient and their associations with different environmental drivers in the unexplored Manoor Valley (Lesser Himalaya), Pakistan. We have implemented various ecological techniques and evaluated phytosociological attributes in three randomly selected 50 m-transects within each stand (a total of 133) during different seasons for four years (2015–2018). This phytosociological exploration reported 354 plant species representing 93 different families. The results revealed that the Therophytic life form class dominated the flora, whereas Nanophyll dominated the leaf size spectra. There were a total of twelve plant communities identified, ranging from the lowest elevations to the alpine meadows and cold deserts. The maximum number of species were found in Cedrus–Pinus–Parrotiopsis community (197 species), in the middle altitudinal ranges (2292–3168 m). Our results showed that at high altitudes, species richness was reduced, whereas an increase in soil nutrients was linked to progression in vegetation indicators. We also found different clusters of species with similar habitats. Our study clearly shows how altitudinal variables can cluster different plant communities according to different microclimates. Studies such as ours are paramount to better understanding how environmental factors influence ecological and evolutionary aspects.
Keywords: vegetation structure; environmental variables; PC-ORD; plant community assembly; Himalaya vegetation structure; environmental variables; PC-ORD; plant community assembly; Himalaya

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Rahman, I.U.; Afzal, A.; Iqbal, Z.; Alzain, M.N.; Al-Arjani, A.-B.F.; Alqarawi, A.A.; Abd_Allah, E.F.; Ali, N.; Sakhi, S.; Khan, M.A.; et al. Classification and Characterization of the Manoor Valley’s (Lesser Himalaya) Vegetation from the Subtropical-Temperate Ecotonal Forests to the Alpine Pastures along Ecological Variables. Plants 2022, 11, 87. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11010087

AMA Style

Rahman IU, Afzal A, Iqbal Z, Alzain MN, Al-Arjani A-BF, Alqarawi AA, Abd_Allah EF, Ali N, Sakhi S, Khan MA, et al. Classification and Characterization of the Manoor Valley’s (Lesser Himalaya) Vegetation from the Subtropical-Temperate Ecotonal Forests to the Alpine Pastures along Ecological Variables. Plants. 2022; 11(1):87. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11010087

Chicago/Turabian Style

Rahman, Inayat Ur, Aftab Afzal, Zafar Iqbal, Mashail Nasser Alzain, Al-Bandari Fahad Al-Arjani, Abdulaziz A. Alqarawi, Elsayed Fathi Abd_Allah, Niaz Ali, Shazia Sakhi, Muhammad Azhar Khan, and et al. 2022. "Classification and Characterization of the Manoor Valley’s (Lesser Himalaya) Vegetation from the Subtropical-Temperate Ecotonal Forests to the Alpine Pastures along Ecological Variables" Plants 11, no. 1: 87. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11010087

APA Style

Rahman, I. U., Afzal, A., Iqbal, Z., Alzain, M. N., Al-Arjani, A.-B. F., Alqarawi, A. A., Abd_Allah, E. F., Ali, N., Sakhi, S., Khan, M. A., Khan, U., Ijaz, F., Mumtaz, S., & Calixto, E. S. (2022). Classification and Characterization of the Manoor Valley’s (Lesser Himalaya) Vegetation from the Subtropical-Temperate Ecotonal Forests to the Alpine Pastures along Ecological Variables. Plants, 11(1), 87. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11010087

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop