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DIVERSITY OF MICRO-HABITATS AND THEIR PLANT RESOURCES IN NARA DESERT, PAKISTAN

RAHMATULLAH QURESHI* AND G.R. BHATTI¹

Abstract: Five habitats were identified for plant communities from Nara Desert, Pakistan. A total of 145 species belonging to 104 genera and 43 families were recorded during 1998-2001. Species composition in the different habitat types showed differences in species richness. The highest species richness of 77.24% is recorded from flat habitat. Crest habitat possesses less number of species (15 species; 10.34%) as compared to the rest of habitats. The vegetation over major area is characterized by xerophytic adaptation. The most common plants in this desert are Calligonum polygonoides, Aerva javanica, Dipterygium glaucum, Crotalaria burhia, Prosopis cineraria, Tamarix aphylla, Capparis decidua, Salvadora oleoides, Leptadenia pyrotechnica, Aristida spp., Limeum indicum and Stipagrostis plumosa growing in Crest, Slope and flat habitats, whereas saline/ sodic land and wetland habitat possess halophytic and hydrophytic characteristic features. The common vegetation of different habitats of this aridland is presented.

Department of Botany, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Murree Road, Rawalpindi

¹Department of Botany, Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur, Sindh, Pakistan

Corresponding author: rahmatullahq@yahoo.com, phytotaxonomist@gmail.com