Ecosystem services provided by natural vegetation..

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Shujaul Mulk Khan

A part of the talk delivered at Department of Biology, University of Leicester.

Educación Tecnología Empresariales

THE ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
PROVIDED BY
NATURAL VEGETATION
OF THE NARAN VALLEY PAKISTAN

By

Shujaul Mulk Khan
Supervisor Dr David Harper
Field Supervisor Prof Dr Habib Ahmad
Co Supervisor Dr Sue Page

Ecosystem services of Himalayan vegetation

 “components of nature used for
human wellbeing”
(Boyd and Banzhaf, 2006)

 Himalaya world's youngest and highest
mountain range with fastest uplift rate
have 7,500 - 10,000 species of
ethnobotanical uses
(Pei, 1998)

Introduction to study area (Naran valley)

0 100 200 Km 0 5 10 Km

Naran Valley is:
 a mountainous valley in North Pakistan

 located on 34° 54.26´ - 35° 08.76´ N latitudes and 73°
38.90´ - 74° 01.30´ E longitudes at an elevation of
2450 - 4000 m

 276 Km from Islamabad capital of Pakistan
Naran Valley, Google earth map

Naran

Lalazar

Lower Naran Valley; Picture view from top of a mountain Middle of the valley
Lake Lulusar

Jalkhad peak

Upper Valley Upper most end of the Valley

Data Analysis (First year Field Work)

1296 releves/quadrats from 144 sample sites being analysed
with 5 environmental variables through;

I. EXCEL 2007,

II. PC-ORD version 5 and

III. CANOCO version 4.5

EXCEL 2007

Was used to calculate;

 Absolute and relative values of quantitative and qualitative
attributes (Presence/absence, Density, Cover & Frequency)
of plants

 Species and environmental data matrices, according to the
CANOCO and PC-ORD requirements

 Constancy, % constancy and fidelity of species for a specific
community

 Graphic presentations of basic climatic, species and
environmental data

Results Taxonomic divisions No. of No. of
Families Species
 Total species 198, Dicotyledonae 53 161
Monocotyledonae 9 23
Total Angiospermae 62 184
12 trees Gymnospermae 3 8
20 shrubs TOTAL SPERMATOPHYTA 65 192
166 herbs PTERIDOPHYTA 3 6
belong to 68 families GRAND TOTAL 68 198
Taxonomic divisions of the plant species

Herb species
Shrub species
Tree species

Various habit forms of vegetation

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Shujaul Mulk Khan

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Ecological assessment of plant communities in the peochar valley of the hindu...

Shujaul Mulk Khan

BACKGROUND: Limited health facilities and malnutrition are major problems in the Karakorum Range of Northern Pakistan, often resulting in various human disorders. Since centuries, however, local communities in these areas have developed traditional methods for treating various ailments and local foods capes that can be significant for devising public health and nutritional policies. This study was intended to document the ethnobotanical knowledge of the local peoples in the Tormik Valley, especially in the medical and food domains. METHODS: Field trips were undertaken in 14 different villages of the study area from 2010 to 2012. Ethnobotanical data were gathered using semi-structured interviews and group conversation with 69 informants. Details about local uses of plant species were recorded along with demographic characteristics of the visited communities. Relative frequency citation index (RFCi) and preference ranking index (PRi) tools were applied to determine the cultural significance of the reported species. RESULTS: Sixty-three plant species, with a predominance of Asteraceae and Fabaceae family members, as well as their detailed folk uses were documented. Forty-three percent of the species were used to treat various diseases, 21 % were consumed as wild fruits and vegetables and 53 % of the species had multipurpose applications. Thymus linearis Benth, Hippophae rhamnoides ssp. turkestanica L. and Convolvulus arvensis L. were found to be the most utilized medicinal plant species, i.e. those with significant RFCi values (0.54, 0.51 and 0.48, respectively). Betula utilis D. Don was the most versatile taxon (seven different ways of utilization); being this species a common and easily accessible subalpine tree and then under anthropogenic pressure, the implementation of concrete strategies aimed at its in-situ and ex-situ conservation is strongly recommended. CONCLUSION: The valleys in the Karakorum Mountains in the Northern Pakistan host significant Traditional Knowledge on local food and medicinal plant species, which need to be reconsidered and cautiously re-evaluated by ethnopharmacologists, and public health/nutrition actors. Furthermore, germane trans-disciplinary investigations are suggested to ensure the dynamic conservation of precious local knowledge systems, as well as plant diversity in Pakistani mountain regions. KEYWORDS: Ethnobotany; Indigenous knowledge; Karakorum; Medicinal plants; Pakistan

Ethnobotany of the balti community, tormik valley, karakorum range, baltistan...

Shujaul Mulk Khan

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