Life form, biological spectrum and ethno-medicinal uses of the flora of Taloqa hills, Western himalayas, Muzaffarabad
Paper Details
Life form, biological spectrum and ethno-medicinal uses of the flora of Taloqa hills, Western himalayas, Muzaffarabad
Abstract
The present paper gives an account of different life form categories, biological spectrum and ethnobotanical uses of the flora of Taloqa hills Muzaffarabad. The flora of Taloqa hills consists of 395 plant species belonging to 66 families. The biological spectrum showed that hemicryptophytes (24.55%) were the dominant life form of the area. They were followed by therophytes (24.30%), nanophanerophytes (21%), megaphanerophytes (16%), geophytes (9%) and lianas (5%) respectively. The leaf size spectra comprised of microphylls (42%), leptophylls (28%), Nanophylls (21%), Mesophylls (7%), and Megaphylls (2%). The hemicryptophytic dominance indicates that the area has hemicryptophytic type of phytoclimate. A total of 20 medicinally important plants belonging to 18 families were recorded to be used locally for the treatment of 68 different ailments and diseases in the study area. The area is under high anthropogenic pressure so strict safety measures needs to be taken to protect biodiversity in the area.
Abbas H, Qaiser M, Alam J. 2010. Conservation status of Cadaba heterotricha stocks (Capparaceae): an endangered species in Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Botany 42, 35-46.
Ajaib M, Khan Z, Muhammad S, Mahmood R. 2008. Biological Spectra of Saney Baney Hills District Kotli Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan Journal of Science 60, 53-58.
Ali S, Qaiser M. 1993-2009. Flora of Pakistan (Fascicle series), Karachi.
Batalha MA, Martins FR. 2004. Floristic, frequency, and vegetation life-form spectra of a cerrado site. Brazilian Journal of Biology 64, 201-09. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S151969842004000200004
Cain SA, Castro GD. 1959. Manual of vegetation analysis. Hafner Pub. Co., the University of Michigan.
Cain SA. 1950. Life-forms and phytoclimate. Botany Review 16, 1-32.
Gottfried M, Pauli H, Grabherr G. 1998. Prediction of vegetation patterns at the limits of plant life: a new view of the alpine-nival ecotone. Arctic Alpine Research, 207-21.
Hadi F, Naseem M, Shah S. 2009. Prevalence and ecological characteristics of summer weeds in crop and vegetable fields of Botanical Garden Azakhel, University of Peshawar, Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Plant Sciences 15, 101-05.
Hussain F, Ilyas M, Takatsuki S. 1997a. Plant communities of Girbanr hills, Swat district, Northwestern Pakistan. Economy Review 23, 247-260.
Hussain F, Khaliq A, Ilahi I. 1997b. Effect of Altltude, Aspect and Blotlc Factors on the Plant Dlverslty of Dabargai Hllls, Swat, Paklstan In: Mufti, S.A., C.A. Wood and S. Hassan (Eds), Biodiversity of Pakistan: Pakistan Museum of Natural History Islamabad.
Kala CP. 2000. Status and conservation of rare and endangered medicinal plants in the Indian trans-Himalaya. Biological Conservation 93, 371-79. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0006-3207(99)00128-7
Kala CP. 2005. Indigenous uses, population density, and conservation of threatened medicinal plants in protected areas of the Indian Himalayas. Conservation Biology 19, 368-78. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2005.00602.x
Mahmood A, Malik Rn, Shinwari ZK, Mahmood A. 2011. Ethnobotanical survey of plants from Neelum, Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Botany 43, 105-110.
Malik N, Hussain F, Malik Z. 2007. Life form and leaf size spectra of plant communities harbouring at Ganga Chotti and Bedorii hills. International Journal of Agriculture and Biology 15, 833-38.
Malik Z, Malik N, Bashir S, Gorsi M. 2001. Phytosociological studies on the vegetation of Dao Khun Hills. Journal of Science and Technology 25, 35-41.
Malik Z. 2005. Comparative study of the vegetation of ganga choti and bedori hills, District Bagh, Azad Jammu and Kashmir with special reference to range conditions. Pakistan: University of Peshawar.
Malik ZH, Awan AA, Murtaza G. 1990. Phytosociology of Sudhangalli near Muzaffarabad. Journal of Science and Technology 14, 111-16.
Mian-Ying W, Brett J, Jensen C, Nowicki D, Palu A, Anderson G. 2002. Morinda citrifolia (Noni) A literature review and recent advances in Noni research. Acta Pharmacologica Sinica 23, 1127-41.
Nasir E, Ali S. 1970-1989. Flora of Pakistan (Fascicle series). Department of Botany, University of Karachi Pakistan.
Oosting H. 1956. The Study of Plant Communities. 2 ed. W. H. Freeman and Co, Sanfransisco.
Perveen A, Sarwar GR, Hussain I. 2008. Plant biodiversity and phytosociological attributes of Dureji (Khirthar Range). Pakistan Journal of Botany 40, 17.
Qureshi R, Ahmad M. 2010. Some notes on the vegetation of Achhro thar (white desert) of Nara region, Sindh, Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Botany 42, 2985-94.
Qureshi R. 2004. Floristic and Ethnobotanical Study of Desert Nara Region, Sindh, Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur, Sindh, Pakistan.
Raunkir C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant geography. Clarendon Press.
Samant S, Dhar U, Palni L. 1998. Medicinal plants of Indian Himalaya: Diversity distribution potential value. Gyanodaya Prakashan, Nainital, Uttaranchal, India.
Saxina A, Pandey T, Singh J. 1987. Altitudinal variation in the vegetation of Kaumaun Himalaya. Perspective Environmental Botany 44-66.
Shimwell DW. 1971. The description and classification of vegetation. Sidgwick and Jackson, Cornell University.
Singh D, Hajra P. 1996. Biodiversity Status in the Himalaya. New Delhi, British Council.
Tareen RB, Qadir S. 1993. Life form and Leaf size spectra of the plant communities of diverse areas ranging from Harnai, Sinjawi to Duki regions of Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Botany 25, 83-92.
Vergeer P, Rengelink R, Copal A, Ouborg N. 2003. The interacting effects of genetic variation, habitat quality and population size on performance of Succisa pratensis. Journal of Ecology 91, 18-26.
Muhammad Nasir, Muhammad Qayyum Khan, Ansar Mehmood, 2016. Life form, biological spectrum and ethno-medicinal uses of the flora of Taloqa hills, Western himalayas, Muzaffarabad. Int. J. Biosci., 9(6), 8-18.
Copyright © 2016 by the Authors. This article is an open access article and distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) license.