A Phytosociological Study of Forest and Non-Forest Vegetation of District Chitral, Hindukush Range of Pakistan

KHAN ET AL (2012), FUUAST J. BIOL., 2(1): 91-101 A PHYTOSOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF FOREST AND NON-FOREST VEGETATION OF DISTRICT CHITRAL, HINDUKUSH RANGE OF PAKISTAN NASRULLAH KHAN1, MOINUDDIN AHMED2, MUHAMMAD FAHEEM SIDDIQUI2, SADIA BIBI1 AND IRSHAD AHMED1 1Department of Botany University of Malakand 2Laboratory of Dendrochronology, Department of Botany Federal Urdu University Karachi *Corresponding author e-mail: [email protected] Abstract The present study was carried out in Chitral that presents a complex mosaic of trees, herbs and shrubs vegetation with a wide range of vegetation types reflecting local variations in climate, geological history, permafrost, wildlife grazing and human use. Field data on the floristic composition and vegetation structure were collected at 36 sites in the study area between 1200m to 3300m elevation asl. Tree, herb and shrub species were grouped into 19 major vegetation types using importance value index. Among the communities types 10 were of tree communities including 3 monospecific stands, while, 9 communities were of herbs and shrubs. These communities were described in quantitative terms. The results disclosed that many conifer and broad leaved forests were in bad shape due to anthropogenic factors. Introduction Pakistan is rich in biodiversity, comprising of different climatic zones with a wide range of plant species. Approximately 6000 plant species often of medicinal and/or commercial importance are found in Pakistan (Nasir & Ali 1972). However, the floral diversity is constantly subjected to progressive loss, owing to fragmentation and degradation of natural habitats that leads to the disappearance of countless species (Perveen and Hussain, 2007). Pakistan has five significant mountain systems, i.e. Western Himalayas, Karakoram, Hindukush, Suleiman and Khirthar range. Chitral the high mountainous dry temperate area of the Northern Pakistan lies in Hindukush range. It is one of the magnificent and oldest mountain ranges in the world. According to Champion et al. (1965) the dry temperate forest of Pakistan shows high species diversity. Botanically, as well as zoologically the area forms a distinct ecological realm of its own and possesses enigmatic affinities to Himalayan flora and fauna. In this respect different workers have carried out phytosociological studies and identified various plant communities in different parts of the country, but Chitral was notably neglected in this regard. So far very little is known about the Phytosociology of Chitral (Beg, 1974, Khan, 1978, Alamgir, 2004 and Khan et al., 2010). An attempt is made here to identify plant communities, their floristic composition and other phytosociological aspects of forested and non-forested vegetation of District Chitral, Hindukush range of Pakistan. The investigations may be useful in the conservation and management of the forest vegetation in the study area. The major objectives of the present study were 1. To provide a description of the plant communities in the area. 2. To evaluate the compositional and structural relationships that exist in the communities. 3. To disclose the distribution pattern of individual plant species amongst these communities. Materials and Methods Field Method Stand Selection: Field work for this study was carried out during 2006-2009 in various parts and altitudinal zones of Chitral. Thirty six stands of vegetation were sampled on a stratified random sampling design within a variety of representatives of forested and non forested areas contingent upon accessibility and the difficulties of the terrain. The stands studied were situated at elevations between 1228 to 3300 meter above sea level along River Kunar to the alpine areas. The study area is a narrow valley and fragmented into many small valleys. Major areas studied have been described in Table 1. Stands of forest vegetation were selected to represent least disturbed vegetation. These stands were relatively homogeneous in composition of major tree dominants and general physiognomy and uniform in relation to the prevailing environmental conditions. Most of the stands were of > 2 Ha in size. KHAN ET AL (2012), FUUAST J. BIOL., 2(1): 91-101 92 Table 1. Locations and geographical Ecological characteristics of the sampling sites. Lat Long Elev Slope Main Location Forested area sites Aspect Canopy (N) (E) (m) (ο) 1. Gohkshal 1 35.54 71.41 2480 E 22 M 2. Gohkshal 2 35.53 71.41 2774 S 26 M 3. Meran 1 35.53 71.46 2479 N 42 O 4. Quercus zone 35.53 71.46 1920 E 15 O A- Chitral Gol National 5. Ispidiar 1 35.53 71.46 2331 N 20 O Park 6. Ispidiar 2 35.53 71.46 2325 W 28 M 7. Rest House 35.54 71.45 2927 S 32 O 8. Bronshal 35.52 71.46 2217 NE 38 O B- Bumburate 9. Dyimeli 35.41 71.41 2273 SW 24 O Kalash 10. Gambag 35.41 71.41 2073 N 34 O 11. Sheikh-nandeh 35.41 71.38 2283 NE 62 O 12. Posatum 35.46 71.40 2206 N 45 O C- Rumbur Kalash 13. Roomgah 35.46 71.41 2370 S 37 O D- Birir Kalash 14. Compart 1 35.40 71.45 2125 W 27 M 15. Compart 2 35.38 71.45 2022 E 48 M E- Sheshe Kuh 16. Shaheed Bala 35.45 71.40 2344 S 29 M Valley 17. Madaklasht 35.45 71.41 2775 N 31 C 18. Goline Gol 35.54 71.40 2584 N 17 O F- Goline Gol 19 Sarooj Village 35.53 71.39 2764 W 20 O 20 Sarooj 2 35.54 71.41 2720 SW 18 O G- Arandu 21. Damair 35.45 71.05 2522 E 38 M 22. Agriate 1 35.46 71.41 2678 NE 27 O H- Agriate 23. Agriate 2 35.46 71.41 2504 E 32 O 24. Ziarat 1 35.21 71.48 2900 NW 27 O 25. Ziarat Mata Khur 1 35.21 71.46 2544 W 34 O I- Ziarat Chitral 26. Ziarat Mata Khur 2 35.25 71.46 2450 E 20 O 27. Ziarat 2 35.25 71.48 2600 N 24 M Main Location Non forested area sites Lat Long Elev Aspect Slope Canopy (N) (E) (m) (ο) J- Lowari-Top 28. Lowari 35.24 71.48 3118 W 15 --- 29. Village site 35.52 71.46 1540 E 25 --- K- Chitral Gol National Park 30. Ayun 35.52 71.47 1228 Plain 5 --- 31.Artemesia 35.56 71.42 2340 E 5 --- Zone GNPC 32. Mastuj 36.1 72.17 2351 N 10 --- 33. Booni valley 36.1 72.16 2237 N 10 --- 34. Perabeg 35.59 71.33 2445 E 24 --- M- Garam Chashma 35. Shah Saleem 35.56 71.35 3022 N 12 --- N- Shandur 36. Shandur 36.06 72.35 3338 W 17 --- Key to the acronyms. Lat: Latitude, Long: Longitude, Elev: Elevation, E = East, W = West, N = North, S = South Canopy = O, Open, M= moderate, C= Closed KHAN ET AL (2012), FUUAST J. BIOL., 2(1): 91-101 93 Collection of Field Data: Elevation was estimated by Altimeter as the average of the higher and lower elevation of the stand, slope was measured by Clinometer, and aspect (direction of exposure) was measured by compass. Global positioning systems (GPS) were used to estimate geographical coordinates. Site description including an estimation of use and impact of grazing, wood cutting, and fodder collection were obtained. Observations and local informal interviews were made to gather relevant information on the nature and extent of land use. Forested and shrubby vegetation stands were sampled. Each stand was systematically sampled by using 20 quadrats for shrubby and herbaceous plants. Point- centered quarter (PCQ) method of Cottam and Curtis (1956) was used for sampling forest tree species in order to evaluate the quantitative vegetational composition, while a 1.5m diameter circular plots at each PCQ point were used for the understorey vegetation. A total of twenty seven forest stands, and nine herb and shrub stands were sampled. For herb and shrub vegetation 3×3 meter quadrats were employed. The PCQ technique is known to provide reliable overall density and relative density estimates (Grieg-Smith 1983). Franklin (1967) and Mark and Esler (1970) found that this procedure overestimates the true basal area. The criteria for the selection of this technique was that it has been widely and successfully used by various workers in different vegetation inside and outside the country. It is fast, flexible, requires little field labour/computational effort and is easily applied in thick dense forest with rugged topography. Two small cross-pieces were nailed onto the end of a meter long stick (PCQ stick) to define the four quadrants required. The other end of the stick was pointed for insertion into the ground. This simple instrument was easily adjustable on the forest ground. Depending on the topography of the site twenty points were taken at 25 m intervals along a specific direction. However in some cases fewer points with shorter intervals were recorded due to extreme slope or the small area of the stand. Using a compass and PCQ stick at every point on the transect, the PCQ method was followed. In this way a stratified random sampling (Ogden and Powell 1979) over at least two ha of the area was conducted. This sampling procedure was recommended over systematic and random sampling by Bourdeau (1953) and Orloci (1975). According to Cottam et al., (1953) at least thirty PCQ points are required for accurate calculation of individual species density. However, in our case due to homogeneous nature of stands 20 PCQ points were used. In order to increase the sample size for relative density a second nearest tree (Ogden and Powell 1979) was also recorded. The distance was not measured for this tree but dbh was recorded following the method outline of Ahmed (1984).

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