Floristic Composition, biological spectrum and phenology of Tehsil Havelian, DISTRICT Abbottabad, KP, Pakistan

 

SUMMAIRA SHAHEEN, ZAFAR IQBAL*, FARHANA IJAZ, JAN ALAM AND INAYAT UR RAHMAN*

 

Department of Botany, Hazara University Mansehra-21300, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

*Corresponding author: hajibotanist@outlook.com; zafar.hu@yahoo.com

 

Abstract

 

Detailed field survey was carried out to assess the floristic composition, phenology, leaf and biological spectrum of Tehsil Havelian during 2011-2012. A total of 205 plant species belonging to 78 families were documented. According to plant habit there are 129 species of herbs, 38 species of trees and 38 species of shrubs. Asteraceae and Lamiaceae were dominant families with 15 species each, then Brassicaceae 11 species, Rosaceae and Papilionaceae with 10 species each. They were followed by Ranunculaceae with 9 species. All the remaining 72 families have less than 7 members. Flowering season was classified in two spells, first from March to July with 62.56% herbs, 19.48% shrubs, 18.46% trees, 2.56% grasses and 1.02% ferns. Second spell starts from August to November with 50% shrubs, 30% herbs and 20% trees. The life form classes were determined by the Raunkier’s method which reveals that the most dominant life form was Therophytes with 89 species (43.68%), followed by Nanophanerophytes 26 species (12.62%), Megaphanerophytes 20 species (9.70%), Mesophanerophytes 19 species (9.22%), Chamaephytes 15 species (7.28%), Hemicryptophytes 15 species (7.28%), Geophytes 11 species (5.33%), Lianas 6 species (2.91%), Microphanerophytes 3 species (1.45%) and Neophytes with 1 species (0.48%). As for as leaf size concerned, Microphyll was the most prevalent leaf size with 98 species (47.80%), followed by Nanophyll 55 spp. (26.82%), Leptophyll 28 species (13.65%), Mesophyll 16 spp. (7.80%) and Megaphyll contributing with 8 species (3.90%). Study reflects the overall ecological scenario and may be beneficial as reference study for conservation and sustainable use of plants.

 

Key words: Floristic composition, Biological spectrum, Phenology, Havelian, Pakistan.