Biodiversity, Conservation and Sustainability in Asia: Volume 2: Prospects and Challenges in South and Middle Asia 3030739422, 9783030739423

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Münir Öztürk · Shujaul Mulk Khan · Volkan Altay · Recep Efe · Dilfuza Egamberdieva · Furkat O. Khassanov   Editors

Biodiversity, Conservation and Sustainability in Asia Volume 2: Prospects and Challenges in South and Middle Asia

Biodiversity, Conservation and Sustainability in Asia

Münir Öztürk  •  Shujaul Mulk Khan Volkan Altay • Recep Efe Dilfuza Egamberdieva  •  Furkat O. Khassanov Editors

Biodiversity, Conservation and Sustainability in Asia Volume 2: Prospects and Challenges in South and Middle Asia

Editors Münir Öztürk Department of Botany and Center for Environmental Studies Ege University Izmir, Turkey Volkan Altay Biology Department Hatay Mustafa Kemal University Antakya-Hatay, Turkey Dilfuza Egamberdieva Faculty of Biology National University of Uzbekistan Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Shujaul Mulk Khan Department of Plant Sciences Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad, Pakistan Recep Efe Department of Geography Balıkesir University Istanbul, Turkey Furkat O. Khassanov Institute of Botany Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan Tashkent, Uzbekistan

ISBN 978-3-030-73942-3    ISBN 978-3-030-73943-0 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73943-0 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

This volume is dedicated to our late colleague Professor Dr. M. Ajmal Khan, S.I., PNAS, FIAS.

April 19, 1953–May 4, 2019 Distinguished National Professor. Ex-Vice Chancellor, University of Karachi, Pakistan. One of the best known Halophyte specialists in the world. “Life Time Achievement Award” by Pakistan Botanical Society (2016). Visiting Professor in China, Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, UK, and USA. Scientific Advisor to Qatar Foundation, Doha.

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Presidential Awards of “Pride of Performance” (2001) and “Sitara-i-Imtiaz” (2007) in recognition of his scientific contributions. Founding Director of the Institute of Sustainable Halophyte Utilization (ISHU). First ever UNESCO Chair-holder in Sustainable Halophyte Utilization with ISHU as the global hub for supporting halophyte research. Qatar Shell Professorial Chair in Sustainable Development and Coordinator, Food Security Program at Qatar University. Created the Centre for Sustainable Development, Qatar University, and headed the food security program. His research team at ISHU has patented a non-conventional fodder crop for saline barren lands. Edited 13 books, published 388 research papers. Cumulative impact factor over 284, RG index of 40.26, h-index of 59, and i10index of 253. More than 10303 citations in international publications by peers in the field.

Preface

The present book has been edited with the prime aim to have a representation of biodiversity from the region to get a broader overview which will serve as one of the baselines for future conservation strategies. “South Asia” is the southern division of the Asian continent, comprising the Sub-Himalayan Range and adjoining countries to the west and east, dominated topographically by the Indian Plate, which rises above sea level in the northern parts of India, south of the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush. It is spread over 5.2 million km2, which is 3.5% of the world’s land surface area. The population is approximately 1.891 billion, making it the most populous and the most densely populated geographical region in the world. Central Asia stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north, colloquially referred to as “the stans,” as the countries considered to be within the region have names ending with the Persian suffix “-stan.” This part of the Asian continent has always been the prime center of interest for historians, biologists, and geographers because it has historically acted as a crossroads between Europe, Western Asia, South Asia, and East Asia. This volume has 6 parts, and Part I includes chapters on the subject of ecology. The first chapter presents the current status of vegetation of the dried bottom of the Aral Sea. The rate of regression of the coastal line of the Aral Sea for the period from 1965 to 2019 with 5-year intervals is discussed, and the primary communities and their succession determined. A map of the vegetation of the western part of the dried bottom was created with 27 plant communities belonging to 4 types of vegetation. Six prospective salt-tolerant species for the fixation of shifting sands on the dried bottom of the Aral Sea have been selected from the native flora. Chapter 2 deals with the role of grasslands in soil carbon storage, with a case study from the alpine grasslands of the Himalayas in northwestern Kashmir. The authors stress that more detailed studies emphasizing the importance of various environmental variables in affecting carbon storage in high alpine grasslands are vital in accentuating the significance of these grasslands. In addition, they suggest management practices to enhance their storage capacity, and therefore C sequestration. In Chap. 3, the importance of forests for soil, food, and climate security in Asia is evaluated, vii

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because there is a linking concept and great nexus among the healthy forests, better soil quality, and Food and Nutrition Security (FNS) under the ongoing global climate changes. This chapter stresses that a win-a-win strategic and effective policy is needed along with recent technology and research for better forest productivity, which is strongly linked to nation-building and development. Chapter 4 summarizes the facts on the vegetation of the Pamir-Alay mountainous system in Central Asia, which is treated botanically as an outpost of Tibetan flora, but belongs to the AfghanTurkestan botanical-­geographical province and Bactrian sub-province. One of the most unique vegetation types here is the relic gypsaceous florocenotype, with aggregates of ancient taxa belonging to endemic genera with an Afro-Arabian origin. The plant diversity and species distribution pattern across the Pir Panjal mountain forest range in the Western Himalayas is discussed in Chap. 5. The authors provide empirical data for developing scientifically informed policy tools for the effective conservation planning, management, and ecological restoration of human-modified forest landscapes in this Himalayan region. Chapter 6 deals with the ecology of Pakistani ferns and lycophytes. This chapter presents the latest information on the pteridophytes dominantly found phytogeographicaly in the Western Himalayan province. According to the authors, many areas need more thorough exploration and most of the materials require careful taxonomic and nomenclatural investigation. The ecological and taxonomical work on ferns is scanty, and a complete and updated list of ferns and lycophytes is still needed. The woody species diversity in the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas is discussed in Chap. 7. The dominant forests together with the mixed vegetation forest stand have been evaluated and plantations with highvalue timber species outside forests have been recommended in the region for carbon farming initiatives. In Chap. 8 phytogeographical classification of plants distributed in Swat, Pakistan, is evaluated. The authors recommend that Eastern and Western Himalayan elements need to be conserved because these are plants of narrow geographical distribution. Chapter 9 discusses the diversity of cyanobacteria in the thermal waters of Southwest India. Thermal springs are ecologically and biologically versatile habitats providing shelter for several microorganisms including cyanobacteria, which are well known as atmospheric nitrogen fixers. Biotechnological exploitation of these organisms in thermal habitats is of utmost importance. The Biodiversity and Freshwater Ecosystem Services in Hamzakot area of Mardan, Pakistan, have been presented in Chap. 10. The chapter will be helpful for researchers, agriculturists, horticulturists, conservationists, and environmental experts in the future management practices of aquatic ecosystems. An ecological evaluation of Parrotiopsis jacquemontiana in the Hindu Kush and the Himalayan ranges of Pakistan and its conservation status is conducted in Chap. 11. According to the authors, edaphic and environmental factors play an important role in the determination of vegetation structure, community formation, and its respective indicators. Chapter 12 summarizes the role of Chitral Gol National Park in maintaining and conserving plant diversity. It is recommended that conservational and management strategies should be developed inside the park region, and that local residents should be engaged in developmental programs. The Liakot Forests in Kalam, Swat District, Pakistan, and their floristics, conservation, sustainability, and ecological

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classification have been evaluated in Chap. 13. It is stressed that the whole area needs to be properly conserved together with its rare species, which will improve the conservation status of the precious plant wealth in the region. In Chap. 14 data on the plants and plant communities of the Kurram Valley, Pakistan, is investigated. The chapter presents an analysis of the plant diversity and community composition, using random sampling phytosociological techniques and contributes toward an understanding of the floral diversity, vegetation dynamics, and anthropogenic impacts, which can help in conservation and forest management. The spatial diversity, patterns of forest vegetation, and sustainability analysis of the Murree Mountains of the Western Himalayas have been presented in Chap. 15. The authors stress that vegetation is more affected by temperature, wind speed, relative humidity, and anthropogenic pressures, and that forests have deteriorated due to poor regeneration potential, leading toward a threat of eradication of endangered and endemic plants. The invasive plants are pushing the timberline upward. Phytosociological studies, economic values, and sustainable uses of Alnus nitida, a monophyletic species of the Western Himalayas and Hindu Kush region of the SinoJapanese belt of Pakistan, have been evaluated in Chap. 16. Certain species of South and Central Asia have been focused on individually. The plant commonly known as the Himalayan Alder has greatly declined throughout its habitat as a result of several anthropogenic activities. The study provides a baseline for further comprehensive studies on its molecular genetics, phytochemistry, sustainable use, and conservation priorities. In Chaps. 17 and 18, data on the vegetation diversity of the historical Ranikot Fort area in Pakistan and the surrounding graveyards as conservation spots of species diversity is presented. The authors have stressed that a very small number of trees are found around the Ranikot fortress. Acacia nilotica and Commiphora wightii are recorded as endangered tree species because only a few of these trees are left over due to their regular use by locals. This chapter states that low electrical conductivity, age of graveyards, higher chlorine concentration, low anthropogenic pressure, calcium-magnesium concentration, higher nitrogen, and sandy soils are the strong environmental variables playing a key role in graveyard plant cover, its associated indicators, and species dispersal patterns, which could be used further to initiate the role of climatic and edaphic factors, identification of indicator species, and conservation/management practices of other places. The last two chapters in this section include information on the environmental issues in the nexus of ecological poverty in Balochistan, Pakistan (Chap. 19), and urban greening toward sustainable development and sustainability (Chap. 20). The former mentions that the province has plentiful natural resources yet lacks necessary material items and is at the crossroads of environmental problems. Although there is enough money, there is no clean water to drink or clean air to breathe; there are environmental protection laws but implementation and follow-up is lacking. The latter sheds light on the fact that the urban setup is a major component of social, environmental, and climate change perspectives, especially in Asia. There is a need for proper assessment, monitoring, planning, and development of urban ecosystems and urban vegetation for a green future through public-private participation and a green policy framework.

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In Part II on plant diversity there are 6 chapters. A revision of the genus Allium in the flora of India followed by a taxonomical revision of the genus Allium in the flora of Central Asia have been summarized with a typification of nearly all taxa in Chap. 21, and 4 new combinations and 4 newly made lectotypes are presented in Chap. 22. Allium in the flora of India includes 41 species distributed under 10 subgenera and 23 sections, of which 6 species are cultivated as well. The flora of this region is rich, with approximately 10,000 taxa of vascular plants. Uzbekistan (with approximately 4500 species) occupies the central position in the region. It can be treated as one of the main centers of medicinal plant diversity because of its high percentage of local endemism. A preliminary checklist, phenology, and biological spectrum of the vascular flora of Manglot Wildlife Park, Pakistan, have been summarized in Chap. 23. The study is conducted on a seasonal basis to assess the multidimensional aspects of plant resources in this localized protected national park, for an easy prediction of the past flora and vegetation. Chapter 24 discusses the floristic inventory of ethnobotanically important plants of Dir-Pakistan. The area has a wealth of medicinal plants which are used by the people in their daily lives and could be of more importance if proper management practices were applied. The authors stress that the necessary steps for conservation and sustainability of the local flora should be taken on a priority basis. The data on the invasive alien species, an emerging challenge for the biodiversity of Pakistan, is presented in Chap. 25. These authors point out that invasive alien species are one of the leading threats to global biodiversity but that civil society is unaware of their detrimental effects. Based on first-hand information and field observations, the status of invasive plants in Pakistan and suggestions about their control and management have been discussed in this chapter. Chapter 26 deals with the vascular plant diversity of Changa Valley, Shangla, in the Hindu Kush Range, Pakistan, so as to document its plant diversity. The authors stress that there is an urgent need for awareness programs in the area for sustainable plant collection and conservation practices regarding the indigenous flora of the area. Information on animal diversity is covered in Part III with 5 contributions. The bee diversity of Pakistan is discussed at length in Chap. 27. Many crops benefit from insect pollination, which has a major impact on agricultural yield; however, the diversity of bees of different crops is still unexplored. The authors state that bee fauna includes almost all the families of hymenopterans. Several crops benefit from the natural fauna of non-Apis bees along with honeybees, and remarkable progress is being made toward commercial rearing of European bumblebees. The use of pesticides is considered as the major threat for bee populations. Severe yield losses have been noted due to decline in pollinator diversity in Pakistan. Chapter 28 summarizes the fish fauna of Kashmir and conservational measures for sustainable production; this region is rich in fishery resources, offering great potential for fish production for domestic consumption and export. The fish biodiversity is varying and mainly represented by Schizothoracine. All lakes and rivers of Kashmir play a major role in the social, cultural, and economic status of the valley. But due to overexploitation of natural resources following human interference, these water bodies have come under serious threat of depletion. Unabated pollution has resulted in

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decline of some native fish species from the water bodies. Pollution and degradation of aquatic resources is reported to be one of the major causes of decline in fish diversity and density. The anuran diversity in three landscapes of Kodagu Region of the Western Ghats of India is discussed in Chap. 29. In protected areas of high altitudinal range, unlike forests and agricultural landscapes, none of the biotic variables have been found to be dependent on the abiotic variables, which indicates the prevalence of hospitable conditions. Dependence of some biotic variables of anurans on abiotic variables in forests and agricultural lands predicts the selection pressure on anurans, tolerant or sensitive to a specific landscape. The topic of the Himalayan Ibex (Capra siberica hemalayanus) and its distribution, population structure, and conservation is covered in Chap. 30. This animal is reported to show a good distribution in the Western Himalayas, Trans-Himalayas, the Himalayan region of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, as well as Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Mongolia, and China. Their population and habitat are affected by predation pressure, winter duration, forage availability, and human activities together with illegal hunting, human disturbances, and habitat loss. Although this species is protected under the Wildlife Protection Act-1972, there is a need for stronger conservation measures. Chapter 31 presents the current status of bird life of Pakistan. There are 748 species distributed throughout the country. Currently, these are facing threats including persistent sprawl and development, housing settlements and agricultural expansion, introduction of invasive species, pollution, climate change, illegal hunting, and trapping for the pet trade. Parcelization and fragmentation for development and habitat conversion are creating isolated patches of habitats, making them less suitable by reducing productivity, ecological resilience, and sustainability, and ultimately leading to decline in the bird populations. Some species have become endangered, threatened, vulnerable, and even extinct. Agrodiversity is the topic of Part IV. There are six chapters. Chapter 32 discusses the topic of gummosis of stone fruit, an area which has engaged the interest of horticulturalists and botanists for over 100 years. The control of gummosis on branches and stone fruits is not easy because of its diverse, varied and indefinite etiology. The authors stress that “Rosaceae” gums characterize a prospective feedstock for both food and non-food applications. Agrobiodiversity, the effect of drought stress on eco-physiology and the morphology of wheat have been discussed in Chap. 33. The authors point out that the screening of wheat genotypes for drought stress is common, but still only limited information is available for diagnostic physiological and morphological parameters linked to improved yield under drought stress. They have evaluated the responses of five bread and synthetic wheat genotypes and have determined promising indicators in assessing wheat genotypes against drought tolerance. In Chap. 34 the topic covered is microgravity and its simulation, acceleration, and effects on plants in a case study on globally important agricultural crop rice. The chapter covers the responses of rice to the stimulus of microgravity and concludes with the future of microgravity research for space exploration programs. Fruit diversity in Kashmir is presented in Chap. 35. The contributors point out that the fruits are a part of biodiversity associated with the socio-economic development of

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Kashmiris. Kashmir is a pioneer in growing fruits endowed with natural advantages of topography and climate. The germplasm of fruit crops in the region holds important potential for the development of new varieties. The authors conclude that there is a great need for diversification of fruit crops with varieties through planned area expansion in order to make diverse fruits and varieties available for a longer part of the year. Weed vegetation in maize crops of the Shahbaz Garhi, Mardan District, with an emphasis on gradient of diversity and species composition, is evaluated in Chap. 36. It is stressed that farming practices such as lack of irrigation (rainfed), earlier sowing, and preceded crop are the main factors exerting an important influence in determining weed vegetation, its composition, the formation of weed communities, and their respective indicators. Chapter 37 deals with the management of mango hopper in mango agro-ecosystems as it is the most important commercial fruit in tropical and subtropical countries. It concludes with the finding that a combination of biological fauna such as entomopathogens, predators, parasitoids, and plant-based products such as neem oils facilitate insect pest management strategies and offer the best control. Chapter 38 deals with the wild morels of Pakistan and their environmental and trading status. It sheds light on the fact that the cultivation and production of morels is currently very limited in Pakistan, the reasons being deforestation, climate change, high temperatures, low moisture percentage, urbanization, and overgrazing, all adversely affecting the productivity of morels. Part V comprises 13 chapters on the topic of ethnobotany. The folkloric knowledge of plant species used by local communities in a protected area of the Kashmir Himalayas is summarized in Chap. 39. This chapter deals with the ethnobotanical knowledge of plants used by the traditional healers and tribal communities in Dachigam National Park in the Kashmir Himalayas. According to the authors, the open scrubs of the Kashmir Himalayas host significant medicinal plants, and traditional knowledge on local edibles is of great importance together with their conservation. Peganum harmala and its phytochemistry, traditional uses, and biological activities is presented in Chap. 40. The contributors have investigated the ethnopharmacological knowledge of this medicinal plant together with its botanical characterization and distribution, as well as providing a critical assessment of the phytochemical features and biological activities. In Chap. 41 the ethnomedicinal and cultural importance of Myrtus communis for the local communities living in the remote tribal district of Bajaur is evaluated. The authors have concluded that this plant plays a vital role in the treatment of various ailments, as well as in the religious and cultural ceremonies of the resident communities. Due to massive exploitation, the species faces a serious and alarming threat of extinction. Therefore, propagation and regeneration in its original habitat will be a positive and important step for its sustainability and conservation. Ethnobotany in Iran in a case study of Pas Qaleh village (Tehran) is discussed in Chap. 42. The impact of plants on the thoughts, stories, and folk science of the Pas Qaleh inhabitants is found to be considerable. The study has revealed the constant pressure imposed on the villagers, their environment, and their traditional way of life by rapid urbanization and the growing number of untrained eco-tourists. An overview of common medicinal plants of Central Asia is presented in Chap. 43. According to the contributors, nearly 600

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species of medicinal plants are used in Uzbekistan for the treatment of numerous diseases. Some endemic plants are used for the production of medicines at industrial scale but are at the same time prescribed by local hakims. In Chap. 44 diverse medicinal attributes of indigenous flora of Southwest India are presented. These authors stress that indigenous knowledge gained by the local people or tribes of a specific region over a long period will be of immense significance in future. They have discussed that several ethnic knowledge-based countries have a strong tradition to use specific plant species to fight against protein-energy malnutrition as well as lifestyle diseases like cancers, diabetes and cardiovascular. The genus Thymus in Iran and its related ethnobotany, phytochemical, molecular, and pharmacological features is discussed in Chap. 45. The chapter presents general information on these taxa with the aim of their sustainable evaluation in the country. The topic of Chap. 46 is systematic and medicinal uses of fern diversity in the Swat Valley, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. This study is an important contribution to the area of fern diversity and their medicinal uses for sustainable livelihood security in the area. In Chap. 47 the ethnodiversity of the moist temperate mountain forests of Ayubia National Park, Western Himalayas, Pakistan, is discussed. The moist temperate forest is famous for its conservational, scenic, and economic values. The chapter is important because the locals depend upon natural resources due to non-­availability of proper medical facilities in this area. In Chap. 48 the floristic diversity and ethnobotanical knowledge of Mahnoor Valley in the Himalayas of Pakistan is reviewed. The study highlights the diversity of plant species used by mountainous communities to meet healthcare needs. The authors stress that further botanical exploration is necessary to put in place the required protection measures for useful plants in particular endemics, those that are endangered, or those facing overexploitation. An overview of climate change and medicinal plants with examples from India is presented in Chap. 49. In this chapter the authors present the effects of climate change on medicinally important plants from India. Chapter 50 deals with the ethnobotany and sustainable utilization of plants in the Potohar Plateau, Pakistan. The data on the explorations presented here contribute toward an understanding of plant diversity in terms of ethnobotanical uses, which will help in conservation and management strategies and in sustaining national resources of an area, particularly from the perspective of anthropogenic impacts. The last chapter (51) in this part presents an overview of ethnobotany of Berberis lycium in Pakistan. All parts of the plant are of medicinal value, but in Pakistan root bark powder is taken in different forms orally. It shows antioxidant properties due to the presence of anthocyanins and tannins; further research is needed in the extraction, identification, and isolation of Berberine as an active compound using root bark. The last part (VI) of this volume includes 5 environment-related chapters covering the topics such as brick kilns and their types, emissions, environmental impacts, and remedial measures (Chap. 52); air pollutant emissions in the pristine Kashmir valley from the brick kilns (Chap. 53); a new approach within the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) framework for prioritization of air quality management in Kashmir (Chap. 54); a compendium of road transport emission inventory for Srinagar in Kashmir (Chap. 55), and post-­soviet Kazakhstan and its civil service reforms,

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opportunities, and challenges (Chap. 56). All these chapters are expected to prove helpful for policymakers in designing appropriate measures. The book includes chapters from socio-cultural-driven geo-botanical units of South and Central Asia in order to enhance the interest and ambitions of all stakeholders for a holistic approach to the region in their future activities and research studies. Izmir, Turkey Islamabad, Pakistan Antakya-Hatay, Turkey Istanbul, Turkey Tashkent, Uzbekistan Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Münir Öztürk Shujaul Mulk Khan Volkan Altay Recep Efe Dilfuza Egamberdieva Furkat O. Khassanov

Acknowledgment

The editorial team is highly indebted to their actively working colleagues from South and Central Asia, who were kind enough to collaborate with us. We owe our deepest gratitude for their full cooperation and support as they had to wait patiently for our submission procedure. The motivation from Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services mail messages inspired us greatly to work on this book. The editors would like to express their special thanks to them. The success in the preparation of this volume depended largely on the encouragement from the Springer team who collaborated with us; therefore, our greatest appreciation goes to them.

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Contents

Part I Ecology 1 Current Status of Vegetation of the Dried Bottom of the Aral Sea��������������������������������������������������������������������������     3 Khabibullo Shomurodov, Tashkhanim Rakhimova, Bekhzod Adilov, and Natalya Beshko 2 Role of Grasslands in Soil Carbon Storage: Case Study from Alpine Grasslands of North-Western Kashmir Himalaya������������������������������    23 Javaid M. Dad and Malik Zubair Ahmad 3 The Importance of Forest for Soil, Food, and Climate Security in Asia����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������    33 Abhishek Raj, Manoj Kumar Jhariya, and Nahid Khan 4 The Vegetation of the Pamir-Alay Mountainous System in Middle Asia����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������    53 Furkat O. Khassanov, Orzimat Turginov, Uktam Khudzhanazarov, and Mukaddas Tirkasheva 5 Plant Diversity and Species Distribution Pattern Across the Pir Panjal Mountain Forest Range in the Western Himalayas����������������    67 Shiekh Marifatul Haq, Insha Khan, Zubair A. Malik, and Bikarma Singh 6 The Ecology of Pakistani Ferns and Lycophytes��������������������������������    85 Syed Nasar Shah, Mushtaq Ahmad, and Shujahul Mulk Khan 7 Woody Species Diversity in the Foot Hills of Eastern Himalayas ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������   103 Gopal Shukla, Prakash Rai, Jahangeer A. Bhat, and Sumit Chakravarty

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8 Phytogeography of Plants Distributed in the Jambil Valley, Swat District, Pakistan; a revisit for evaluating vegetation of the region��������������������������������������������������������������������������   121 Shahzada Azizullah Khan, Shujaul Mulk Khan, Zahid Ullah, Malak Zada, Ujala Ejaz, and Naveed Alam 9 Diversity of Cyanobacteria in Thermal Water Bodies of Southwest India���������������������������������������������������������������������������������   149 Kodandoor Sharathchandra, Kandikere R. Sridhar, and Madaiah Rajashekhar 10 Biodiversity and Freshwater Ecosystem Services: A Case Study of the Hamzakot Area of Mardan, Pakistan��������������������   163 Khadija Rehman, Syed Mukaram Shah, Lal Badshah, and Abdullah 11 Ecological Evaluation of Parrotiopsis jacquemontiana in the Hindu Kush and Himalayan Ranges of Pakistan and Its Conservation Status������������������������������������������������������������������   181 Fazal Manan, Zahoor Ul Haq, Saqib Kamran, and Majid Iqbal 12 Role of Chitral Gol National Park in Maintaining and Conserving Plant Diversity of the Region������������������������������������   199 Sanam Asmat, Shujaul Mulk Khan, Zeeshan Ahmad, Fazal Manan, Rubina Noor, Iftikhar Uz Zaman, and Abdullah 13 Liakot Forests in Kalam, District Swat, Pakistan: Floristics, Conservation, Sustainability, and Ecological Classification��������������   219 Sohail Anwar, Fatima Abid, Iram Noreen, Naveed Alam, and Zahid Ullah 14 Plants and Plant Communities of the Kurram Valley, Pakistan��������   241 Murtaza Hussain, Zeeshan Ahmad, Majid Iqbal, Batool Zuhra, Sana Rasheed, and S. M. Khan 15 Spatial Diversity, Patterns of Forest Vegetation, and Sustainability Analysis of the Murree Mountains of Western Himalayas����������������   267 Amjad Rahman, Esra Gürbüz, Jiquan Chen, and Semih Ekercin 16 Phytosociological Studies, Economic Value, and Sustainable Use of Alnus nitida: A Monophyletic Species of the Western Himalayas and Hindu Kush Region of the Sino-Japanese Belt of Pakistan ������������������������������������������������������������   287 Zahoor ul Haq, Sana Rasheed, Fazal Manan, Saqib Kamran, Syed Afzal Shah, and Habib Ahmad 17 Vegetation Diversity of Ranikot Fort Area, Sindh, Pakistan�������������   309 Nabila Shah Jillani

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18 Graveyards-Conservation Spots of Species Diversity: Case Study from the North Western Area of Pakistan ������������������������������������������   319 Saqib Kamran, Shujaul Mulk Khan, Abdul Rehman, Zahoor ul Haq, Faizan Ullah, Murtaza Hussain, Hussain Badshah, and Zeeshan Ahmad 19 Environmental Issues in Nexus to Ecological Poverty in Balochistan, Southwest Province of Pakistan������������������������������������������������������������   337 Shaista Anjum, Zahoor Ahmed Bazai, and Tayyaba Naeem 20 Urban Greening Toward Sustainable Development and Sustainability������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   345 Nahid Khan, Manoj Kumar Jhariya, and Abhishek Raj Part II Plant Diversity 21 Revision of the Genus Allium L. (Amaryllidaceae) in the Flora of India������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   377 Furkat O. Khassanov and Ziyoviddin Yussupov 22 A Taxonomical Revision of Genus Allium L. (Amaryllidaceae) in the Flora of Middle Asia��������������������������������������������������������������������   403 Furkat O. Khassanov and Ziyoviddin Yussupov 23 A Preliminary Checklist, Phenology, and Biological Spectrum of the Vascular Flora of Manglot Wildlife Park, Nizampur, Pakistan��������   435 Akhtar Zaman, Lal Badshah, Abdul Razzaq, and Usman Ali 24 Floristic Inventory of Ethnobotanically Important Plants of Thangy Dara District Dir Lower Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan������������������������������������������������������������������������   447 Shakil Ahmad Zeb, Nadeem Ahmad, Abdul Rahman, and Farman Ullah 25 Invasive Alien Species: An Emerging Challenge for the Biodiversity��������������������������������������������������������������������������������   459 Raees Khan, I. M. Iqbal, Asad Ullah, Zahid Ullah, and Shujahul Mulk Khan 26 Vascular Plant Diversity of Changa Valley, District Shangla, Hindu Kush Range, Pakistan����������������������������������������������������������������   473 Abdul Razzaq, A. Rashid, Habib Ahmad, Asad Ullah, M. Islam, and Usman Ali Part III Animal Diversity 27 Bee Diversity of Pakistan����������������������������������������������������������������������   487 Shafqat Saeed

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28 Fish Fauna of Kashmir Valley and Their Conservational Measures for Sustainable Fish Production������������������������������������������   521 Sauliheen Qadri 29 Anuran Diversity in Three Landscapes of Kodagu Region of the Western Ghats of India��������������������������������������������������   529 Muthunaidu P. Krishna, Kanale S. Sreepada, and Kandikere R. Sridhar 30 Himalayan Ibex (Capra sibirica hemalayanus): Distribution, Population Structure, and Conservation����������������������   549 Sheikh Mansoor, Mudasir A. Mir, Ambreen Hamadani, Ammarah Hami, Javid Iqbal Mir, and Nighat Un Nissa 31 Current Status of the Bird Life of Pakistan����������������������������������������   561 Muhammad Nawaz Rajpar Part IV Agrodiversity 32 Gummosis of Stone Fruit����������������������������������������������������������������������   581 Rafiya Mushtaq, Sumaira Jan, M. K. Sharma, and R. H. S. Raja 33 Agrobiodiversity: Effect of Drought Stress on the Eco-physiology and Morphology of Wheat�����������������������������������������   597 Abdul Salam, Ahmad Ali, Muhammad Siddique Afridi, Shahab Ali, and Zahid Ullah 34 Microgravity—Simulation, Acceleration, and Effects on Plants: Case Study on Globally Important Agricultural Crop Rice��������������   619 Sameen Ruqia Imadi, Tayyaba Yasmin, and Alvina Gul 35 Fruit Diversity in Kashmir��������������������������������������������������������������������   637 Mohammed Tauseef Ali, Mudasir Hafiz Khan, Umar Iqbal, Sheikh Mehraj, Jahangeer Ahmad Baba, and Munir Ozturk 36 Weed Vegetation in Maize Crop of the Shahbaz Garhi, District Mardan; Gradient of Diversity and Species Composition������������������������������������������������������������������������������   657 Zeeshan Ahmad, Murtaza Hussain, Muhammad Iqbal, Shah Khalid, Habib Ahmad, and Shujaul Mulk Khan 37 Management of Mango Hopper, in Mango (Mangifera indica L.) Agroecosystems Through Different Ways��������������������������������������������   681 Zul norain Sajid, Muhammad Ramzan, and Shah Khalid 38 Wild Morels in Pakistan: Environmental and Trading Statues��������   691 Hussain Badshah, Abdul Samad Mumtaz, Ishtiaq Hussain, Barkat Ali, Javed Iqbal, and Shahab Ali

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Part V Ethnobotany 39 Folkloric Knowledge of Plant Species Used by Local Communities in a Protected Area of Kashmir Himalayas ����������������������������������������   705 Arif Yaqoob, D. P. Singh, Mohammad Yunus, G. A. Bhat, Gopal Shukla, Jahangeer A. Bhat, and Shiva Pokhrel 40 Peganum harmala: Phytochemistry, Traditional Uses, and Biological Activities������������������������������������������������������������������������   721 N. Z. Mamadalieva, M. L. Ashour, and N. A. Mamedov 41 Ethnomedicinal and Cultural Importance of Myrtus communis L. for the Local Communities Living in the Remote Tribal District of Bajaur ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������   745 Farman Ullah, Kishwar Ali, Abdullah, Mohammad Nisar, Muhammad Aisf, and Hussain Shah 42 A Case Study of Ethnobotany in Iran: Pas-Qaleh Village of North Tehran ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   763 Manijeh Maghsudi and Sepideh Parsapajouh 43 An Overview of Common Medicinal Plants of Middle Asia��������������   785 Olim K. Khojimatov and Furkat O. Khassanov 44 Diverse Medicinal Attributes of Indigenous Flora of Southwest India��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   797 Mundamoole Pavithra, Kandikere R. Sridhar, and Kakekochi Keshavachandra 45 Genus Thymus in Iran—Ethnobotany, Phytochemical, Molecular, and Pharmacological Features��������������������������������������������������������������   817 Zohreh Emami Bistgani, Nazim Mamedov, and Mohamed Lotfy Ashour 46 Systematic and Medicinal Uses of Fern Diversity in Swat Valley, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan����������������������������������������������������������   849 Usman Ali, Abdur Rashid, Abdul Razzaq, Akhtar Zaman, Wisal Muhammad Khan, and Malak Zada 47 Ethnobotanical diversity of Moist Temperate Mountain Forests: A Case Study from Ayubia National Park, Western Himalayas, Pakistan������������������������������������������������������������������������������   857 Sabina Nazakat Abdullah, Kainat Fatima Malik, Rubina Noor, Muhammad Arif, and Waqas Khan 48 Floristic Diversity and Ethnobotanical Knowledge of Manoor Valley in the Himalayas of Pakistan��������������������������������������   873 Inayat Ur Rahman, Aftab Afzal, Niaz Ali, Zulfiqar, and Farhana Ijaz

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49 Climate Change and Medicinal Plants in India: An Overview ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   887 Shyamasree Ghosh, Nilanjana Roy, Shraddhanjali Behera, and Waliza Ansar 50 Ethnobotany and Sustainable Utilization of Plants in the Potohar Plateau, Pakistan������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   911 Fatima Abid, Rabia Afza, and Ghazala Mustafa 51 An Overview of Ethnobotany of Berberis lycium Royle in Pakistan   931 Syeda Maria Fiaz Bukhari and Ghazanfar Ali Part VI Other 52 Brick Kilns: Types, Emissions, Environmental Impacts, and their Remedial Measures ��������������������������������������������������������������   945 Hamaad Raza Ahmad, Zia Ur Rahman Farooqi, Muhmmmad Sabir, and Muhammad Fahad Sardar 53 Air Pollutant Emissions in the Pristine Kashmir Valley from the Brick Kilns���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   959 Mansoor Ahmad Bhat and Eftade O. Gaga 54 A New Approach Within AHP Framework for Prioritization of Air Quality Management in Kashmir����������������������������������������������   981 Mansoor Ahmad Bhat, Eftade O. Gaga, and Aysun Özkan 55 Compendium of a Road Transport Emission Inventory for Srinagar City of Kashmir����������������������������������������������������������������   997 Mansoor Ahmad Bhat and Eftade O. Gaga 56 Post-Soviet Kazakhstan: Civil Service Reforms, Opportunities, and Challenges ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  1013 Mehmet Arslan, Timur Dadabaev, and Bakdaulet Akyn 57 Biodiversity of Indicator Biocenoses of Lotic Ecosystems of the Aral Sea Basin, Central Asia, Used in Hydrobiological Monitoring����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  1031 B. K. Karimov and V. N. Talskikh Index����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  1063

About the Editors

Münir  Öztürk  holds Ph.D. and D.Sc. degrees from Ege University, Turkey, and has served at the same university for 50  years in different positions. He is currently Vice President of the Islamic World Academy of Sciences. Has received fellowships from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, and the National Science Foundation of the USA. He served as chairman of the Botany Department and founding director of the Centre for Environmental Studies, Ege University; as consultant fellow, Faculty of Forestry, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia; and as distinguished visiting scientist, the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, Karachi University, Pakistan. His fields of scientific interest are plant ecophysiology, medicinal and aromatic plants, conservation of plant diversity, biosaline agriculture and crops, pollution, and biomonitoring. He has published nearly 50 books, over 80 book chapters, and 200 papers in journals, and has served as guest editor for more than 10 journals. Shujaul  Mulk  Khan  PhD, is currently serving as Assistant Professor of Plant Sciences in the Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad, Pakistan. He is member of Pakistan Academy of Sciences and General Secretory of Pakistan Society for Conservation Biology. He is also a visiting Faculty of the University of Gastronomic Sciences, Italy. He served Hazara University Mansehra for more than 9 years as Lecturer of Botany. He received various awards during his academic career, including best thesis award in his PhD from University of Leicester UK.  He has been in the Editorial Board of various journals including the Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicines. He has been reviewer of dozens of journals. He has published xxiii

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2 books, 11 book chapters and 108 research papers in Impact Factors’ journals. He has been in the top 50 young productive Scientists of Pakistan under the age of 40 years. He supervised 7 PhDs and 60 MPhil students in this young age. He achieved numbers of research projects and travel grants. He participated/presented in more than 100 international and national conferences and academic events. He also achieved various national and international awards. He has been member of numbers of social welfare groups and Literacy societies. Volkan  Altay  is Professor of Ecology and Environmental Sciences at the Hatay Mustafa Kemal University, Turkey. His fields of scientific interest are plant ecology, vegetation ecology, taxonomy, biodiversity, biomonitoring, evaluation of natural medicinal resources using both taxonomy and molecular analysis, plant inventory, and sustainable use of medicinal plant resources. He has a proven track record of nearly 80 research publications in highly reputed journals, has published 2 books with Springer, along with many reviews, and has contributed to numerous international conferences and seminars. Recep Efe  holds Ph.D. and D.Sc. degrees. He has over 200 publications and more than 120 papers in national and international journals, and has authored and co-­ authored/edited 600 books and 18 book chapters in Turkish and English. He has organized and chaired 18 national and international conferences. He is a member of the International Geographical Union, the Association of American Geographers, the International Association of Geomorphologists, the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS-6648), the Balkan Geographical Association, and the Turkish Geographical Association. He is on the editorial board of several national and international journals. Dilfuza Egamberdieva  is Head of Research Group at the National University of Uzbekistan and Research Associate at the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research, Germany. She has a PhD in Agricultural Sciences from Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany. She has conducted research on plant and soil microbiome, plant microbe interactions, biofertilizers, biological control, and plant nutrition, with postdoctoral studies at the Helsinki University of Finland, University of Florence, Manchester

About the Editors

xxv

Metropolitan University, and Leiden University, the Netherlands. She is a member of the editorial boards of several journals, has authored 5 books and co-authored over 150 publications. She received the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Young Scientist Award in 2003, the UNESCO-Man and Biosphere Award in 2005, the L’OREAL-UNESCO Fellowship for Women in Science in 2006, the American Society of Microbiology ASM Morrison Rogosa Award in 2006, the TWAS-TWOWS-SCOPUS Young Women Research Award in 2009, and the TWAS Award in Agricultural Sciences in 2013. She is an elected member of the Global Young Academy, and a member of the American Society of Microbiology and the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World. In 2018, she was appointed to serve on the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition, and the science-policy interface of the UN Committee on World Food Security (2018–2019). Furkat  O.  Khassanov  studied at Tashkent State University (1976–1981), and has been working at the Institute of Botany, Academy of Sciences, Uzbekistan, for the last 38 years. He is a leading researcher and professor at the National Herbarium at the same institute. He has received grants from Soros Foundation, Mellon Foundation, USAID, and others. His fields of scientific interest are plant taxonomy and floristics. He has published 7 books (including 2 editions of Red Data Book of Uzbekistan, Conspectus Florae Asiae Mediae) and more than 120 papers in journals with significant impact factors, conference proceedings at national and international level, as well as other journals.

Part I

Ecology

Chapter 1

Current Status of Vegetation of the Dried Bottom of the Aral Sea Khabibullo Shomurodov, Tashkhanim Rakhimova, Bekhzod Adilov, and Natalya Beshko

1.1  Introduction The Aral Sea has become a complex issue at global level, covering a wide range of questions. As a result of extensive irrigation, one of the largest inland seas in the world is constantly desiccating since the year 1960. This situation has led to disastrous changes in the entire environmental and socioeconomic situation of the Aral Sea region. During the last 50 years, the water volume has got reduced by more than 90 percent, and the sea surface area has shrunk more than 80 percent, and water salinity in the southern part of Aral Sea has increased by more than 1000 percent (Breckle et al. 2001; Micklin 2007). The level of this inland sea has decreased by more than 26 m by the end of 2009. Water salinity has reached more than 200 g/l (Mustafaeva et  al. 2011). The desiccation of this “inland sea” has resulted in an increase in the area of Kyzylkum Desert by 4 million hectares. It has got divided into several parts and ceased to exist as a single water body. Study of dynamics of vegetation and landscapes is a part of environmental monitoring in the Aral Sea region. For this purpose we need to create a network of permanent monitoring plots and profiles. Vegetation is one of the most sensitive indicators of environmental changes (Egamberdieva and Ozturk 2018). Regular field botanical surveys combined with the analysis of up-to-date satellite imagery can be a good basis for monitoring of the natural ecosystems. Many workers have mapped the vegetation and landscapes of the dried bottom of the Aral Sea and studied their formation and succession. The mapping of vegetation was carried out mainly in the northern part of its dried bottom and certain sites in the south (Kes 1969; Wucherer 1979; Kurochkina and Kuznetsov 1986; Gryaznova 1990; Rafikov 1998; Ashurbekov et al. 2002; Wucherer and Brekle 2003; Kuzmina et al. 2006a, b; Dimeeva 2010, 2011a, b). Novitsky (1997) has identified and mapped K. Shomurodov (*) · T. Rakhimova · B. Adilov · N. Beshko Institute of Botany, Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Uzbekistan © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 M. Öztürk et al. (eds.), Biodiversity, Conservation and Sustainability in Asia, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73943-0_1

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18 plant associations on the dried bottom of the Sea, in accordance with dominant species. He reported that the largest area includes the lands without vegetation; but the plant cover-forming groups include Tamarix, Haloxylon, Salicornia-Suaeda, and Atriplex-Salsola communities (31.7%). Kamalov et al. (2001) have studied the vegetation of dried bottom of Rybachie bay of Aral Sea and have drawn a large-scale map. On the territory of 162,000 ha, these researchers distinguished 43 associations belonging to 11 formations and 4 types of vegetation. Wucherer and Brekle (2003) described the following four stages of primary succession in the southeastern shore of this Sea: a stage of the annual halo-psammophytes, or Atriplex fominii stage; Haloxylon aphyllum and Nitraria schoberi stage on littoral saline areas with superficial sandy cover; stage of grasses (Stipagrostis pennata); and stage of psammophilous shrubs. On sandy areas, the authors distinguished three stages of succession  – a stage of the annual halo-­ psammophytes, stage of grasses, and stage of psammophilous shrubs. Discussing the mechanisms of succession, the authors stated that the stages of succession can be different and have a stochastic character. However, intensification of aeolian processes and increase in the relief-forming role of plants determine the dynamics of ecosystems in the later stages of succession. Studies have also been devoted on the fixation of moving sands during the vegetation mapping on the drained bottom of Aral Sea. The processes of the soil blowing and the carryover of salts and formation of moving sands depend on the level of substrate fixing. The phyto-reclamation in this region, especially the sandy areas, takyr, and residue saline marshlands in the former sea bed, is extremely important. For creation of artificial phytocoenoses in the dried bottom of Aral  Sea, native drought- and salt-resistant species well adapt to the local soil-climatic conditions. These should be used. Many projects have been devoted to the fixation of moving sands formed on the dried bed of the Aral Sea (Novitsky 1997; Kamalov et al. 2001). The authors studied issues of creation of protective forest stands and phyto-­ reclamation of saline marshlands on its bottom. Introduction of halophytes into culture and creation of plantations of these plants on saline lands can provide an additional source of fodder and oil-bearing and medicinal plants. Our research focused on the analysis of rate of regression of the coastal line and succession of vegetation in the western part of Aral Sea (Uzbek part). We also mapped the vegetation along several profiles and selected some perspective phytoameliorants for fixing the moving sands on its drained bottom.

1.2  Data Evaluation Aral Sea in the past was a huge closed saline lake lying in Central Asia, and the fourth largest inland water body in the world (Fig. 1.1). Its volume, size, and quality of water were dependent critically on the flow of two major rivers, the Amu Darya (2600  km in length and draining 692,300  km2) and the Syr Darya (2212  km in length and draining 493,000 km2). Like other drainless water bodies, the surface and

1  Current Status of Vegetation of the Dried Bottom of the Aral Sea

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Fig. 1.1  Study area: (a) Republic of Uzbekistan; (b) the Uzbek part of the Aral region; (c) location profiles PM1 and PM2 and field experiments site (ES)

volume of the Aral Sea are determined by the balance between the inflow of water and evaporation (Micklin 2002). The water balance of Aral Sea was disrupted, and irreversible alterations in its regime took place escalating into one of the “largest ecological disasters of the 20th century.” During the last five decades, its progressive degradation has been observed. The sea has shrunk in size from 66,100 km2 (in 1961) to 10,400 km2 (in 2008), its volume has decreased from 1066 to 110 km3, the sea level dropped by 24 m, and salinity (mineralization) rose from 10 to 116 ppt and about 160 ppt in the western and eastern Large Aral Sea, respectively. The decrease in area was mainly in its shallow eastern part (3200 km2): in 2008 the area there was for the first time less than that of the western part (4000 km2) (Fig. 1.1) (Kostianoy and Kosarev 2010). The climate of the region is in general moderate and strongly continental with great amplitudes of seasonal and daily fluctuations of air temperatures and precipitation. The region has a flat terrain, and therefore it is open to the intrusion of cold air from the north and northeast via Western Siberia. Aral  Sea is located in the “heart” of Eurasia, quite far from the oceans which results in the lower concentration of water vapor in the atmosphere and, consequently, less precipitation. Due to aridity of the climate, prevailing landscape forms around the Aral Sea are semideserts and deserts (Anonymous 2017). The climate of the region reveals that radiation plays a key role, especially referring to the warm period. Due to the clear weather, the incoming solar radiation flux is so strong that other climatic factor like atmospheric circulation makes only a minor contribution. Annual duration of sunshine is as high as 3000  h, which is 65–70% of the possible, and this factor is greater than even the Mediterranean and California which are located on the same latitude (Kostianoy and Kosarev 2010). An increase in the mean daily temperature above 0 °C occurs in the late March over its whole coast. In the north negative temperatures are recorded in the first part of November and in the south first part of December. The daily air temperatures start increasing with the onset of spring: it is above 5 °C everywhere in late March–early April. In autumn the temperature barrier (5 °C) is overcome around late September in the northern part of the sea and in the second week of December on the southern coast. The frost-free period lasts 220 days in the north and 260 days in the south of

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the region. The high values of radiation balance and slightly cloudy weather, cold air warms up rather quickly, and spatial contrasts of temperature over the sea become smooth, mean monthly values lie between 26–28 °C over the whole seashore. In autumn weather in Aral Sea region may remain warm for a longer time because of the prevailing anticyclonic action. Quite often the winter comes very quickly, accompanied by a sharp decrease in the temperature. Mean annual air temperature is positive varying from +7 °C in the north to +10 °C in the south of the region (Kostianoy and Kosarev 2010). The coastal line of Aral Sea is characterized by scanty atmospheric precipitation. Main humidifying factor is the Atlantic air masses, which get desiccated while moving inside the continent or fail to reach Aral Sea area. The cold season is rather dry, and there is an intrusion of cold and dry Arctic air masses or the air masses formed over the continent. In summer the condensation level in the hot air is so high that no convectional precipitation occurs. Atmospheric fronts are the main reason for precipitation in this region. The characteristics of monthly means of various probability become very important; annual precipitation in the region reaches 90–120 mm, and over the basin as well as in the middle and upper streams of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, precipitation tends to increase to 150–200 mm/year but is more in the mountainous regions (Kostianoy and Kosarev 2010). Uzbek part of Aral Sea is bounded by the Ustyurt Plateau in the west, Kazakhstan in the north, the Kyzylkum Desert in the east, and Turkmenistan in the south. The site selected for field experiments is situated to the east of the settlement Kazakhdarya (55–60 km) beyond Lake Zhiltirbas, on the bed of the former bay Zhiltirbas of the Aral Sea (the Aralkum Desert), in Muynak district of Karakalpakstan. The territory is a plain with a general inclination from south to the north. This open territory is covered with sand, silt, and clayey marine sediments, which are currently overlaid with aeolian marine sands formed under the effect of northeastern winds. The climate is continental arid with a wide range of seasonal and daily temperature fluctuations, low precipitation (11  mm) a year, and a significant dryness in summer. Winters (December–February) are moderately soft, with little snow. Air temperature is 2–5 °C in the daytime and 7–13 °C at night (the lowest temperature was recorded as −34 °C). The total number of days with snow is below 30 per season. In spring (March–April), the air temperature is 7–16  °С in the daytime and 3–9 °С at night. Precipitations occur in the form of short pouring rains. The weather is unstable and warm days may be replaced by cold ones. The summer (May– September) is dry and hot. There is no precipitation from July to September. The air temperature is 25–30  °С in the daytime (maximum 43–45  °С) and 12–18  °С at night. Autumn (October–November) is dry, mainly clear weather. The temperature in the daytime is 7–16 °С and +4 °С−3 °С at night. Eastern and northeastern winds prevail during the year, with velocity usually reaching 3–5  m/s (Anonymous 1960–2019). The vegetation map of the dried bottom of the Aral Sea has been created using the data of the traditional geobotanical field surveys and remote sensing techniques (Gribova and Isachenko 1972; Vyshivkin 1977). Descriptions of plant communities have been performed on the sample plots of 100 m2 with the standard method used

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in CIS countries (Field Geobotany 1964, 1972). The vegetation mapping process was organized in three stages, in accordance with the standard procedure: initial analysis of satellite data and compilation of draft map, field research, and compilation of final map based on the precise field data (Rachkovskaya 2000; Grummo 2014). Two profiles (or transects) designated as PM1 and PM2 were laid in the western part of the dried bottom of the Aral Sea from the Tiger’s Tail Cape to the current shoreline to study the succession (Fig. 1.1). For an analysis of the long-term dynamics of vegetation indexes, satellite images from Landsat 4, 5, 7, and 8 taken in July of 1970–2019 were used by us (www. earthexplorer.usgs.gov). Transformed Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index (TSAVI) has been calculated as follows: TSAVI = (s*(NIR − s*RED − a)/(a*NIR + RED − a*s + X (1 + s2)) where NIR is pixel values from the near-infrared band, RED pixel values from the red band, s the soil line slope (0.08), a the soil line intercept, and X an adjustment coefficient that is set to minimize soil noise (Baret and Guyot 1991). Classification of satellite images has been performed using ArcGIS 10.5 and SAGA 7.3 software. Statistical analyses were done using the program PAST ver. 3.2. The following native species were selected for the moving sand fixing experiment: Nitraria schoberi, Salsola richteri, Krascheninnikovia ewersmanniana, Artemisia ferganensis, and Calligonum caput-medusae. Seeds of these plants were collected from the natural populations in the Kyzylkum Desert. Seedlings were obtained for further transplantation to the experimental site in plastic containers with sand in the greenhouse of the Tashkent Botanical Garden.

1.3  Observations In the field survey and the interpretation of satellite images, the following ecotopes have been identified along the profile PM1: massifs of hilly sands on the saline depressions along the indigenous shores, saline wavy-hilly sands, saline hilly aeolian sands (Fig. 1.2a), Barkhan dunes (crescent-shaped dunes) (Fig. 1.2b), crusted solonchaks (Fig.  1.2c), puffed solonchaks, exposed relict bedrock hills, flattened wet saline sandy coastal banks along the seashore (Fig.  1.2e), and areas flooded with wastewater (Fig. 1.2f). The largest area in the northern part of the profile is occupied by the crusted and puffed solonchaks with solitary individuals of Atriplex fominii, Bassia hyssopifolia, Climacoрtera aralensis, Suaeda crassifolia, Tamarix hispida, Eremosparton aphyllum, and Phragmites australis which occur only on aeolian sandy hills. Analyzing the primary succession process covering the period 1990–2019, we calculated TSAVI and recognized the following ten classes distinguishable by spectral features: the water surface (1), swamps (2), salt marshes (3), puffed solonchaks (4), areas suitable for vegetation (5), and areas with very low (6), low (7), medium

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Fig. 1.2  Natural-territorial complexes of the dried bottom of the Aral Sea

(8), high (9), and very high aboveground biomass (10) (Fig. 1.3). The areas with different biomass density and their temporal dynamics are summarized in Table 1.1. Along the profile PM2, eight ecotopes were identified during our evaluation. The difference from the first transect is that the Barkhan dunes and bedrock hills are absent but there is 4–5-km-wide strip of swamps along the seashore. Large areas along the indigenous shores are covered with forest plantations (Fig. 1.4). Plantations of Haloxylon aphyllum, Salsola richteri, and Calligonum caput-medusae occupy 530 hectares on the left side of the profile PM2, and 4200 hectares on the right side is covered with plantations of these species created in 2003. These areas were plowed, and the coastline was broken; the natural process of development of all components of the biotope and the course of vegetational succession were disrupted here.

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Fig. 1.3  The dynamics of the formation of plant biomass on the dried bottom of the Aral Sea (1970–2019). Top left: the state of the Aral Sea in 1970–1973. Degree of classification of the scale (from dark blue to red): 1, water surface; 2, swamps; 3, salt marshes; 4, puffed solonchaks; 5, areas suitable for vegetation; 6, areas with very low biomass; 7, areas with low biomass; 8, areas with medium biomass; 9, areas with high biomass; 10, areas with very high biomass

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Table 1.1  Areas with different biomass density on the dried bottom of the Aral Sea (thousand hectares)

Years 1990 2000 2010 2015 2019

Areas suitable for vegetation 369,477 822,301 1,005,706 1,115,867 1,747,504

Areas with very low biomass 234,398 517,026 1,119,994 1,699,999 1,009,852

Areas with low biomass 22,322 48,642 433,832 773,850 256,314

Areas with medium biomass 1398 10,687 102,307 188,361 35,309

Areas with high biomass 341 1506 7751 15,162 1925

Areas with very high biomass 257 173 413 459 560

Fig. 1.4  Forest plantations of the Haloxylon aphyllum

Using the satellite imagery, we evaluated the rate of regression of the coastal line of Aral Sea along the profiles PM1 and PM2 from 1965 to the present time with 5-year intervals. In 1965–2005, the coastline retreated along the profile PM1 at a rate of 2.5 to 20 km. Maximum rates of 4–5 km per year were observed in 1980–1985 (Table 1.2). Along both profiles, 66 species of vascular plants from 12 families and 42 genera were recorded. Among these dominant families were Chenopodiaceae (20 species), Poaceae (9), Asteraceae (7), Polygonaceae, and Fabaceae (5 species each). The remaining families are represented by less than five species. In the flora of study area, 26 species are perennials, 21 are shrubs, and 19 are annuals.

1.4  Concluding Remarks 1.4.1  T  he Dynamics of the Formation of Plant Biomass on the Dried Bottom of the Aral Sea According to Dimeyeva (2015), the desiccation of the Aral Sea is accompanied by the restructurization of all ecosystems and vegetation formation (Table 1.1, Fig. 1.5). The main trend is toward a continuous increase in the areas suitable for vegetation.

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Table 1.2  The rate of regression of the coastal line and succession of plant communities along the profiles PM1 and PM2 Max rate of regression of the coastal line, km Polygon no Years PM1 PM2 PM1 PM2 1960– 2.5 ± 0.20 5.0 ± 0.10 8, 8, 13 1965 13, 18

1965– 1970

5.0 ± 0.10

Plant communities PM1 Haloxylon aphyllum, Bassia hyssopifolia, Climacoptera aralensis, Atriplex fominii, and plantations of Haloxylon aphyllum 5.0 ± 0.15 14, 22 1, Tamarix hispida, T. 14, 15 ramosissima, Phragmites australis

1970– 15.0 ± 0.15 10.0 ± 0.10 14, 1975 22, 17, 22

1975– 10.0 ± 0.15 10.0 ± 0.20 14, 1980 17, 22

1980– 20.0 ± 0.15 20.0 ± 0.30 13, 1985 19, 22

1985– 1990

2.5 ± 0.10

2.5 ± 0.15 13, 22

1990– 1995

5.0 ± 0.15 15.0 ± 0.10 22

PM2 Tamarix hispida, Phragmites australis

Tamarix hispida, Bassia hyssopifolia, Climacoptera aralensis, Atriplex fominii Bassia hyssopifolia, Tamarix hispida, T. 16, Climacoptera ramosissima, 14, 17, 22 Phragmites australis, aralensis, Atriplex Bassia hyssopifolia, fominii – Tamarix hispida with Climacoptera Eremosporton aralensis, Atriplex aphyllum and fominii, solonchaks Stipagrostis pennata without vegetation Sparse saltworts and 14, Tamarix hispida, T. Tamarix 17, 22 ramosissima, Phragmites australis, Bassia hyssopifolia, Climacoptera aralensis, Atriplex fominii, sands and solonchaks without vegetation Sparse Climacoptera 13, Sparse Tamarix aralensis, Atriplex 17, 22 hispida, T. fominii, Tamarix ramosissima, hispida solonchaks without vegetation Stipagrostis pennata 13, 22 Sparse Tamarix hispida, T. ramosissima, sands and solonchaks without vegetation 14, Sands and solonchaks Solitary Atriplex fominii, 22, 26 without vegetation. Climacoptera Sporadic, sparse aralensis Tamarix hispida, T. ramosissima (continued)

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Table 1.2 (continued) Max rate of regression of the coastal line, km Polygon no Years PM1 PM2 PM1 PM2 1995– 7.5 ± 0.20 13.5 ± 0.10 22 22, 24 2000

2000– 2005

6.0 ± 0.15

8.5 ± 0.15 22

2005– 2010

6.0 ± 0.10 11.5 ± 0.15 12, 31 11, 12, 24

2010– 2015

7.8 ± 0.20 24.5 ± 0.10 12, 31 11, 17, 19

2015– 2019

4.0 ± 0.20

3.0 ± 0.15 31

22, 25

17, 19, 22

Plant communities PM1 Solonchaks without vegetation, sporadic annual saltworts, solitary Tamarix ramosissima Solonchaks without vegetation, sporadic annual saltworts Tamarix hispida, T. ramosissima, Phragmites australis, Bassia hyssopifolia, Climacoptera aralensis, Atriplex fominii, sands and solonchaks without vegetation Tamarix hispida, T. ramosissima, Phragmites australis, Bassia hyssopifolia, Climacoptera aralensis, Atriplex fominii, sands and solonchaks without vegetation Solonchaks without vegetation

PM2 Solitary Atriplex fominii, Climacoptera aralensis Solonchaks without vegetation Phragmites australis, Bassia hyssopifolia, Climacoptera aralensis, Tamarix hispida, T. ramosissima

Halostachys belangeriana, Tamarix hispida, T. ramosissima, Bassia hyssopifolia, Climacoptera aralensis

Halostachys belangeriana, Tamarix hispida, T. ramosissima, Bassia hyssopifolia, Climacoptera aralensis

Currently these areas occupy about 1,800,000 thousand hectares. We found a correlation between the shrinking of the sea and the formation of vegetation with very low (k = 0.9), low (0.8), medium (0.7), and high (0.6) biomass. The k index is high for swamps (0.9) and low for the areas with very high biomass (0.2). This indicates that in recent years the retreat of the Aral Sea coastline has slowed down and the formation of woody vegetation is gradually progressing. The main areas with very high biomass are located on sand massifs covered with psammophilous vegetation with the domination of Haloxylon aphyllum, Calligonum caput-medusa, C. junceum, C. eriopodum, Salsola richteri, etc.

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Fig. 1.5  Change in areas of different biomass containing territories of the dried bottom of the Aral Sea on the period of 1990–2019

1.4.2  M  apping of Vegetation of the Dried Bottom of the Aral Sea The Aral Sea Crisis has led toward an induced succession of vegetation in the region. Shrinking of the sea was accompanied by autogenous succession on the dried bottom moving toward the formation of climax vegetation (Dimeyeva 1995, 2007, 2015; Novikova 1997; Wucherer and Breckle 2001; Kuzmina et  al. 2006a, b). Vegetation changes run in three directions (psammoseries, haloseries, and potamoseries) with different environmental conditions, dynamics, species diversity, and successional stages (Dimeyeva 2015). During the first years, the exposed bottom of the sea has been as a lifeless wet rugged plain covered with crust of salt with shells of dead molluscs and the remains of algae. According to our observations, the continuous growth of annual halophytes (Atriplex fominii, Salsola paulsenii, Bassia hyssopifolia) (Fig. 1.6) does not always form on the dried bottom of the sea, as supported by other workers’ studies (Kamalov et al. 2001). Usually, communities of annual saltworts develop in small contours separated by salt marshes without any vegetation. Probably, annual communities die through a sharp increase in salinization of seawater and soils. This very negatively affects the overall environment,

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Fig. 1.6  Overgrowth of annual halophytes

leading to activation of wind deflation of unfixed bottom sands and sandy loams (Anonymous 2017; Shomurodov and Adilov 2019). As shown in the Table  1.2, sands and solonchaks without vegetation dominate in the areas which got dried in 1980–2019, sometimes with sparse Tamarix hispida and T. ramosissima (Fig. 1.7a). On the areas which dried during 1970–1980, there is a saltwort-shrub vegetation with significantly more dense cover: saltwort-Tamarix communities with reed (Tamarix hispida, T. ramosissima, Halostachys belangeriana, Atriplex fominii, Bassia hyssopifolia, Phragmites australis) (Fig. 1.7b), reed communities with saltworts and Tamarix on mounds, and bare plantless spots (Phragmites australis, Bassia hyssopifolia, Climacoptera aralensis, Tamarix hispida, T. ramosissima); saltwort communities on saline micro-depressions have sometimes sparse psammophilous shrubs on sandy hills (Bassia hyssopifolia, Atriplex fominii, Climacoptera aralensis, C. оlgae, Haloxylon aphyllum, Salsola richteri). On the part of sea bed which dried during 1960–1970, a relatively stable vegetation cover with the domination of Haloxylon aphyllum and species of Tamarix is already formed. The rate of regression of the coastal line along profile PM2 during that period was 7.5 km. Apart from saltwort-Tamarix vegetation, the following communities were observed here: Haloxylon aphyllum  +  Salsola richteri (Haloxylon aphyllum, Salsola richteri, Tamarix hispida, Peganum harmala, Alhagi pseudalhagi, Phragmites australis); Phragmites australis + annual halophytes (Bassia hyssopifolia, Climacoptera aralensis, C. crassa, Atriplex fominii, Phragmites australis, Tamarix hispida, Haloxylon aphyllum), and plantations of Haloxylon aphyllum. In some areas, there are sands, solonchaks, and takyrs without vegetation.

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Fig. 1.7  The formation of different plant communities

During the last 45  years, the coastal line along profile PM2 has retreated to 65  km. On the initial stage of sea shrinkage (1960–1965), the regression of the coastal line along profile PM2 near the Muynak Peninsula was 5 km. Maximal rate of regression (20 km) has been observed during 1980–1985 (Table 1.2). Large areas dried during 1990–2005 were covered by puffed solonchaks and sometimes with aeolian sands almost without vegetation. Solitary specimens of Bassia hyssopifolia, Climacoptera aralensis, C. crassa, Suaeda crassifolia, Atriplex fominii, and Halostachys belangeriana can be found sporadically on the solonchaks, Phragmites australis, Tamarix hispida, T. ramosissima, and sometimes Eremosparton aphyllum  – on the sands. On the areas which dried during 1970–2019, apart from the abovementioned vegetation, communities of annual halophytes grow in saline micro-depressions and sometimes on the sandy hills with sparse Haloxylon aphyllum and Salsola richteri (Bassia hyssopifolia, Atriplex fominii, Climacoptera aralensis, C. оlgae, Phragmites australis, Tamarix hispida, T. ramosissima, Haloxylon aphyllum, Salsola richteri). The territories which dried during 1960–1970 have got well fixed by the perennial plants and shrubs, but plantless plots of solonchaks, sands, and takyrs can be found even here. On the saline hilly sands, Haloxylon aphyllum  +  Salsola richteri community (Haloxylon aphyllum, Salsola richteri, Tamarix hispida, Peganum harmala, Alhagi pseudalhagi, Phragmites australis) has been recorded, as well as Phragmites australis community with Tamarix hispida (Phragmites australis, Atriplex fominii, Tamarix hispida) and Typha angustifolia,

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together with sparse marginal growth of Karelinia caspia (Fig. 1.7c). There are also plantations of Haloxylon aphyllum, Salsola richteri, and Calligonum aralense. According to the data published by Kamalov et al. (2001) and Shomurodov and Adilov (2019), annual hyperhalophytes dominate on the initial stages of succession, and then perennials, subshrubs, and shrubs replace them. The results of our study have on the other hand revealed that representatives of different life forms can appear on the initial stages of the primary succession, depending on the landform, lithology, and salinity of substrate. The shrub Tamarix hispida and perennial Phragmites australis are pioneer species on the bare sand hills of the northern part of Muynak Peninsula; Eremosparton aphyllum is a pioneer on the aeolian sands (Fig.  1.7d); annual halophytes Bassia hyssopifolia, Climacoptera aralensis, and Atriplex fominii appear on the solonchaks on the initial stages of the primary succession. A map of the vegetation of the western part of dried bottom of the Aral Sea with 27 plant communities belonging to 4 types of vegetation has been created on the basis of data obtained during our studies (Fig. 1.8).

Fig. 1.8  Vegetation map of the western part of dried bottom of the Aral Sea

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1.4.3  E  xperiment on the Fixation of Shifting Sands of Dried Bottom of the Aral Sea It is not easy to create soil protecting cenoses on the dried bed of Aral Sea, because of constantly blowing northeastern winds which impede the growing of plants. In such areas the optimal method of soil fixing is planting of seedlings. On the experimental site, the seedlings were planted on sand dunes in rows perpendicular to the direction of winds. Tall plants were planted in the first rows, than subshrubs. The seedlings of Krascheninnikovia eversmanniana and Artemisia ferganensis were planted in depressions between the dunes. After 3 months, the plants showed the following survival rate: Salsola richteri, 43.6%; Calligonum caput-medusae, 47.3%; Nitraria schoberi, 21.1%; Krascheninnikovia eversmanniana, 46.7%; and Artemisia ferganensis, 26.4%. The plants were developing normally and had reached 35 cm in height (Salsola richteri). The process of deflation and accumulation of 10–15-cm-thick sandy layer was recorded in the experimental site fenced by 1.5-m-high shield made of Phragmites australis. The process of deflation continued all through summer and autumn. The plants responded differently to the blowing of the sands. Young individuals of Nitraria schoberi and Artemisia ferganensis were little resistant. In November all individuals of Nitraria schoberi dried, and survival rate of Artemisia ferganensis and Krascheninnikovia eversmanniana was 17.5% and 20.6%, respectively. Among the studied species, the most resistant species to deflation were Calligonum caput-­ medusae and Salsola richteri, whose acclimation rate was noted in the range of 34.6–40.7%. At the end of the first year of vegetation, the height of the aboveground part of Salsola richteri individuals reached 60–100 cm and formed 18–59 sprouts of the second order, which were 3–64 cm long. At the end of the first year of vegetation, the height of the aboveground part in separate individuals of Salsola richteri reached 60–100 cm and formed 18–59 shoots of the second order reaching 3–64 cm. However, the length of the main shoot is below 30 cm. It is noteworthy that during the first year of vegetation, individuals planted at the foot of a dune grew much better than individuals planted at the top of the dune. In subsequent years no significant differences were noted in the growth and development. Fructifications were recorded in well-developed individuals at the end of the first year (Fig. 1.9). The survival rate of young plants is low, ca. 20%. In the first year, the height of the newly grown plants was 15–20 cm, but at the end of the following year of vegetation, it was 30–40 cm, and three to four shoots of the second order of vegetation were formed, which reached 4–18 cm in length. It is noteworthy that from the second year, the death of the young plants was not recorded. In the first year of the vegetation, the main sprout of Calligonum caput-medusae grew relatively slowly, and by the end of vegetation, the height of the aboveground part was below 20–35 cm, and the shoots of the first order grew orthotropous. The shoots of the second order are few (only two to three). They in turn branch to the forth order reaching the length of 3–6  cm. In early April of the second year, the buds start

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Fig. 1.9  Salsola richteri in the experimental site of the exposed Aral Sea bed

growing. By the end of the vegetation period, there are up to 14 shoots of the second order on 1 plant. The length of the shoot of the second order formed on the basal part of the main sprout is relatively shorter in comparison with subsequent shoots. The number of shoots of further orders is higher in the shoots formed in the mid-part of the main sprout in comparison with the bottom and top parts of the plants. At the end of the second year of vegetation, the aboveground parts reach 40–60 cm, while at the end of the fourth year, length is 130 cm. No Artemisia ferganensis planted on the top of a dune were recorded due to the deflation of sands. The roots remaining open could not sustain frosts; therefore, the plants died. However, individuals planted in depressions between dunes did survive without any loss. No dry individuals were recorded despite being buried under sands. All the individuals of Artemisia ferganensis planted in sands between the dunes pass the generative stage at a height of 50–80 cm. Under the conditions of a dry hill in the Ferghana Valley, the vegetative shoots of Artemisia ferganensis can be both short and long, whereas no long vegetative shoots were recorded under conditions of the exposed bed of the Aral Sea. During the generative period, the plants have shoots of two types: generative and short vegetative (brachyblasts). On most individuals, the leaves of the spring generation are preserved to the end of vegetation. In the third year, as many as 309 shoots of the second order, 7–42 cm in length, are formed in one plant. A similar survivability under conditions of wind blowing and accumulation of sands was recorded in Krascheninnikovia eversmanniana. A year later after the plantation, all individuals planted from the windward side of the dune dried, whereas no dry plants were recorded in the sites between the dunes. Under the conditions of exposed bed of Aral, the height of the plants was below 30 cm at the end of the first year. They did not enter the generative period. In the second year of vegetation in October, the length of the shoots reached 43 cm, while the length of the shoots of

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the second order (up to nine) reached 5–17 cm. All the plants were fruit-bearing. In the foothills, some individuals flower in the first year of vegetation in culture, while under natural conditions the fruit-bearing is recorded in 5–10 years of vegetation. It is differentiated into three types of shoots in generative period of ontogeny: short vegetative, growing vegetative, and nonspecialized generative shoots as observed in our experiments too. Generative shoots are those of the first and subsequent orders (Shomurodov 2018).

1.5  Recommendations Ecotopic selection is the main mechanism of the primary succession of vegetation on the dried bottom of Aral Sea. The landform, lithology, depth and salinity of groundwater, and the rate of regression of the coastal line are very important factors in this process. Despite the opinion published by some workers that annual saltworts are pioneers on the dried bottom of the Sea, the results of our study showed the vegetation on the initial stages of the primary succession can be very different, depending on the abovementioned factors. For example, Tamarix hispida and Phragmites australis appear on the bare sand hills of first stage of syngenesis, and Eremosparton aphyllum is a pioneer on the aeolian sand dunes. The vegetation map of the western part of dried bottom is covered with 27 plant communities belonging to 4 types of vegetation, which show considerable heterogeneity of phytocenoses. Despite the high phytocenotic diversity, the flora is poor, which can be explained by extreme conditions. The checklist of vascular plants includes only 62 species. The vegetation map compiled following our study and the data of landscape profiles is recommended to be used as the basis for future monitoring of ecosystem dynamics in the region. Also, the information obtained during this research work will help in the identification of areas requiring protection and for planning of phyto-­reclamation, including sand fixing on the southern part of the dried bottom of the Aral Sea. On the basis of our field experiments, we found that the most promising species for stabilization of quicksands on the exposed bed are Salsola richteri, Calligonum caput-medusae, Krascheninnikovia eversmanniana, and Artemisia ferganensis, all notable for their high rates of survivability, growth, and development. Krascheninnikovia eversmanniana and Artemisia ferganensis were found not resistant to the deflation process, but sustain sand areas in depressions between dunes, which is manifested in the absence of dry individuals and passing to the generative phase of development since the second year of vegetation. A high tolerance to sand deflation was revealed in Salsola richteri and Calligonum caput-medusae. Their survival rate on sand dunes constitutes 17.1–40.7%. A survival rate with the formation of big biomass of plants reaching 300 cm in the fourth year of life and breeding through self-seeding (Salsola richteri) suggests that this is a promising species for the fixation of drifting dunes on the exposed bed of the Aral Sea.

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References Anonymous (1960–2019) Agrometeorological bulletin of hydrometeorological service., Tashkent Anonymous (2017) The dynamics and potential of the natural environment of Karakalpakstan. Nukus, p 251 Ashurbekov UA, Kurbanbaev EK, Karimova OY (2002) Desertification of the Amu Darya delta and fixing the dried bottom of the Aral Sea. Problems Desert Develop 1:27–30 Baret F, Guyot G (1991) Potentials and limits of vegetation indices for LAI and APAR assessment. Remote Sens Environ 35:161–173 Breckle SW, Wucherer W, Agachanjianz O, Geldyev B (2001) The Aral Sea crisis region. In: Breckle SW et al (eds) Sustainable land use in desert. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg/New York, pp 27–37 Dimeeva LA (2010) Mapping the dynamics of vegetation of the drained bottom of the Aral Sea. Bull NAS RK 5:81–84 Dimeeva LA (2011a) Dynamics of vegetation of the Aral Sea desert and the Caspian region. Thesis for Doctor degree in biological sciences, St. Petersburg, p 48 Dimeeva LA (2011b) Reflection of ecosystem diversity on medium-sized maps. Volga Ecol J 3:294–303 Dimeyeva LA (1995) Ecological and historical stages of forming of seaside vegetation of areas around Aral Sea. Bull Moscow Soc Natural Biol Depart 100(2):72–84 Dimeyeva LA (2007) Regularities of primary successions of the Aral Sea shore. Arid Ecosyst 13:89–100 Dimeyeva L (2015) Natural and anthropogenic dynamics of vegetation in the Aral Sea Coast. Am J Environ Protect 4(3–1):136–142 Egamberdieva D, Ozturk M (eds) (2018) Vegetation of Central Asia and environs. Springer, Cham, p 381 Field Geobotany (1964) Moscow-Leningrad, vol 3, p 530 Field Geobotany (1972) Moscow-Leningrad, vol 4, p 336 Gribova SA, Isachenko TI (1972) Mapping vegetation on a shooting scale. Field Geobot 5(4):231 Grummo DG (2014) Methodological approaches to creating a large-scale map of vegetation using remote sensing data and modern information technology. Botany 43:48–74 Gryaznova GP (1990) Forecast of modern geomorphological processes on the drained bottom of the Aral Sea according to distance research. Prob Desert Develop 6:66–73 Kamalov S, Ashurmetov OA, Bakhiev AB (2001) Some results of phytomelioration of solonchaks in the southern part of the drained bottom of the Aral Sea and the Aral Sea. Acta KKB AS RUz 6:3–6 Kes AS (1969) The main stages of development of the Aral Sea. The Aral Sea Problem, Moscow Kostianoy А, Kosarev А (2010) The Aral Sea environment. In: The handbook of environmental chemistry, vol 7. Springer, Berlin, p 335 Kurochkina LY, Kuznetsov NT (1986) Ecological aspects of anthropogenic desertification of the Aral Sea. Prob Desert Develop 5:68–74 Kuzmina ZhV, Treshkin SE, Bakhiev A, Mamutov N (2006a) Experience in the formation of vegetation in the salt marshes of the dried part of the Aral Sea. Aral Sea basin problems. Scientific practical conference, Nukus, pp 42–46 Kuzmina ZV, Treshkin SE, Mamutov NK (2006b) Results of experienced forming of natural vegetation on salty soils in the dried parts of the Aral Sea. Arid Ecosyst 29(12):27–39 Micklin P (2002) Water in the Aral Sea Basin of Central Asia: cause of conflict or cooperation? Eurasian Geogr Econ 43(7):505–528 Micklin P (2007) The Aral Sea disaster. Annual review. Earth Plan Sci 35(4):47–72 Mustafaeva ZA, Zholdasova IM, Musaev AK, Temirbekov RO (2011) Phytoplankton of the Aral Sea. Prob Desert Develop 3-4:34–37 Novikova NM (1997) The principles of biodiversity conservation in delta plains of the Turan. Thesis for Doctor degree in geographical sciences. Moscow, p 104

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Novitsky ZB (1997) Scientific basis of protective afforestation on the drained bottom of the Aral Sea. Thesis for Doctor degree in agricultural sciences. Tashkent, p 58 Rachkovskaya EI (2000) The use of remote methods for assessing the degree of anthropogenic transformation of pastures. Geobot Map 1998–2000:16–25 Rafikov AA (1998) Mapping desertification of the arid zone of Uzbekistan. In: Desertification in Uzbekistan, Tashkent, p 120 Shomurodov KHF (2018) Fodder vascular plants of Kyzylkum desert and outlooks of its rational use. Thesis for Doctor degree in biological sciences, Tashkent, p 58 Shomurodov KF, Adilov BA (2019) Current state of the flora of Vozrozhdeniya Island (Uzbekistan). Arid Ecosyst 9(2):97–103 Vyshivkin DD (1977) Geobotanical mapping. Moscow, p 167 Wucherer W (1979) Primary overgrowing of the drying coast of the Aral Sea. Prob Desert Develop 2:66–70 Wucherer W, Breckle SW (2001) Vegetation dynamics on the dry sea floor of the Aral Sea. In: Breckle SW et al (eds) Sustainable land use in deserts. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg, pp 52–68 Wucherer W, Brekle ZV (2003) Psammophytic succession on the southeast coast of the Aral Sea. In: Botanical geography of Kazakhstan and Central Asia (within the desert region), St. Petersburg, p 153 www.earthexplorer.usgs.gov. Accessed 22 Feb 2018

Chapter 2

Role of Grasslands in Soil Carbon Storage: Case Study from Alpine Grasslands of North-Western Kashmir Himalaya Javaid M. Dad and Malik Zubair Ahmad

2.1  Introduction Characterised as landscape unit that is dominated for most part by grasses, with either no or diminutive ( C49. The diversity profiles of compartments 44 and 48 are close to each other, indicating that they are not different in their diversity values (Fig. 5.4). Four plant community types (clusters) were determined at a vertical distance value of 0.3 where the clusters are distinctly separate (Fig. 5.3). The community types were named by characteristic species that have the highest IVI values.

5.6.1  P  inus wallichiana-Viburnum grandiflorum-Fragaria nubicola Community This community occurred in the C48 located at an altitude of 2273 m a.s.l. A total of 45 species were recorded here. The tree layer comprised 5 species with Pinus wallichiana and the dominant tree had highest IVI value of 119.90. The co-­dominant species included Picea smithiana (IVI = 74.54) and Abies pindrow (IVI = 71.83). In the case of shrub layers, 4 species were recorded. Viburnum grandiflorum had the highest IVI value of 116.04, followed by Indigofera heterantha (IVI = 78.39) and Rosa webbiana (77.27). The herbaceous layer comprised 36 species, with Fragaria Table 5.1  Details of the forest sampling sites in the Tangmarg forest division of Kashmir in the Western Himalayas Forest compartments Species richness Dominance Shannon Simpson Evenness Fisher Alpha Basal Area (mean ± SD; m2 ha−1) Density (mean ± SD; trees/ ha−1)

C48 44 0.072 3.049 0.927 0.479 11.47 43.84 ± 13.78

C49A 41 0.073 2.998 0.926 0.489 11.39 104.91 ± 6.06

533.34 ± 99.52 230 ± 14.15

C47 40 0.053 3.251 0.946 0.645 12.32 18.53 ± 4.66

C44 42 0.069 3.116 0.930 0.537 12.04 22.75 ± 13.76

226.67 ± 32.14 300 ± 15.13

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Fig. 5.4  Rényi diversity profiles of vegetation community found in the study sites

Fig. 5.3  The cluster dendrogram of 74 species based on the Sorenson measure showing 4 plant community types

nubicola as the dominant species with the highest IVI of 81.16. Some of the co-­ dominant species were Stipa sibirica (IVI = 48.52), Poa annua (IVI = 16.61) and Trifolium pratense (IVI = 15.23), whereas other herbaceous species were quite rare, such as Galium aparine (IVI  =  1.62), Clinopodium vulgare (IVI  =  1.62) and Erodium cicutarium (IVI = 1.32) (Table 5.2).

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Table 5.2  The IVI and A/F ratio of sampled communities of four forest communities C48 Name Tree layer Abies pindrow Picea smithiana Pinus wallichiana Robinia pseudoacacia Taxus wallichiana Cedrus deodara Shrub layer Berberis lycium Indigofera heterantha Rosa webbiana Rubus ellipticus Skimmia laureola Vibernum grandiflorum Herb layer Achiella millefolium Adiantum venustum Anaphalis royleana Arabidopsis thaliana Asplenium ofeliae Barbarea vulgaris Bellis perennis Caltha palustris Cerastium cerastoides Chenopodium album Cirsium falconeri Clinopodium umbrosum Clinopodium vulgare Dactylorhiza hatagirea Digitalis lanata Digitalis pupurea Dioscorea deltoides Dryopteris stewartii Erigeron acer Erodium cicutarium Fragaria nubicola Galium aparine Geranium nepalense Geum elatum

C49A

IVI

A/F ratio

71.83 74.54 119.9 15.43 – 18.27

C47

IVI

A/F ratio

0.6 0.52 0.75 0.03 – 0.12

263.53 0 36.46 – – –

28.29 78.39 77.27 – – 116.04

0.27 0.1 0.06 – – 0.11

1.32 6.7 – – – – – – 3.94 2.22 1.92 1.62 – 1.32 – – – 5.81 6.54 1.32 81.16 1.62 3.07 4.51

C44

IVI

A/F ratio

IVI

A/F ratio

0.22 0 0.02 – – –

56.1 72.75 156.9 – – 14.21

0.09 0.08 0.14 – – 0.03

128.44 75.86 47.94 – 47.74 –

0.07 0.13 0.06 – 0.06 –

23.82 26.13 80.98 – 16.08 152.96

0.12 0.03 0.1 – 0.06 0.09

26.82 90.06 57.7 – – 125.4

0.06 0.2 0.03 – – 0.12

36.34 83.58 46.3 28.86 – 104.89

0.04 0.07 0.02 0.12 – 0.1

0.16 1.08 – – – – – – 0.44 0.64 0.48 0.32

– – – – – 13.58 – 4.25 7.56 – – 3.47

– – – – – 3.3 – 0.8 0.03 – – 0.1

5.98 – 3.06 2.17 – – 1.72 – 8.72 – – –

0.63 – 0.75 0.45 – – 0.3 – 0.31 – – –

3.59 3.58 – – 3.22 – – – 5.62 – – –

0.19 0.77 – – 0.66 – – – 0.18 – – –

– 0.16 – – – 2.56 0.09 0.16 1.14 0.32 0.24 0.04

– – 1.63 – – – – – 16.2 6.86 1.63 6.4

– – 0.1 – – – – – 0.25 1.5 0.1 0.05

3.43 – – – – – 12.88 – 50.57 1.72 3.43 2.17

0.08 – – – – – 0.18 – 0.52 0.3 0.08 0.45

– – 2.51 2.86 2.73 – – – 21.67 – 7.5 4.46

– – 0.05 0.55 0.08 – – – 0.84 – 0.07 0.3

(continued)

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Table 5.2 (continued) C48 Name Hedera helix Impatiens thomsonii Leucanthemum vulgare Medicago polymorpha Myosotis saxatilis Myosotis arvensis Myriactis nepalensis Nepeta clarkei Nepeta connata Oxalis corniculata Pedicularis punctata Persicaria capitata Phleum pratense Phytolacca acinosa Plantago lanceolata Plantago major Poa annua Poa bulbosa Podophyllum hexandrum Polygonum amplexicaule Polygonum hydropiper Prunella vulgaris Pteris cretica Ranunculus lactus Rumex nepalensis Salvia moorcroftiana Sambucus wightiana Stipa sibirica Strobilanthes glutinosus Taraxacum officinale Trifolium pratense Trifolium repens Tussilago farfara Urtica dioica Verbena officinalis Veronica beccabunga Veronica laxa Viola odorata

C49A

IVI 8.43 – 14.92 1.32 3.94 – – – – 3.59 – – – – 3.76 3.41 16.61 4.63 –

A/F ratio 1.48 – 0.44 0.16 0.44 – – – – 0.36 – – – – 0.4 1.28 8.32 0.6 –

3.41

C47

C44

IVI – 1.63 20.22 – 3.47 – – 5.36 2.01 1.63 3.13 2.01 – 1.63 3.87 3.13 19.18 31.09 2.01

A/F ratio – 0.1 0.16 – 0.1 – – 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.5 0.2 – 0.1 0.7 0.5 4.8 0.96 0.2

A/F IVI ratio 2.41 0.15 – – 24.6 0.16 – – 3.05 0.05 2.61 0.6 2.16 0.07 – – – – 8.8 0.55 – – – – – – – – 2.61 0.6 13.82 0.2 14.15 0.63 31.67 0.34 – –

IVI – 3.16 21.22 – – – – – – 17.2

A/F ratio – 0.13 0.15 – – – – – – 0.41

– 3.81 1.4 4.46 7.29 49.34 23.27 –

– 0.22 0.11 0.3 0.3 1.11 2.69 –

1.28

6.08

0.13

2.61

0.6

–

–

– 6.58 – 2.73 3.58 1.32 2.52 48.52 –

– 0.48 – 0.16 0.07 0.16 0.8 0.86 –

24.78 6.46 – 7.04 – – 3.95 39.08 –

6.3 0.15 – 0.18 – – 0.15 0.44 –

– 6.37 – – – 3.95 – 17.83 3.18

– 0.09 – – – 0.33 – 0.14 0.22

– 4.96 1.76 2.49 8.65 – 2.73 27.32 –

– 0.13 0.22 0.44 0.11 0.08 0.54 –

3.45 15.23 10.36 – 3.45 2.55 – – 12.47

0.05 0.672 0.99 – 0.05 0.12 – – 0.21

– 31.83 – – 6.84 2.79 7.04 2.79 2.01

– 0.46 – – 0.17 0.4 0.18 0.4 0.2

4.77 28.22 17.8 – 2.16 – 3.18 – 8.03

0.2 0.45 1.33 – 0.07 – 0.25 – 0.48

3.95 14.01 30.78 1.76 3.38 – 3.22 2.13 3.81

0.06 0.3 0.36 0.22 0.16 – 0.66 0.33 0.22

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5.6.2  A  bies pindrow-Viburnum grandiflorum-Stipa sibirica Community The community occurred in the C49A located at an altitude of 2533 m above mean sea level (a.m.s.l.). A total of 41 plant species were recorded here. The tree layer comprised of only 2 species, with Abies pindrow as the dominant tree with the highest IVI value of 263.53. The co-dominant species was Pinus wallichiana (IVI = 36.46). In the case of shrub layers, 5 species were recorded. Viburnum grandiflorum had the highest IVI value of 152.96, followed by Rosa webbiana (IVI = 80.98) and Indigofera heterantha (IVI = 26.13). The herbaceous layer were represented by 34 species, with Stipa sibirica dominating the community with the highest IVI of 39.08. Some of the co-dominant species recorded  were Trifolium pratense (IVI = 31.83) and Polygonum hydropiper (IVI = 24.78); other herbaceous species were quite rare, such as Phytolacca acinosa (IVI = 1.63), Geranium nepalense (IVI  =  1.63), Oxalis corniculata (IVI  =  1.63) and Impatians thomsoni (IVI = 1.63) (Table 5.2).

5.6.3  P  inus wallichiana-Viburnum grandiflorum-Fragaria nubicola Community The Pinus-Viburnum-Fragaria community occurred in the C47 located at an altitude of 2255 m a.m.s.l. A total of 40 species were recorded in this community. The tree layer comprised of 4 species, with Pinus wallichiana as the dominant tree with the highest IVI value of 156.92. The co-dominant species in terms of decreasing values of IVI were represented by Picea smithiana (IVI = 72.75) and Abies pindrow (IVI = 56.10). In the case of shrub layers, 4 species were recorded from the study area. Viburnum grandiflorum, with the highest IVI value of 125.40, dominated the community, followed by Indigofera heterantha (IVI = 90.06) and Rosa webbiana (IVI = 57.7). The herbaceous layer comprised of 32 species, with Fragaria nubicola as the dominant species with the highest IVI of 50.57. Some of the co-dominant species were Poa bulbosa (IVI  =  31.67), Trifolium pratense (IVI  =  28.22) and Leucanthemum vulgare (IVI = 24.60), while other herbaceous species were quite rare, such as Galium aparine (IVI = 1.72), Polygonum amplexicaule (IVI = 2.61) and Plantago major (IVI = 2.61) (Table 5.2).

5.6.4  A  bies pindrow-Viburnum grandiflorum-Poa annua Community This community occurred in the C44 located at an altitude of 2289 m a.m.s.l. A total of 42 species were recorded in this community. The tree layer comprised of 4 species, with Abies pindrow as the dominant tree with the highest IVI value of 128.44. The co-dominant species recorded were Picea smithiana (IVI 75.86) and Pinus

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wallichiana (IVI 47.94). In case of shrub layers, 5 species were recorded from the study area. Viburnum grandiflorum had the highest IVI value of 104.89, followed by Indigofera heterantha with IVI 83.58 and Rosa webbiana with IVI 46.30. The herbaceous layer comprised of  33 species, with Poa annua as the dominant species with the highest IVI of 49.34. Some of the co-dominant species were Trifolium repens (IVI = 30.78), Stipa sibirica (IVI = 27.32) and Poa bulbosa (IVI = 23.27), whereas other herbaceous species were quite rare, such as Sambucus wightiana (IVI = 3.22), Digitalis purpurea (IVI = 2.51), Phytolacca acinosa (IVI = 1.4) and Tussilago farfara (IVI = 1.76) (Table 5.2).

5.7  Concluding Remarks The regional patterns of species richness are consequences of many interacting factors such as competition between species, elevation, local climate and microclimate, topography, plant productivity, historical or evolutionary development, regional species pool, regional species dynamics and human activity (Criddle et al. 2003; Mandal and Joshi 2014). The number of species recorded in the present study ranged from 40 to 45 at four forest compartments, with the minimum number of species in compartments 47 and 49A, whereas in compartments 44 and 48, the species number showed a significant variation from the former two compartments. During the present investigation, the number of recorded species is in agreement with the previously published phytosociological works of Himalayas (Kumar and Bhatt 2006; Behera and Roy 2005; Kharkwal 2009; Dar and Sundarapandian 2016). It has been observed that the plant and microbe species richness of a given region are influenced by the variations recorded in the microclimatic and edaphic factors. A total number of plant species of 74 were recorded in the present study area, and this value was found to be within the species range reported by previously published literature from the different forests of the Himalayas (Kala and Mathur 2002; Panthi et al. 2007; Shaheen et al. 2011; Pilania et al. 2014; Behera et al. 2018). The species richness reported in the present study area was higher than the number reported by various workers. Nazir et al. (2012) recorded a total of 40 species in the Kotli district of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan; Shahid and Joshi (2016) recorded a total of 35 species in the Shivalik hills of lower Himalayas. The total number of species in the present study was lower than the number reported by several workers (Singh et al. 2016). Sharma and Kant (2014) reported a total of 112 species in the Jammu hills, Jammu and Kashmir; Singh et al. (2007) reported a total of 166 species in the Spiti Cold Desert, Trans-Himalaya, as the study regions are in the sub-tropical area with high species diversity. In the present study, Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Plantaginaceae and Fabaceae were the families showing maximum species diversity. These families (Asteraceae and Lamiaceae) have been reported as leading families in the temperate forests of India and elsewhere (Gairola et al. 2010; Khan et al. 2012; Sharma et al. 2013; Dar and Sundarapandian 2016; Singh et al. 2016; Khan et al. 2016). Our study highlights a

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disproportionate distribution of species across families and 25 families are monotypic. The findings are more or less similar to the earlier reported values from the Western Himalayas (Gairola et al. 2010; Rahman et al. 2018). The value of diversity ranged from 2.99 to 3.25 in four forest compartments of the Tangmarg forest division, with the maximum at C47 and the minimum diversity at C49A, because C47 is away from the road and at higher altitudes as compared to C49A and hence there is less anthropogenic pressure. The reason for the lower diversity values at C49A is that it is present at lower altitudes and there is more anthropogenic pressure in this compartment because it is near human settlements. Similar results were also found by Shaheen et al. (2011) for the Western Himalaya Alpine pastures of Kashmir  (Pakistan), Malik and Bhatt (2016) and Malik et  al. (2016) reported  from Garhwal Himalaya (India) and Sreejith et  al. (2016) in Northern Kerala (India). The concentration of dominance in the present study is lower than those  reported by other workers from different  parts of the Western Himalayas (Pilania et al. 2014; Malik and Bhatt 2016; Shahid and Joshi 2016; Devi and Yadava 2006). The dominance value found to range from from 0.05 to 0.07. According to Whittaker and Niering (1965), the value of concentration of dominance for temperate forests should falls within the range of 0.10–0.99. The tree density and the basal area parameters are key phytosociological characteristics contributing to the structure of forests (Yam and Tripathi 2016). The average basal area reported in the present study is 18.53–104 m2 ha−1. The values are higher than those reported by Dar and Sundarapandian (2016) (19.4–51.9 m2 ha−1) for the Western Himalayas (India); Singh and Gupta (2009) reported (18.49–52.54 m2 ha−1) from Himachal Pradesh (India). Almost similar values were reported by Shaheen et  al. (2012) from the Pakistan Himalayas (42.3–105.2  m2 ha−1); Singh et  al. (1994) reported a value of 5–114  m2 ha−1 from the Central Himalayas. Conversely, a lower value for average basal area has been reported by Akash and Bhandari (2019) (5.36 m2 ha−1) from the Garhwal Himalayas (India). Sahu et al. (2019) reported 30.64 m2 ha−1 from the Saptasajya hill range in India (4.56–22.43 m2 ha−1). Pandey et al. (2016) carried out similar research in Nepal Himalaya and result supported the finding of the present study. The present study in the Pir Panjal mountain of the Western Himalayas recorded a tree density of 226–533 ha−1. These values can be comparable to those reported from the Central Himalayas (806  ha−1), Northern Kerala (Sreejith et  al. 2016; 625–850 ha−1), Manipur, Northeast India (Devi and Yadava 2006; 534–620 ha−1), the Lesser Himalayas (Ahmed et al. 2006; 530–940 ha−1), the Garhwal Himalayas (Sharma et  al. 2009; 440–550  trees ha−1) and North-Western Himalaya, India (Singh and Samant 2010; 457 trees ha−1); subtropical forests of the Lesser Himalayas (Shaheen et  al. 2011; 344  ha−1); the Western Himalayas (Dar and Sahu 2018; 578 ha−1), the subtropical forests of the Kashmir Himalayas (Shaheen et al. 2016; 492 ha−1); and the Saptasajya hill range (Sahu et al. 2019; 390–433 ha−1). The basic reason for the low tree density in the study area is the illicit cutting of tree species, particularly Abies pindrow, Cedrus deodara and Pinus wallichiana, from forest stands. These trees are  preferred as  the most ideal timber source for the local

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communities. Varying anthropogenic pressures leads to forest degradation in most parts of the Himalayan regions of India (Singh 2015; Barlow et al. 2016). The A/F ratio was used to assess the distribution pattern of the species. The distribution pattern indicates the maximum plots species showed contagious (clumped) distribution pattern, followed by random distribution patterns. Contagious distribution is the most common  recognised  disributon pattern  in natural forests. This brings significant variations in the ambient environmental conditions of surrounding forest patches (Odum 1971; Adhikari et al. 2019) . Sharma and Raina (2018) revealed the maximum contagious distribution in vegetation, followed by regular distribution pattern. Contagious distribution was the most prevalent in most parts of the Himalayas (Pilania et al. 2014; Sharma et al. 2009; Devi and Yadava 2006; Tripathi and Singh 2009; Malik and Bhatt 2016). In line with the richness value, the Rényi diversity profiles (Fig. 5.4) also explain that the forest compartment 47 appears to have relatively higher diversity. This might be due to low anthropogenic disturbances as the forest compartment is away from the road side; this might lead to the management through eco-tourism approach, which could increase habitat availability for diverse plant species. The communities found in the study region were the Pinus wallichiana-Viburnum grandiflorum-Stipa sibirica community, the Abies pindrow-Viburnum grandiflorum-Stipa sibirica community, the Pinus wallichiana-­Viburnum grandiflorum-Fragaria nubicola community and the Abies pindrow-Viburnum grandiflorum-Poa annua community. Bokhari et al. (2013) have reported the Abies pindrow-Aesculus indica community, the Cedrus deodara-Pinus wallichiana community, the Picea smithiana-Abies pindrow community and the Pinus wallichiana-monospecific stands in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. The present study provides the baseline data for researchers, policymakers, land managers and common people interested in the floristic documentation, conservation and sustainable use of the plant diversity of this region. It is also suggested that more attention is required from policymakers and planners towards sustainable use of forest products taking into consideration of the species composition and sustenance of ecosystem services. This surely will ensures developmental activities and will not be responsible for biodiversity loss in fragile ecosystems of the Himalaya and elsewhere in the globe. Acknowledgement  We are thankful to the Head, Department of Botany, University of Kashmir in Srinagar, for providing necessary facilities during the present study. Thanks are also due to the Principal Chief Conservator Forests, Govt. of Jammu and Kashmir, for permission and support during fieldwork in the study area.

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Chapter 6

The Ecology of Pakistani Ferns and Lycophytes Syed Nasar Shah, Mushtaq Ahmad, and Shujahul Mulk Khan

6.1  Introduction Ferns and their allies have assumed nearly all the forms of growth and adaptation to get established among the angiosperms. They act as essential biotic elements in an ecosystem and are found in all forms of terrestrial communities, but abundant diversity occurs in tropical areas, and they are also found in temperate areas (Mehltreter et al. 2010). In Pakistan, ferns and lycophytes have not been explored much. There are an estimate of 202 species of pteridophytes (Gul et al. 2017). The highest number of publications on Pakistani ferns are floristic surveys, which only provide checklists (Stewart 1967; Stewart et  al. 1972; Nakaike and Malik 1992, 1993; Saima et  al. 2009; Fazalullah and Ali 2014; Fraser 2014; Gul et  al. 2016, 2017). Only a few contributions deal with systematics or morphological studies (Murtaza et  al. 2004, 2006; Sundas et  al. 2012; Shah et  al. 2018a, b, 2019a, c; Zaman et  al. 2019). Most significant work done recently presents a comparative study on the medicinal value of the pteridophytes from Turkey, Pakistan and Malaysia (Ozturk et  al. 2018a), and resurrection ferns and their various micromorphological adaptations (Shah et al. 2019b). Some information is available on the ecological features in the studies cited above, in particular data on the ecology of a few ferns is available in the “Cryptogamic flora of Pakistan -Volume 1” and “Cryptogamic flora of Pakistan Volume 2” (Nakaike and Malik 1992, 1993). In these two volumes, a list of ferns and their ecological characteristics have been given for the ferns collected from various areas of northern Pakistan. The only other record in this connection is that of Stewart et al. (1972): “An annotated catalogue of the vascular plants of West Pakistan and Kashmir”. As far as we know, no other work has been devoted exclusively to the ecology of “Pteridophytes” in Pakistan. This subject has a very wide scope and is of great importance. S. N. Shah (*) · M. Ahmad · S. M. Khan Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 M. Öztürk et al. (eds.), Biodiversity, Conservation and Sustainability in Asia, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73943-0_6

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In the present chapter, we describe concisely the major role played by the pteridophytes in various vegetation types in Pakistan, with comments on some particularly significant cases of ecological specialization. For instance, the larger proportion of fern species in the country occur in the northern parts. The Himalayan region is greatly notable due to a combination of favorable climatic conditions, landscape structure and geographical characteristics of this region. We have, therefore, carried out fieldwork and botanical expedition for ferns in the northern parts of Pakistan and mainly within the flora of the Pakistani Himalayan region. The information pooled by other workers too has been summarized here.

6.2  Diversity of Ferns and Lycophytes in Pakistan No updated information on the diversity of ferns and lycophytes in Pakistan is available other than those published and cited above (Stewart 1967; Stewart et al. 1972; Nakaike and Malik 1992). In addition to these, we also find the book on the “Ferns and Allies of the far-west Indo- Himalaya (Afghanistan, Pakistan and Kashmir) and Iran -Revised Checklists, Classification and Phytogeography” (Fraser 2014). A few more studies have been reported in a fragmented way, which include checklists, taxonomic-morphological revisions, palynology and micromorphology, and new records of fern flora of Pakistan (Murtaza et  al. 2004, 2006; Sundas et  al. 2012; Fazalullah and Ali 2014; Rahman et al. 2015; Gul et al. 2016; Shah et al. 2018a, b, 2019a, c; Zaman et al. 2019). This data has been recently compiled by Gul et al. (2017), which mentions the occurrence of 202 species and intraspecific taxa of ferns belonging to 62 genera and 19 families. An updated and revised checklist is still needed to provide the actual number of pteridophytes in Pakistan and correct any mistakes published about these plants. Much data is available on the ferns of neighboring countries of Pakistan, that is, Iran, Afghanistan, China and India. The region has similar climate and same aspects of fern flora. More data needs to be collected by exploring the remote areas of the country, thus improving our knowledge of fern diversity and their distribution in Pakistan.

6.3  V  egetation of Pakistan and Distribution of Ferns in Different Vegetation Zones Pakistan is situated in South Asia, lying between 23° 30″ and 37° 45″ north, and 61° and 75° 30″ east longitudes. The maximum distance from north to south is more than 1609 km, from east to west around 885 km and the total area is around 8039 48 km2. Pakistan is bordered on the east by India, in the west by Iran and in the northwest by Afghanistan. The coastline on the Arabian Sea represents the southern boundary. China is situated beyond the Karakoram and Kashmir ranges. Based on climate, altitude and types of plants, vegetation is divided into 5 broad categories; (1) Dry

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Tropical Forest; (2) Dry Tropical Sub-Mountainous; (3) Dry Temperate Forest; (4) Moist Temperate Forests; and (5) Sub-alpine and Alpine vegetation (Ozturk et al. 2018b, c; Rajpar et al. 2020). All are rich in fern taxa.

6.3.1  Dry Tropical Forest Vegetation Although a major part of Pakistan lies to the north of the Tropic of Cancer, geographically it is subtropical. In the larger part of the country, climatic conditions are tropical and the flora resemble those in the tropical region rather than those in the subtropical regions. Many descriptions of dry tropical forests have been written all over the world. In Pakistan, these forests are mostly distributed in the tropical coastline area, the Indus plain, and the detached low hills of Baluchistan and Sind. This vegetation largely consists of dispersed, less frequent xerophytic plants. The settled vegetation is found in riverain territories, and on saline and water-logged soils along the sandy areas due to varying edaphic factors. Very few fern species have been reported from Baluchistan and Sindh. In the Suleiman range of Baluchistan, the species of ferns reported include Adiantum incisum, Asplenium pseudofontanum, A. ruta muraria, A. viride, and Cheilanthes pteridioides. The dry tropical thorn forest vegetation is chiefly distributed in the Indus basin, and the muddy plains of the Punjab province, Sind and the coastal region of Baluchistan. In the Jhelum district of Punjab, the following fern species have been recorded: Adiantum incisum, Actiniopteris australis, and Asplenium adiantum nigrum. In Punjab, 36 species of ferns have been reported by Sundas et al. (2012), which include Microlepia strigosa, Cheilanthes pteridioides, C. farinosa, C. albomarginata, Onychium japonicum, O. contiguum, Pellaea nitidula, Pteris cretica, P. vittata, Adiantum capillus-veneris, A. caudatum, A. venustum, A. trapeziforme, Nephrolepis biserrata, N. cordifolia, N. exaltata, Cyrtomium caryotideum, C. falcatum, C. macrophyllum, Dryopteris ramosa, D. stewartii, Polystichum aculeatum, P. lonchitis, Ampelopteris prolifera, Thelypteris erubescence, T. dentata, Athyrium mackinnoni, Cystopteris fragilis, Diplazium esculentum, Asplenium adiantum nigrum, A. ceterach, A. trichomanes, Marsilea quadrifolia, M. minuta, Salvinia auriculata, S. molesta and Azolla pinnata. No precise data on the localities of each species is given. Therefore, more work is needed to correct the mistakes about the localities, correct identification and botanical names for each taxon.

6.3.2  Dry Subtropical Sub-mountainous Vegetation This vegetation consists of a dense growth of trees, varying in density, under favorable climatic conditions, and growth is dispersed on the driest sites. The shrubs and trees are often thorny and leaves are small. The ground vegetation is not dense most of the year but in the monsoon season, a complete shield of herbs grows here. This

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vegetation is scattered all over the country at suitable altitudes, merging downward with the tropical thorn forest of the Indus basin and upward with the dry warm temperate forest of the outer Himalayas. In these areas, the arid season is longer, and rainfall takes place frequently during the monsoon period of June, July, August and September, and slightly in the winter season. Annual precipitation ranges from 0.254 to 0.9144 m. In the summer afternoons, humidity is usually low, around 15%, and the yearly mean moisture is 50%. Temperature increases in the months of June and July, when the monthly average temperature is 29.5–36 °C and the maximum is above 38 °C. The cold season can be observed in December, January and February, when the monthly average temperature is 10 °C. The vegetation of the dry subtropical-sub mountainous region is broadly divided into two categories: the Siwalik Hills Dry Scrub vegetation, dominating the northern region of the country, that is the salt range, the Potowar plateau, and the dry hills of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province; and the second vegetation type is that of the salt range, which starts from the eastern side of the Jhelum river in the southwest direction, turns northwestward opposite to the town of Khushab, and then ends in the town of Kalabagh, extending up to the west of the Indus river in the Kohat district. In the salt range, Adiantum incisum, and Asplenium dalhousiae are distributed (Stewart et  al. 1972). The Potowar plateau comprises the Himalayan foothills, consisting of the Gujar Khan and Margala hills. Similar mountainous regions also exist in Garhi Habib Ullah, Sialkot, the Kaghan valley foothill, Pabbi, the Malakand agency, dry foothills of the Dir district, Swat and Kurram agency, and Dara Adam Khel. In the outer ranges of Dir, in dry forests, from 914 to 3353 m, Pteris cretica, Pallaea nitidula, Escallonia virgate, Cheilanthes pteridioides, and Dryopteris odontoloma have been reported (Stewart et al. 1972). The Potowar plateau and the foothill zone extend roughly from 100 to 1600 m. From the Kaghan foothill at 800 m, we find Asplenium adiantum nigrum, Thelypteris laterepens, T. levingei and Woodwardia unigemmata (Stewart et al. 1972). In the Ayub national park, Rawalpindi, Ophiglossum capense is found, and in the Abbottabad district of the Hazara division, the rocks are covered by Pellaea calomelanos (Stewart et al. 1972). In the Malakand agency, at the highest point of 900  m, on granite rocks, Adiantum cappillus veneris and Asplenium incisum grow.

6.3.3  Dry Temperate Forest Vegetation (Fig. 6.1) The climatic conditions in this vegetation type are comparatively harsh comprised of typically xerophytic plants. In the moist Himalyan mountain range within a elevation range of about 1300 to 3200 m the dominant vegetation is moist forest. These forests are dispersed in the interior mountain ranges outside the effective influence of the southwest monsoon. The region includes the Sulaiman ranges (Takht-eSulaiman, Shingar and Ziarat, North Waziristan, the Koh Safed range, the upper reaches of the Kurram agency), the Koh Hindu Kush range (Kohistan, lower Swat, Dir, Chitral), the Karakoram range (Gilgit and Baltistan agency), and lesser parts of

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Fig. 6.1  Dry Temperate Forest Vegetation in Chitral – 3000 m

the Neelam valley (Azad Kashmir). The altitude varies between 1600 and 3200 m. In these areas, the vegetation is greatly influenced by the steady melting of snow, and in the higher reaches, the warm temperate plant cover is steadily substituted by a cold temperate forest. The latter zones have long and cold winters, with the mean annual lowest temperature ranging between 5.5 and 15.5 °C, and annual rainfall is constantly below 762 mm and may be far below that. Generally, in the forests on greater elevations, humidity is recompensed by the melting snow. Most of the areas included here are within the zone of winter rain and snow. In Ziarat (Baluchistan), where the forest is open, Pallaea nitidula, Asplenium pseudofontanum subsp. fontanum, A. ruta muraria, and Doryopteris ludens have been reported (Stewart et al. 1972). In lower Swat, species of Cheilanthes acrostica have been recorded.

6.3.4  Moist Temperate Forest Vegetation In the moist Himalayan mountainous ranges between the dry temperate forests and the sub-alpine zone (1300–3200 m), moist temperate forest vegetation dominates the area (Figs. 6.2 and 6.3). This type of vegetation is distributed in the Gilgit and Baltistan districts, upper Dir, upper reaches of the Kurram agency, Murree, Kashmir, Hazara hill tracts, Shangla, lower Dir, and moist parts of upper Swat. In the moist mountains of the Himalayas, precipitation is dependent on the southwestern monsoon, which falls during the months of July and September, and during winter and spring seasons, because of westerly disturbances. Annual rainfall ranges between 635 and 762 mm and sometime goes up to 1524 mm. In these regions, huge amounts of precipitation take place in the form of snow, and this feature is of substantial importance in shaping these forests, chiefly when rainfall is low in summer. The altitudes are 600  m in Nathia gali, 3000  m in the Kaghan valley, 2400  m in Shogran, and 2200  m in Kaghan with 6.9, 3.04, 2.4  m of snowfall, respectively. The regular melting of snow in early summer prolongs the season

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Fig. 6.2  Coniferous forest moist temperate region of upper Dir at 2700 m. (Photo: S.N. Shah)

Fig. 6.3  Moist temperate forest vegetation in District Shangla at 2800 m. (Photo: S.N. Shah)

during which adequate humidity is available, which favors the growth of a large number of species. An important feature of the moist temperate forests are the coniferous trees. In Nathia gali, at 2200–3000  m, we come across Gymnocarpium robertianum, Osmunda regalis, Thelypteris laterepens, T. levingei, Cheilanthes dalhousiae, Cystopteris fragilis, Cyrtomium caryotideum, Diplazium japonicum, Dryopteris nigropaleacea, D. ramosa, and D. stewartii (Nakaike and Malik 1992; Stewart et al. 1972). In Dunga Gali, at 2000–3000 m, the most common species are Pteris cretica, Athyrium acrostichoides, Athyrium rupicola, Asplenium dalhousiae, A. fontanum

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subsp. pseudofontanum, Thelypteris laterepens, Pseudophegopteris pyrrhorhachis, Cheilanthes albomarginata, C. dalhousiae, Deparia allantodioides, Dryopteris nigropaleacea, D. ramosa, D. stewartii and D. marginata. In Shogran (2200–3200  m Kaghan valley), the dominant fern species are Asplenium dalhousiae, A. fontanum subsp. pseudofontanum, Osmunda claytoniana, Pteris cretica, Botrychium virginianum, Cheilanthes dalhousiae, Cystopteris fragilis, Deparia allantodioides, Dryopteris blanfordii, D. nigropaleacea, D. ramosa, D. stewartii, Equisetum arvense, Gymnocarpium robertianum, and Hypolepis punctata. In Swat (1600–3200  m), we find Cheilanthes nitidula, Adiantum venustum, Pteris cretica, Escallonia virgata, Athyrium acristichoides, A. dentigerum, A. mackinnoni, A. schimperi, A. setiferum, Asplenium adiantum nigrum, A. fontanum subsp. pseudofontanum, A. panjabense, A. septentrionale, A. trichomanes, A. viride, Onychium contiguum, Thelypteris dentata, T. laterepens, T. remotipinnata, Selaginella jacquemontii, Marsilea minuta, Pseudophegopteris levingei, Athyrium filix-foemina, Asplenium ceterach, Cryptogramma brunoniana, Cryptogramma stelleri, Cystopteris fragilis, Cyrtomium caryotideum, Deparia shikkimensis, Diplazium polypodioides, Dryopteris blanfordii, D. filix-mas, D. ramosa, D. odontoloma, D. sinofibrillosa, D. pallida, Equisetum arvense, and Gymnocarpium robertianum. Some similar species of ferns are found in other areas of moist temperate forests in Pakistan.

6.3.5  Sub-alpine and Alpine Vegetation The sub-alpine and alpine vegetation zones are located above the moist temperate coniferous parts. This type of vegetation is found around the timberline and snowline (3000–4500 m) (Fig. 6.4). It is situated in the Himalayan ranges of Kaghan, Swat, Baltistan-Gilgit agency, Shangla, Chitral, Dir and Koh Safed (Kurram agency). In these regions, snow is deep, the growing season is generally short, solar emission is intense, cold wind with great velocity can be observed and the temperature is generally low. The vegetation is xerophytic. These sub-alpine regions receive less rainfall because these are away from the monsoon rains. It ranges from 101 to 660 mm, and usually 1.8–4.5 m snow can be observed in some places. The highest temperature ever recorded is nearly 10  °C or less for 5–6  months. The average monthly temperature is at or below 0  °C.  The maximum temperature does not exceed 15.5 °C. In Swat Bishigram, at 3500 m, the species of Athyrium wallichianum (Fig.  6.5) and at 3200  m in Bishigram Asplenium viride are growing. Huperzia selago is distributed at 3200 m in Nanga Parbat. In Kurram, and Bishigram Swat, and in Deosai, an alpine fern Cryptogranmma brunoniana is common at altitudes of about 3500  m. Another alpine fern on rocky ledges and among rocks is Cryptogranmma stelleri found in upper Swat, Astore and Naltar Gilgit, at an elevation of 3200–3500 m.

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Fig. 6.4  Alpine region in Spin Ghar (District Shangla) at elevation of 3600 m. (Photo: S.N. Shah)

Fig. 6.5  Athyrium wallichianum an alpine fern growing at base of rock in Spin Ghar Shangla an elevation of 3600 m. (Photo: S.N. Shah)

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6.4  H  abitat Differentiation of Ferns in Different Vegetation Zones 6.4.1  Terrestrial Ferns In the forest types cited above, terrestrial ferns are numerous and diverse in form. Their richness generally depends on the amount of light, and in distinctive high forest. They are widely dispersed and some of these make close covers. Terrestrial forest ferns are characterized by short stock, rhizomes are erect or short creeping, and fronds are relatively large. An abundant diversity is found on mountains, where moist air is combined with greater light intensity, which favors their growth. They are not generally frequent except near streams or in the sunny areas of the forest. Terrestrial forest ferns are always thin in density. In some terrestrial ferns, adaptability is limited, as these may respond to dry conditions by reducing the size of their leaves and sometimes increase the thickness of their lamina. The terrestrial ferns, growing on the forest floor, generally are the species of Coniogramme, Osmunda, Botrychium, Onychium, Pteris, Pteridium, Christella, Phegopteris, Pseudophegopteris, Asplenium, Athyrium, Deparia (Fig.  6.6), and Dryopteris genera. Some terrestrial ferns prefer moist habitats, and they are often found near streams. The fern species of this type belong to the genera Selaginella and Adiantum capillus-veneris species (Fig. 6.7). These may reach enormous dimensions; when exposed to dry weather, the leaves collapse owing to the lack of turgor of the swollen base of the stipe, but have considerable power of recovery after wilting.

Fig. 6.6  Deparia macdonellii a terrestrial fern with very narrow distribution range growing on forest floor in Khwaray Oba Shangla at 2700 m. (Photo: S.N. Shah)

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Fig. 6.7  Adiantum cappillus-veneris growing on wet rocks in Kikore Khwar Shangla. (Photo: S.N. Shah)

Fig. 6.8  Asplenium fontanum subsp. pseudofontanum an epilithic fern found in Ajmeer Sharif Shangla at 2700 m. (Photo: S.N. Shah)

6.4.2  Rock Ferns There are certain fern species that vary from the terrestrial forest species as they grow only on rocks. The rock ferns are characterized by creeping rhizome, which is firmly attached to the rocks, the roots often reaching down into crevices or to moss covered places, or they may have short erect stocks typically growing in the crevices of rocks. In Pakistan, a large number of fern species are attached to dry rocks, such

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Fig. 6.9  Polystichum lachenense growing on rock crevices in Alpine meadows of Spin Ghar Shangla at 3200 m. (Photo: S.N. Shah)

as the species belonging to the genera Selaginella, Lepisorus, Adiantum, Polystichum, Asplenium (Fig.  6.8), and Cheilanthes. The species Polystichum thomsonii, Selaginella chrysocaulos, Adiantum capillus-veneris and Asplenium varians appear to grow on wet rocks. A few ferns seem to grow at the base of rocks, such as the species of genera Cryptogramma, Cystopteris, Gymnocarpium, and some species of Polystichum (Fig. 6.9).

6.4.3  River and Streamside Ferns Riversides afford conditions of high humidity, combined with more light than the inside of forests. These are exclusively suitable for some fern species. These habitats have their characteristic fern flora. In Pakistan, there are a significant number of fern species confined to the banks of streams. These include Selaginella jacquemontii, Equisetum arvense, Athyrium mackinnoni, Deparia shikkimensis, Coniogramme affinis, Ampelopteris prolifera, Pseudophegopteris levingei, Athyrium tenuifrons, Deparia petersenii, Polystichum luctuosum, and P. discretum. All these flourish alongside the banks of streams in forests. Some species grow along the banks of rivers, such as Equisetum ramosissimum Diplazium esculentum, Glaphyropteridopsis erubescens, Deparia japonica, Diplazium frondosum, Cyrtomium macrophyllum, and Woodwardia unigemmata.

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Fig. 6.10  Marsilea minuta an aquatic fern growing in shallow water at Besham Shangla at 600 m. (Photo: S.N. Shah)

Fig. 6.11  Asplenium ceterach a resurrection fern species growing in its habitat in Northern Pakistan. (Photo: S.N. Shah)

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Fig. 6.12  Dehydrated fronds of Asplenium ceterach during desiccation in Northern Pakistan. (Photo: S.N. Shah)

Fig. 6.13  Cheilanthes acrostica growing on rocks in Northern Pakistan. (Photo: S.N. Shah)

6.4.4  Aquatic Ferns There are very few taxa from this group in Pakistan. Salvinia and Azolla are locally abundant as floating plants in shallow waters, and Marsileia with its floating leaves is found in rice fields and other shallow waters (Fig. 6.10).

6.4.5  Xerophytic Ferns Some fern species are able to survive for a longer or shorter period of drought in Pakistan. In the monsoon regions of the moist temperate forest, heavy rains in the wet season lead to a gradual variation in the season, and the long dry season increases

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Fig. 6.14  Dehydrated fronds of Cheilanthes acrostica during drought in Northern Pakistan. (Photo: S.N. Shah)

plant strength. The leaves of terrestrial ferns such as Asplenium ceterach (Figs. 6.11 and 6.12), A. dalhousiae, Cheilanthes acrostica (Figs. 6.13 and 6.14), C. bicolor and C. nitidula shrivel, curl up, in this flaccid condition, but continue to exist. In some cases, they shed their vegetative leaves, while upon rehydration, they are able to retain their vegetative structure without damage. In dry regions of Gilgit and Baltistan, Chitral, the Peshawar hills, and the Attock hills, as well as Skardu, the xerophytic fern species Cheilanthes persica is common. Cheilanthes pteridioides, another xerophytic fern, shows distribution in the dry regions of the Baluchistan Sulaiman range, Dir, lower Swat, lower Jhelum and Murree hills at 1600–1800 m.

6.5  R  ecent Studies on the Ferns and Lycophytes in the Malakand Division We carried out extensive field work for fern collection during 2014–2018  in the Malakand division, which is considered one of the most floristically diverse regions in Pakistan. The division is situated to the north of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and is of great significance floristically due to its geographical location. It is located in the Western Himalayan province. We collected 55 species of ferns and lycophytes belonging to 21 genera and 11 families from the elevation of 600–4800  m. The collected species showed a range of ecological habitats such as epiphytes, lithophytes, hydrophytes and terrestrial forms. Some species occupied more than one habitat. These plants usually occur in rock crevices or occupy humus-rich rocks in shady areas and are known as lithophytes. The species of Adiantum cappillus-­ veneris, A. venustum, Asplenium viride, A. trichomanes, A. × alternifolium, A.

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fontanum, A. laciniatum, Cheilanthes bicolor, C. acrostica, C. nitidula, Polystichum lachenense, P. willsonii, and Selaginella sanguinolenta were found to grow on exposed and moist rocks among the dense coniferous forests, especially near water resources. The ferns of families Athyriaceae, Pteridaceae, Thelypteridaceae, Dryopteridaceae, Cystopteridaceae and Dennstaedtiaceae were studied to grow as terrestrial forms in evergreen and semi evergreen forests of Malakand. Most of the species of the abovementioned families are growing in shady areas, under trees and shrub canopies. Some species are found along the margins of these dense forests, along stream banks, on hill slopes, on forest floor and on shady mountain slopes. Along the banks of streams and rivers, the Thelypteris spp. and Pteris spp. dominate. Usually at mid-altitudes, where the soil is fertile and clayey in the moist dense forest, the growth of terrestrial species is common. At lower altitudes in most part of the lower Malakand, the forest floor is not so rich in humus and the soil is mostly composed of reddish brown clay; in most of the areas, a few fern and lycophyte species are found. In the dense forests of Swat, Shangla, Dir and Chitral, a large number of ferns and lycophytes are influenced by light intensity and moist areas with optimum temperature. Apart from lithophytes and terrestrial species, some fern species grow near ponds, stream banks and waterfalls. The species prefer to grow along water sources and are represented by Marselia minuta, while Equisetum arvense and Equisetum ramosissimum are found on moist sand beds along the rivers.

6.6  Concluding Remarks In recent years, there is an increase in the awareness in the world about the taxonomic and ecological aspects of vascular plants including ferns. The ferns and lycophytes of Pakistan are still in the exploratory phase. Most of the fern species were collected nearly five decades ago but some modern collections are available. This chapter provides an overview on the ecological realtionships, specific habitats and their distribution in discrete vegetation units by pooling data on the ferns and lycophytes published during the last 50 years in Pakistan. Most parts of Pakistan have been visited by collectors for fern collection such as Azad Kashmir, Poonch, Mirpur, Ziarat, Baluchistan, Chitral, Gilgit, Astore, Deosai plain, Baltistan, Kurram agency, Hunza, Attock, Salt range, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Jhelum Punjab, Murree, Nathia Gali, Peshawar, Malakand Division, upper and lower Dir Districts, Upper Swat, Swat Kohistan, Ditsrict Shangla, Hazara Division, Kaghan valley, Siran valley, District Mansehra, and District Abbotabad, but no area has yet been studied thoroughly. There are still areas which are lilltle known and are poorly represented in fern collections. It is obvious that many areas in the country need more thorough exploration and most of the materials need careful taxonomic and nomenclatural investigation. Most of the collected specimens of Pakistani ferns are incomplete; their precise localities and habitats are often not mentioned. Ecological and taxonomical studies on ferns are scanty. A complete and updated list of ferns and

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lycophytes is still needed. Only a small percentage of ferns have been investigated ecologically and taxonomic descriptions for the reported species need to be upgraded.

References Fazalullah, Ali U (2014) Pteridophytic flora of Maidan Valley Dir (L) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Int J Biol Biotechnol 11:649–653 Fraser JC (2014) Ferns and Allies of the far-west Indo-Himalaya (Afghanistan, Pakistan and Kashmir) and Iran-revised checklists, classification and phytogeography. Indian Fern J 30:161–191 Gul A, Alam J, Ahmad H, Irfan M (2016) An updated checklist of pteridophytes of district Mansehra, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa-Pakistan. Plant Sci Today 3:237–247 Gul A, Alam J, Majid A et al (2017) Diversity and distribution patterns in the pteridophyte flora of Pakistan and Azad Kashmir. Pak J Bot 42:83–88 Mehltreter K, Walker LR, Sharpe JM (2010) Fern ecology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Murtaza G, Majid SA, Asghar R (2004) Morpho-palynological studies on the climbing Fern Lygodium japonicum. Asian J Plant Sci 3:728–730 Murtaza G, Asghar R, Majid SA et  al (2006) Anatomical and palynological studies on some Filicales from Neelum valley, Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir. Pak J Bot 38:921–929 Nakaike T, Malik S (1992) A list of pteridophytes collected from Pakistan in 1990. In: Cryptogamic flora of Pakistan, vol 1. National Science Museum, Tokyo, pp 261–281 Nakaike T, Malik S (1993) A list of pteridophytes collected from Pakistan in 1991. In: Cryptogamic flora of Pakistan, vol 2. National Science Museum, Tokyo, pp 261–281 Ozturk M, Altay V, Latıff A et al (2018a) Chapter 9: a comparative analysis of the medicinal pteridophytes in Turkey, Pakistan and Malaysia. In: Ozturk M, Hakeem KR (eds) Plant and human health, vol 1. Springer, Cham, pp 349–390 Ozturk M, Altay V, Latiff A et  al (2018b) Chapter 11: a comparative analysis of the medicinal plants used for diabetes mellitus in the traditional medicine in Turkey, Pakistan, and Malaysia. In: Ozturk M, Hakeem KR (eds) Plant and human health, vol 1. Springer, Cham, pp 409–461 Ozturk M, Altay V, Latiff A et al (2018c) Chapter 16: potential medicinal plants used in the hypertension in Turkey, Pakistan, and Malaysia. In: Ozturk M, Hakeem KR (eds) Plant and human health, vol 1. Springer, Cham, pp 595–618 Rahman F, Mumtaz AS, Shah SA (2015) Psilotum nudum: a new pteridophyte record for the cryptogamic flora of Pakistan. Pak J Bot 47:493–494 Rajpar MN, Ozturk M, Altay V et al (2020) Species composition of dry-temperate forest as an important habitat for wildlife fauna species. J Environ Biol 41:328–336 Saima S, Dasti AA, Hussain F et al (2009) Floristic compositions along an 18-km long transect in Ayubia National Park district Abbottabad, Pakistan. Pak J Bot 41:2115–2127 Shah SN, Ahmad M, Zafar M et al (2018a) A light and scanning electron microscopic diagnosis of leaf epidermal morphology and its systematic implications in Dryopteridaceae: investigating 12 Pakistani taxa. Micron 111:36–49 Shah SN, Ahmad M, Zafar M et al (2018b) Foliar epidermal micromorphology and its taxonomic implications in some selected species of Athyriaceae. Microsc Res Tech 81:902–913 Shah SN, Ahmad M, Zafar M et  al (2019a) Taxonomic importance of spore morphology in Thelypteridaceae from Northern Pakistan. Microsc Res Tech 82:1326–1333 Shah SN, Ahmad M, Zafar M et al (2019b) Leaf micromorphological adaptations of resurrection ferns in Northern Pakistan. Flora 255:1–10

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Shah SN, Celik A, Ahmad M et al (2019c) Leaf epidermal micromorphology and its implications in systematics of certain taxa of the fern family Pteridaceae from northern Pakistan. Microsc Res Tech 82:317–332 Stewart RR (1967) Check list of the plants of Swat State, Northwest Pakistan. Pak J For 45:462–464 Stewart RR, Ali S, Nasir E (1972) An annotated catalogue of the vascular plants of West Pakistan and Kashmir. Fakhri Print Press, Karachi, pp 2–22 Sundas I, Zaheer-ud-Din K, Noreen R (2012) A contribution to the taxonomic study of fern flora of Punjab, Pakistan. Pak J Bot 44:315–322 Zaman W, Shah SN, Ullah F et  al (2019) Systematic approach to the correct identification of Asplenium dalhousiae (Aspleniaceae) with their medicinal uses. Microsc Res Tech 82:459–465

Chapter 7

Woody Species Diversity in the Foot Hills of Eastern Himalayas Gopal Shukla, Prakash Rai, Jahangeer A. Bhat, and Sumit Chakravarty

7.1  Introduction Mountains are rich repositories of biodiversity and home to some of the world’s most threatened, endangered and endemic species; however, mountains are also the most fragile environments on earth (WWF-US 2005; Chettri et  al. 2010; Ozturk et al. 2017). Geologically, the Himalayas are young, and the scale of complexity of the Eastern Himalayan mountains contributes to a very high biological diversity in several ways (Xu 1993; Masoodi et al. 2020). The Eastern Himalayas are geographically located between the two densely populated nations China and India. The Eastern Himalayas extend from the Kaligandaki Valley in central Nepal to northwest Yunnan in China  – encompassing Bhutan, the North East Indian states and north Bengal hills in India, southeast Tibet and parts of Yunnan in China and northern Myanmar. The biota of the Eastern Himalayas is contributed with many taxa from the Indo-Malayan Realm of Southeast Asia (Xu 1993; Chettri et al. 2010). The diversity of woody plants varies greatly in different regions due to the deviations in biogeography, habitat and disturbance (Whittaker 1972; Ozturk et  al. 2012). Valuable resources are delivered by woody trees, and they also provide habitats for forest communities (Altay 2019). The expedition on plant patterns in forest stands has become a significant tool in studying the dynamics and structure of forest communities (Pommerening 2002; Altay et al. 2012; Ozyıgıt et al. 2015; Sezer et al. 2015; Altay 2019; Rajpar et al. 2020). Plant species are threatened with extinction due to deforestation of tropical forests (Myers 1988). Global and regional drivers of

G. Shukla · P. Rai · S. Chakravarty Department of Forestry, Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Cooch Behar, West Bengal, India J. A. Bhat (*) Department of Forest Products and Utilization, College of Horticulture and Forestry, Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, India © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 M. Öztürk et al. (eds.), Biodiversity, Conservation and Sustainability in Asia, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73943-0_7

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biodiversity loss such as land use change and habitat loss, pollution, climate change, invasive alien species and increasing population have gained global focus on the protection and production of bio-resources (Imanberdieva et  al. 2018a, b; Altay et al. 2020). Building the social and ecological resilience of mountain ecosystems will be essential for attaining Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. Most specifically relevant is Target 15.4: “By 2030, ensure the conservation of mountain ecosystems, including their biodiversity, in order to enhance their capacity to provide benefits that are essential for sustainable development.” The eastern region has been brought under the limelight of global conservation by Myers (1988) and has included it among the Global Biodiversity Hotspots (GBH). The vegetation types in the Eastern Himalayas broadly range from tropical to alpine. Different forest types and species diversity within the different forest types are unique and important components of Eastern Himalayan forests, which have diverse climatic conditions and complex topography. The destruction of Himalayan forests and foot hills has caused many environmental problems. Studying the plant communities is thus a basic necessity for understanding the specific structural and functional attributes to formulate better strategies for sustainable management of Himalayan natural resources. Keeping in consideration the above facts, the present study was an attempt to understand the diversity and structure of the woody perennials in the foot hills of the Eastern Himalayas.

7.2  Study Area The present study was conducted in the Chilapatta Reserve Forest, Cooch Behar, located at the northern fringe of West Bengal state in the foothills of the sub-­ Himalayan mountain belt. The geo-coordinates (observed by Garmin 72, GPS) of the study sites were in between 23° 58′ and 26° 52′ N latitude and 89° 55′ E longitude with an elevation of 43 m asl (Fig. 7.1). The forest selected for the study has three beats, Chilapatta, Mendabari and Bania; the climate is moist tropical with an annual rainfall of about 2600 mm. The rainfall in the region is due to the south-west monsoon with mild temperatures (highest 36 °C during April–May and lowest 6 °C during February). The soil is acidic, with high organic carbon and available nitrogen, but medium in available phosphorus and potash (Paul 2004; Shukla et al. 2017a).

7.3  Data Evaluation The forest stand was named according to the composition of dominant tree species (Prakash 1986), viz., ≥75% as pure stand; 50–75% as mainly single-species dominant stand; 25–50% as mixed stand and