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The baseline ecological exploratory studies of floristically rich areas like the western Himalaya are very important to determine the diversity variations. Based on research gaps detected in ecological literature of the western Himalayan forests of Sudhan Gali and Ganga summit, the study area is revisited. Plots data was collected during 2016, and advanced multivariate statistical tools were used to analyze it. Some of multivariate tools including permutation test, indicator species analysis and variation partitioning (partial CCA) were used for the first time in the area. The results of hierarchical clustering and permutation test revealed that there were four ecologically meaningful vegetation groups (1. Berberis- Micromeria-Desmodium (BMD), 2. Pinus-Rubus-Persicaria (PRP), 3. Viburnum-Abies-Dryopteris (VAD) and 4. Sibbaldia-Thymus-Bistorta (STB) associations) in the area. A significant (p ≤ 0.05) pairwise compositional difference of all the detected plant communities was observed. The results of canonical correspondence analysis (net effect) depicted that all the studied environmental variables were significantly important, and explains about 73.1% variations in the species data. The higher (r > 0.9) species-environment pseudo-canonical correlations values for the first four CCA-axes revealed that the selected explanatory variables were determinants of the response (species) data variations, and the high values for the CCA axes 2 to 4 indicated that there was no single dominant environmental gradient in this part of the western Himalaya. The highest β diversity value of Himalayan alpine scrubland at the Ganga summit depicted that even a minor variation in environment affects the high altitude vegetation more rapidly than the vegetation of low elevation areas. The vegetation of the study area is under continuous deterioration, and this exploratory work can be used as a baseline study for the future management, sustainable use, and conservation programs in the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil erosion negatively affects vegetation that brings deteriorating changes in the structure and composition of plant communities. Present study investigated the impact of soil erosion on vegetation along Jhelum valley road District Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Phytosociological attributes were measured by using quadrat method. Geographical characters of each site were recorded including slope, aspect and elevation of eroded sites. Five sites were selected three were disturbed and two were used as control sites for general comparison. At disturbed sites Average Shannon diversity was 2.47; Simpson diversity was 0.94; Species richness was1.75; Evenness was 0.7. At control sites. Average Shannon diversity was 2.95; Simpson diversity was 0.97; Species richness was 2.02; Evenness was 0.72. Maximum similarity was 66.13 recorded between Control site 1 and Control site 2 while minimum similarity was 22.98 recorded between disturbed site 1 and Control site 1. There was a general trend of low diversity of trees and shrubs at disturbed sites as compared to control sites. Therophytes were dominant at disturbed site and regeneration pattern was high at disturbed sites. A total of 99 plants representing 91 genera belonging to 45 families were recorded from investigated area. The dominant family was Poaceae followed by Asteraceae, Lamiaceae and Rosaceae. At disturbed sites Shannon diversity was 2.47; Simpson diversity was 0.94; Species richness was1.75; Evenness was 0.7. At control sites Shannon diversity was 2.95; Simpson diversity was 0.97; Species richness was 2.02; Evenness was 0.72. At control sites, more diversity and richness was observed as compared to disturbed sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]