Floristic Association of Moist Temperate Forests of Shangla District, Delineated by a Multivariate Approach

Multivariate analysis was conducted to explore the moist temperate forests of the Shangla district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The prime objective was to quantitatively describe and differentiate the vegetation groups and the factors that determine the boundaries and composition of plant communities in the...

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Published in:Agronomy (Basel) 2022-07, Vol.12 (7), p.1723
Main Authors: Iqbal, Javed, Shaikh, Nasiruddin, Ahmed, Moinuddin, Zaman, Wajid, Khan, Adam, Ayaz, Asma, El-Ansary, Diaa O., Sharma, Hanoor, Elansary, Hosam O., Park, SeonJoo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abies pindrow
Cluster analysis
Clustering
Community
Composition
Dominant species
Elevation
Environmental effects
Environmental factors
environmental variable
Flora
Forests
Investigations
Laboratories
Moisture effects
Multivariate analysis
Nutrients
Ordination
Pakistan
Phosphorus
Physical properties
Picea smithiana
Pine trees
Pinus wallichiana
Plant communities
Salinity
Seedlings
Shangla district
Soil moisture
Soil nutrients
Soil physical properties
Soil properties
Soil water
Statistical analysis
Subgroups
Temperate forests
Trees
Understory
Vegetation
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Summary:Multivariate analysis was conducted to explore the moist temperate forests of the Shangla district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The prime objective was to quantitatively describe and differentiate the vegetation groups and the factors that determine the boundaries and composition of plant communities in the Shangla district. This was achieved by sampling all common species in a complex vegetation mosaic coinciding with local gradients in topography and soil distribution. Ward’s clustering dendrogram demonstrated four significant vegetation clusters with respect to environmental effects. These four major groups of the tree vegetation were superimposed on the ordination plane: 1. Pinus wallichiana, the dominant group associated with Abies pindrow; 2. Abies pindrow and the Picea smithiana group; 3. Dominant Cedrus deodara associated with the Pinus wallichiana, Abies pindrow, Picea smithiana, and Quercus baloot group; 4. Pinus roxberghii pure group. The key controlling factors for each group were the environmental characteristics (i.e., edaphic factors, topographic factors, soil physical properties, and soil nutrients). The results revealed elevation (p
ISSN:2073-4395
2073-4395
DOI:10.3390/agronomy12071723