Ethnobotanical Study and Conservation Status of Trees in The
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Ethnobotanical study and conservation status of trees in the district Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan Estudio etnobotánico y estado de conservación de los árboles en el Distrito Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistán Shah A1*, S Rahim1,5 , KH Bhatti2, A Khan1, N Din1, M Imran1, M Mohsin3, M Ishtiaq4, A Nabila1, A Ansari1, S Hussain1, M Zafar5, M Mushtaq5, E Mumtaz1, J Iqbal6 Abstract. Sargodha district is one of the least studied regions of Resumen. El distrito de Sargodha es uno de los menos estudia- Pakistan regarding its ethnobotanical values. This paper is the first dos de Pakistán en lo que se refiere a sus valores etnobotánicos. Este report related to the documentation and conservation status of the paper es el primer informe con respecto a la documentación y estado tree species in the Sargodha district, and their folk ethnobotanical de conservación de las especies arbóreas en el Distrito de Sargodha, uses. An interview base survey was conducted in the study area in y sus usos etnológicos vulgares. En el área de estudio se condujo un 2010-2013. The ethnobotanical data revealed the use of 100 tree spe- estudio de entrevistas durante 2010-2013. Los datos etnobotánicos cies (6 gymnosperms, 94 angiosperms) belonging to 77 genera (6 revelevaron el uso de 100 especies de árboles (6 gimnospermas, 94 gymnosperms, 71 angiosperms) and 39 families (4 gymnosperms, 35 angiospermas) pertenecientes a 77 géneros (6 gimnospermas, 71 angiosperms), with the Fabaceae ranking first with 19 tree species, angiospermas) y 39 familias (4 gimnospermas, 35 angiospermas). followed by the Moraceae (12 species). Tree species like Aegle marme- Las Fabaceae fueron primeras con 19 especies de árboles, seguidas los, Butea monosperma, Diospyrus malabarica, Gmelina arborea, Kige- por las Moraceae con 12 especies. Especies arbóreas como Aegle lia africana, Manilkara hexandra, Manilkara zapota, Mimusops elengi, marmelos, Butea monosperma, Diospyrus malabárica, Gmelina arbórea, Nyctanthes arbor-tristis, Putranjiva roxburghii, Terminalia arjuna and Kigelia africana, Manilkara hexandra, Manilkara zapota, Mimusops Terminalia bellerica are not only unique in their medicinal value but elengi, Nyctanthes arbor-tristis, Putranjiva roxburghii, Terminalia ar- also interesting because of their unusual occurrence here. Theve- juna y Terminalia bellerica no son solo únicas en su valor medicinal tia peruviana, Cassia fistula, Celtis australis, Delonix regia, Diospyrus sino también interesantes debido a su ocurrencia inusual en el Dis- malabarica, Grevillea robusta, Haplophragma adenophylum, Jacaranda trito. Thevetia peruviana, Cassia fistula, Celtis australis, Delonix regia, mimosifolia, Lagerstroemia speciosa, Plumeria rubra, Pterospermum ac- Diospyrus malabárica, Grevillea robusta, Haplophragma adenophylum, erifolium, Roystonea regia, Taxodium distichum and Tectona grandis are Jacaranda mimosifolia, Lagerstroemia speciosa, Plumeria rubra, Pteeo- included among the worth looking ornamental tree species. Capparis spermum acerifolium, Roystonea regia, Taxodium distichum y Tectona decidua, Dalbergia sissoo, Tamarix aphylla, Tamarix dioica, Prosopis cin- grandis están incluidas dentro de las especies leñosas ornamentales eraria and Ziziphus mauritiana are the most commonly used timber que vale la pena tener. Otros usos etnobotánicos comunes de estos species. Other common ethnobotanical utilization of these trees in- árboles incluyen su utilidad como cobertura, combustible o usos cludes either sheltering or fuel or agricultural uses. Lack of awareness agrícolas. La falta de conocimiento acerca de los usos potenciales about the potential uses of these species, and particularly ignorance de estas especies, y especialmente la ignorancia de las autoridades of the concerned authorities, have led to a decline in the population involucradas, han conducido a una reducción en las poblaciones de of this precious tree flora. Documentation of this tree flora, and as- esta valiosa flora arbórea. La documentación de esta flora arbórea, y 1 Department of Botany, University of Sargodha, Sargodha, Pakistan. 2 Department of Botany, Institute of Life Sciences, University of Gujrat, Gujrat, Pakistan. 3 Department of Textile Engineering, UET Lahore, Faisalabad Campus, Pakistan. 4 Department of Botany, Mirpur University of Science & Technology (MUST). Bhimber Campus, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. 5 Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-e-Azam University Islamabad, Pakistan. 6 Department of Biology, Government College Mankera, Punjab, Pakistan. Address Correspondence to: Amin Shah, e-mail: [email protected] Recibido / Received 2.II.2014. Aceptado / Accepted 31.III.2014. FYTON ISSN 0031 9457 (2015) 84: 34-44 Ethnobotanical study of trees of Sargodha, Pakistan 35 sociated indigenous knowledge, can be used as a basis for developing conocimiento indígeno asociado, se puede usar como una base para el management plans for conservation and sustainable use of this flora desarrollo de planes de manejo para la conservación y uso sustentable in the study area. A well-organized management is critical to restore de esta flora en la región de estudio. Un manejo bien organizado es and conserve this endangered natural resource in the District Sar- crítico para restaurar y conservar este recurso natural en peligro en el godha, Pakistan. The immense medicinal and timber value of these Distrito de Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistán. El inmenso valor que estos tree species make it necessary to promote their conservation to si- árboles tienen desde el punto de vista medicinal y como madera hace multaneously alleviate the poverty and improve the socio-economic necesario promover su conservación, para simultáneamente aliviar la status of the study area. pobreza y mejorar el nivel socio-económico del área en estudio. Keywords: Ethnobotanical study; Medicinal plants; Sargodha; Palabras clave: Estudio etnobotánico; Plantas medicinales; Sargo- Pakistan. dha; Pakistán. INTRODUCTION when temperatures reach 50 °C. Most of its area consists of smooth land, except some hilly areas (known as Kirana Hills) Trees are an important source of wood for timber and lum- with an altitude of approximately 187 m.a.s.l. Two main rivers ber, but also provide non-timber forest products (e.g., medi- of Pakistan touch Sargodha, and make the land fertile. The cines, fuel, fodder, and ornamental and agricultural uses). The River Jhelum flows on the western and northern sides, and the prosperity of any country might be partially determined by River Chenab flows on the eastern side of the city. The district its forest and tree resources. In addition to their productive includes villages and towns inhabited by a number of castes and protective benefits, tree species might play a vital role in and ethnic groups (namely: Jats, Rajputs, Arayein, Qureshi, ecosystem stability, providing of habitat to a large number of Cheenas, Awans, Tiwanas, Ranjhas, Sials, Gondals, Bhattis, faunal diversity (Sheikh, 1993; Shah, 2005). Systematic explo- Khokhar, Balochs, Kumhars, Naaii, etc.), each with its own rations of the traditional use of plants are urgently needed to religious, cultural and social traditions. The Sargodha district unravel the botanical species richness of an area. Pakistan is and its surrounding areas mainly constitute fertile and irri- endowed with a rich plant biodiversity due to its unique geo- gated land. There is a rich diversity of cultivated and wild trees graphic and climatic conditions, and the Sargodha District is throughout the area. Local inhabitants of the area are very one of such regions. Ethnobotany is a very important area of much close to this natural tree richness for their daily uses. study all over the world (Singh & Singh, 2009). It is the study There are diverse ethnic groups in the area having rich indig- of how the people of a particular region and culture make enous knowledge about the use of trees especially for medi- use of indigenous plants. Ethnobotanists explore how plants cines, non-timber forest products (NTFPs), fuel wood, timber, might be used in medicine, food, fodder, timber, shelter and thatching and roofing, etc. In other parts of the country a lot religious ceremonies (Badshah et al., 2012). In the context of of work has been reported by many other workers, particularly a complex ethnobotany, there are people who identify plants the documentation of indigenous uses of plants. In the Sar- that are used simultaneously with both food and therapeutic godha District, some studies have been conducted on trees, purposes (Hurrell & Albuquerque, 2012). This science pro- but their ethnobotanical importance has been neglected so far. vides the possibility of finding new medicines derived from Field work was carried out in 2010-2013, working plan was plants (Heinrich, 2000). Ethnobotanical information is neces- prepared according to the life forms of the plants, and season sary to document plant life in any area, especially those which of utilization of plant products by the local people. Several are unexplored. This preliminary taxonomic documentation, field trips were arranged for collecting the trees, especially the and the folk knowledge of indigenous people about the native wild ones. Ethnobotanical information was collected through flora, will serve as a guide for the next coming generations. semi-structured interviews as described by Cotton (1996). Col- Sargodha district is one of the least studied regions of lected plants were dried, pressed and mounted properly fol- Pakistan regarding its ethnobotanical values. The objective of lowing