PJB-2024-159
Ecological variation, and geographic distribution of vegetation in Karak, northwestern Pakistan
Siddiq Ullah, Fazle Malik Sarim Khan, Shujaul Mulk Khan, Fazal Manan, Maria Shah and Tauseef Ullah
Abstract
The plants' life form, leaf sizes, and distribution pattern reflect an area's overall ecological condition, including climate, land masses, and anthropogenic pressures. The current study evaluated the phyto-diversity, life form, leaf sizes, and geographical distribution of the Karak vegetation in the northwestern belt of Pakistan. The flora of the study area comprised of 177 species of flowering plants, of which 142 were dicots and 35 were monocots. The dominant families were Poaceae (27 species), followed by Asteraceae (18 species), Papilionaceae (12 species), Juncaceae (9 species), Solanaceae (8 species), and Chenopodiaceae (7 species). Habit-wise, herbs were represented by 122, shrubs by 31, and trees by 24 species. Moreover, the study area was dominated by therophytes (81 species), hemicryptophytes (30 species), microphanerophytes (24 species), and nanophanerophytes (18 species). Leaf size classes were dominated by microphyll (65 species), nanophyll (49 species), leptophyll (35 species), and mesophyll (24 species), whereas Periploca aphylla, Capparis decidua, and Cuscuta reflexa were aphyllous in the study area. Phytogeographically, this is a mixture of Saharo-Sindian and Irano-Turanian elements. The dominance of microphylls and nanophylls shows that the area is under biotic pressure and has arid climatic conditions. Further research is needed to identify climate-smart plant species for habitat restoration
To Cite this article:
Ullah, S., F.M.S. Khan, S.M. Khan, F. Manan, M. Shah and T. Ullah. 2025. Ecological variation, and geographic distribution of vegetation in Karak, northwestern Pakistan. Pak. J. Bot., 57(6): DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30848/PJB2025-6(11)
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