Silva Balcanica, 20(2)/2019 DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.9929138 FLORISTIC COMPOSITION AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PLANTS OF TEHSIL RAZAR, SWABI DISTRICT, PAKISTAN Syed Adil Hayat1, Farrukh Hussain2, Haifeng Zhu3, 4, Fayaz Asad1 1 Department of Botany, Bacha Khan University, Charsadda 2Institute of Biological Sciences, Sarhad University of Science and Technology 3Key Laboratory of Alpine Ecology and Biodiversity, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Beijing 4 CAS Centre for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Beijing Abstract The present study listed 165 species and two subspecies belonging to 65 families and 139 genera from Tehsil Razar, Swabi District, Pakistan, during 2014 and 2015. There were 134 dicots and 31 monocots species. Cupressus sempervirens was the only gymnosperm and Adiantum caudatum was the only pteridophyte. The families Poaceae (20 spp.), Asteraceae (16 spp.) and Papilionaceae (9 spp.) had the highest number of species. Based on the habitat, 105 species (62.9 %) were classified as terrestrial mesophytes and 41 (24.5 %) were aquatic species. Twenty species were found in both dry and moist habitats. The free- floating hydrophyte Eichornia crispus was also recorded. Twenty-two (13.1%) species were spiny. Three species were climbers: Asparagus adscendens, Asparagus capitatus subsp. gracilis and Convolvulus arvensis. Cuscuta reflexa and Opuntia dillenii were the only leafless species recorded. Leaf lamina was simple in 121 species (72.5%). There were 27 sciophytes and 130 heliophytes. The flora was dominated by therophytes (67 species; 40.1%), followed by hemicryptophytes (23 species; 13.8%). Leaf- size spectrum was dominated by microphylls (60 species; 36%) and leptophylls (39 species 23.4%). Keywords: Floristic composition, Ecological characteristics, Biological spectrum, Tehsil Razar, Swabi, Pakistan. INTRODUCTION Flora is defined as the total sum of all the plant species in a particular habitat or ecosystem. Floristic surveys are carried out all over the globe in order to account for the vegetation and its possible links with the environmental conditions (Badshah et al., 2016). The information about the floristic diversity gives an idea about ecological, phytogeographical and conservation management activities of an area (Giorgis et al., 2017). In the ecological studies, there is a need to determine the flora and vegetation linking with habitat types (Xu et al., 2018). Such studies are important for gathering the information regarding the vegetation of an area with a particular set of environmental factors. Studies on floristic composition have been conducted in different areas of Pakistan. Shaheen et al. (2014) reported 186 species from Santh Saroola, Kotle Sattian. 95 Wariss et al. (2014) documented 212 species from the Lal Suhanra National Park. Hussain et al. (2015) documented 571 species from the Mastuj Valley, Chitral District. Ilyas et al. (2013) documented 593 species from the Kabal Valley Swat. Badshah et al. (2013) listed 205 species from the Tank District, Pakistan. Shah et al. (2014) conducted a floristic survey of the Farash Hills Katlang, Mardan District and reported 42 species. Some of the work done in the Swabi District is summarised here. Hussain et al. (1984) reported 54 species of weeds from the Yar Hussain Village. Similarly, Sher et al. (2011) identified 40 species of 21 families as the weeds of wheat from the Lahor Village, Swabi District. Shah, Rozina (2013) reported 72 species from the Dheri Baba Hills Gohati and the Peer Taab graveyards, Swabi. Qasim et al. (2015) conducted an ethnomedicinal study at Swabi. However, the literature review we have conducted, suggests that there is no major work done on the floristic composition of Tehsil Razar. Therefore, the present work aimed to explore the floristic diversity and ecological distinctiveness of Tehsil Razar. MATERIALS AND METHODS Study area The Swabi District is located on 34°7’ N and 72°28’ E. It is bounded in the north by the Buner District, on the east by the Haripur District, in the south by the Attock District and on the west by the Nowshera and Mardan Districts (Fig. 1). The altitude varies from 300 to 650 meters, having an average elevation of about 321 m. It has an area of about 1,543 Km2 (596 sq mi). Tehsil Razar is located between 34°14' N and 72°20' E and has an extreme climate. Temperature rises sharply in the months of May and June, remaining almost persistent during the months of July, August and September. The maximum temperature was observed during the month of June and was 41.5°C. The minimum temperature of 2°C was recorded in the month of January. Edaphology The soil of Tehsil Razar has been formed from alluvium or loess plains. The soil texture varies from medium to fine. The river alluvium has a texture ranging from sandy loam, sand to loam approaching clay. The texture of the soil of the loess plains consists of silt loam to silty clay- loam or silty clay. The irrigation is done by means of canals (Government of Pakistan (GOP, 2000). The colour of the soil varies from brown to yellowish- brown or grey-brown. The pH of the soil ranges from 5.2 to 7.6. Organic matter contents is very low (Hussain et al., 1993; Sher, Khan, 2007). Hydrology The studied area has plenty of water bodies, such as streams, canals, drainage ditches, ponds and marshy areas. Overall, 2.41% of the area is covered by water bodies (GOP, 2000). A large area is drained by torrents, locally called Khwars. The Lower Swat Canal flowing through Tehsil is the main source of irrigation in the plain areas. On the other hand, hilly areas are mostly rain-fed. 96 Natural vegetation Approximately 0.70% of the area is covered by tall trees forests; shrubs and bushes cover 10.4% and 14.5% is covered by rangelands (GOP, 2014). The tropical thorn forests and subtropical forests of the area are dominated by Acacia modesta followed by Ziziphus mauritiana. Scrub forests primarily consist of Dodonaea viscosa. Floristic survey The whole study area, including mountains, graveyards and stream banks, was thoroughly explored in different seasons of the year 2015 and 2016 in order to collect plants. The plants were identified using the Flora of Pakistan. Plants specimens were deposited in the Herbarium, Department of Botany, Bacha Khan University Charsadda. A detailed floristic list was compiled and organised alphabetically. Lifeform and leaf- size classifications were made after Hussain (1989) and Raunkiaer (1934). Other ecological characteristics of the plants, like habitat type, habit, leaf presence/ absence and its type, were carefully determined at the time of collection. RESULTS The present study listed 165 species and two subspecies, belonging to 65 families and 139 genera. In the present study, the families Poaceae (20 spp.), Asteraceae (16 spp.) and Papilionaceae (10 spp.) were the dominant families in terms of the number of species (Table 1). They were followed by Polygonaceae (seven species), Moraceae, Euphorbiaceae (each with six species) and Amaranthaceae (five species). The remaining families were represented by four or less than four species. There were 45 species that were recorded only in spring and 23 species – only in summer, while 99 species were present in both seasons (Table 2). Lifeform is the reflection of the general physiognomy of flora and vegetation in a particular set of environmental conditions (Badshah et al., 2016). It serves as an indicator of existing environmental conditions. It is greatly influenced by biotic factors, like agricultural practices, deforestation, grazing and climate changes. In the present study, therophytes with 67 species (40.1%) were the dominant life form (Fig. 2). Microphanerophytes with 27 species (16.2%) and hemicryptophytes with 23 species (13.7%) were the next dominant groups. They were followed by the nanophanerophytes with 20 species (11.9%) and the hydrophytes with 15 species (9%). The least represented life forms were the chaemophytes with seven species (4.2%) and geophytes with seven species (4.2%). Cuscuta reflexa was the only parasite plant we registered (Fig. 2). Leaf- size spectrum was dominated by microphylls with 60 species (36%), followed by leptophylls and nanophylls with 39 species (23.4%) each. They were followed by mesophylls with 24 species (14.4%), megaphylls with three species (1.8%) and aphyllous with two species (1.2%; Fig. 3). 97 Table 1. Floristic composition and ecological characteristics of the plants of Tehsil Razar, Swabi District. A. Pteridophytes Ecological characteristics Leaf Life Leaf Light 1 Family Adiantaceae Size Habitat Habit Season Form type requirement Spectra 1 Adiantum caudatum L. G Nan Moist NS Comp SB B. Gymnosperm 2 Family Cupressaceae 2 Cupressus sempervirens L. Mp Mic Mesic NS Incised HB C. Monocot 3 Family Amaryllidaceae 3 Allium jacquemontii Kunth G Mic Mesic NS Simp. HB 4 Family Asparagaceae Np 4 Asparagus adscendens Roxb. Nan Moist NS Incised S Sm (clim) Asparagus capitatus subsp. Np 5 Nan Moist NS Incised SB gracilis Royle ex Baker (clim) 5 Family araceae 6 Pistia stratiotes L. Hydro Nan Moist NS Simp. HB 6 Family Cannaceae 7 Canna indica Linn. G Meg Moist NS Simp. HB 7 Family Cyperaceae 8 Cyperus esculentus Linn. GL Moist NS Simp. HB 9 Cyperus rotundus L G L Moist NS Simp. HB 8 Family Arecaceae 10 Phoenix dactylifera L. Mp Meg Dry NS Comp. HB 9 Family Poaceae 11 Apluda mutica Linn. Hem L Dry NS Simp. HB 12 Aristida adscensionis Linn. Hem L Dry NS Simp. HB Arthraxon prionodes (Steud.) 13 HL Dry NS Simp. HB Dandy 14 Avena fatua Linn. Th L Dry NS Simp. H Sp 15 Cenchrus ciliaris Linn. Hem Nan Dry NS Simp. H Sm Cymbopogon jwarancusa 16 Hem Mic Dry NS Simp. H Sp (Jones) Schult. Dry/ 17 Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. Hem Nan NS Simp. H. B moist Desmostachya bipinnata Dry/ 18 Hem Nan NS Simp.