PJB-2018-250
Diversity, ecological feature and conservation of a high montane flora of the Shigar valley (Karakorum range) Baltistan region, northern Pakistan
Zaheer Abbas, Jan Alam, Shujaul Mulk Khan, Manzoor Hussain and Arshad Mehmood Abbasi
Abstract
This paper presents the results of exploratory investigation on the flora of the Shigar valley, Central Karakorum Mountains, conducted in 2013-2016. The studies completed with the documentation of 345 vascular plants distributed in 206 genera and 63 families with maximum species of flowering plants. Asteraceae and Saussurea were leading taxa in terms of family and genera respectively. Arid mountain slopes was main habitat type sharing maximum species (84) in the native flora. Generally, the sum of species exposed herbaceous habit (301 species) with prevalence of perennial herbs (220 species). Life form grouping revealed the excessive occurrence of Hemicryptophytes (139 species). Distribution wise, the Irano-Turanian elements (35.36%) were the most frequent species co-dominating with Western Himalayan elements (28.69%). Some endemic and critically endangered species for instance Festuca hartmannii, Aconitum violaceum var. weilerei, Anaphalis chitralensis, Asperula oppositifolia subsp. baltistanica, Pedicularis staintonii, Pyrola rotundifolia subsp. karakoramica, and Hedysarum falconeri are also recognized. The flora is under extreme natural and human hazards and emphasizes the involvement of international and national organizations dedicated to biological conservation for effective protection of flora particularly the rare and endemic taxa
To Cite this article:
Abbas, Z., J. Alam, S.M. Khan, M. Hussain and A.M. Abbasi. 2019. Diversity, ecological feature and conservation of a high montane flora of the Shigar valley (Karakorum range) Baltistan region, northern Pakistan. Pak. J. Bot., 51(3): DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30848/PJB2019-3(23)
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