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The composition, structure and distribution of vegetation are influenced by diverse environmental factors. Such research inquiries provide the initial data for future conservation and management efforts. The study area of North Waziristan district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan comprises diverse forests of the Spin Ghar Mountain Range (at the border areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan), and a highly remote, mountainous, and unexplored region. There was little information on the complex relationships that existed between the study area's ambient environment and vegetation. This study hypothesized that the varying environmental complexity in the study area and vegetation variety may be significantly correlated, and the ranking of leading influencing factors might enhance our ecological understanding. A total of 61 study sites comprising 183 transects (50 m each) were randomly selected to record the vegetation-environment data from January-2018 to December-2020 (3 years). Monte Carlo permutation testing, hierarchical clustering of study samples, indicator species analysis, and ordination were applied to assess the sampling data. The results indicated that there were a total of 391 vascular plant species which were further classified into seven significantly different (p

Species distribution modelling (SDM) is an important tool to examine the possible change in the population range and/or niche-shift under current environment and predicted climate change. Monotheca buxifolia is an economically and ecologically important tree species inhabiting Pakistan and Afghanistan in dense patches, and species range is contracting rapidly. This study hypothesize that predicted climate change might remarkably influence the existing distribution pattern of M. buxifolia in the study area. A total of 75 occurrence locations were identified comprising M. buxifolia as a dominant tree species. The Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) algorithm was utilized to perform the SDM under current (the 1970s–2000s) and two future climate change scenarios (shared socioeconomic pathways: SSPs 245 and 585) of two time periods (the 2050s and 2070s). The optimal model settings were assessed, and simulation precision was assessed by examining the partial area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (pAUC-ROC). The results showed that out of 39 considered bio-climatic, topographic, edaphic, and remote sensing variables which were utilized in the preliminary model, 6 variables including precipitation of warmest quarter, topographic diversity, global human modification of terrestrial land, normalized difference vegetation index, isothermality, and elevation (in order) were the most influential drivers, and utilized in all reduced SDMs. A high predictive performance (pAUC-ROC; >0.9) of all the considered SDMs was recorded. A total of about 67,684 km2 of geographical area was predicted as suitable habitat (p > 0.8) for M. buxifolia, and Pakistan is the leading country (with about 54,975 km2 of suitable land area) under the current climate scenario. Overall, the existing distribution of the tree species in the study area might face considerable loss (i.e. rate of change %; −27 to −107) in future, and simultaneously a northward (high elevation) niche shift is predicted for all the considered future climate change scenarios. Hence, development and implementation of a coordinated conservation program is required on priority basis to save the tree species in its native geographic range.

Recent studies suggest that two factors including climate change (especially precipitation) and human land use management (HLUM) are primarily driving greening trend around the world. However, studies targeting the impact of both factors on different vegetation layers (i.e. herbs, shrubs and tree layers) are lacking. This study hypothesize that precipitation relatively influence the under-storey vegetation cover more quickly, and HLUM (say afforestation/reforestation, deforestation) is more important towards top-storey layer. To investigate this, 13 randomly selected permanent stations in the wild natural west Himalayan coniferous forests of Sudhan Gali, Pakistan were explored from 2000-2016 to collect vegetation health data by two ways; Ground data (i.e. cover estimation of three layers), and indirect remote sensing (RS) data (i.e. MODIS NDVI/EVI 16-days-time series). Deforestation and grazing pressure as HLUM were measured by using some new and more intuitive mathematical operations, and climatic data (1979-2018) was also collected and compared. The results depicted that there is an overall greening trend in the study area coupled with significant increase in average herbaceous cover, NDVI, EVI and precipitation during 2009-2016. Contrastingly, high elevation microhabitats are facing maximum cover loss (especially top-storey), and have negative seasonal Sen’s slope values of the studied time series. The distance-based Redundancy Analysis (db-RDA) results confirmed that variations in RS-data were significantly explained by precipitation and herbaceous cover only. This study concluded that overall greening trend was driven by precipitation, and not remarkably by HLUM by supporting under-storey vegetation, whereas, top-storey tree layer is still declining, and need immediate attention.

Vegetation composition and/or plant species co-existence is influenced by the environmental variations in any region. The ecological knowledge and order of importance of selected environmental variations is important in conservation and management of plant resources. Based on relevant knowledge gap, the study area of district Jhelum, Pakistan lying in an arid-tropical zone was selected to explore the vegetation types and their driving environmental factors by using latest multivariate statistical approaches. For this, the entire district was ecologically explored to collect the natural wild vegetation and environmental data from January 2018 to December 2020. The study area was partitioned into 171 grids (5 × 5 km2). In each grid, three sites were randomly selected (i.e. 513 samples), and subsequently-nine plots were laid at each sampling site (i.e. 1539 plots). Different statistical tests including Monte Carlo permutation test, Indicator Species Analysis (ISA), hierarchical classification, ordination, and variation partitioning were applied to seek the potential number of vegetation types, plant species composition, classification of the studied samples, order of importance of the considered predictors and groups of environmental variables respectively. The findings of this study indicated that all the documented 291 plant species belong to five statistically significant (p

Numerous investigations on plant ethnomedicinal applications have been conducted; however, knowledge about the medicinal use of wild animals is still limited. This present study is the second on the medicinal and cultural meaning of avian and mammalian species used by the population in the surrounding area of the Ayubia National Park, KPK, Pakistan. Interviews and meetings were compiled from the participants (N = 182) of the study area. The relative frequency of citation, fidelity level, relative popularity level, and rank order priority indices were applied to analyze the information. Overall, 137 species of wild avian and mammalian species were documented. Of these, 18 avian and 14 mammalian species were utilized to treat different diseases. The present research showed noteworthy ethno-ornithological and ethno-mammalogical knowledge of local people and their connection with fauna, which might be useful in the sustainable utilization of the biological diversity of the Ayubia National Park, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Furthermore, in vivo and/or in vitro examination of the pharmacological activities of species with the highest fidelity level (FL%) as well as frequency of mention (FM) might be important for investigations on faunal-based new drugs.

The distribution of large ungulates is more often negatively impacted by the changing climate, especially global warming and species with limited distributional zones. While developing conservation action plans for the threatened species such as the Himalayan goral (Naemorhedus goral Hardwicke 1825; a mountain goat that mostly inhabits rocky cliffs), it is imperative to comprehend how future distributions might vary based on predicted climate change. In this work, MaxEnt modeling was employed to assess the habitat suitability of the target species under varying climate scenarios. Such studies have provided highly useful information but to date no such research work has been conducted that considers this endemic animal species of the Himalayas. A total of 81 species presence points, 19 bioclimatic and 3 topographic variables were employed in the species distribution modeling (SDM), and MaxEnt calibration and optimization were performed to select the best candidate model. For predicted climate scenarios, the future data is drawn from SSPs 245 and SSPs 585 of the 2050s and 2070s. Out of total 20 variables, annual precipitation, elevation, precipitation of driest month, slope aspect, minimum temperature of coldest month, slope, precipitation of warmest quarter, and temperature annual range (in order) were detected as the most influential drivers. A high accuracy value (AUC-ROC > 0.9) was observed for all the predicted scenarios. The habitat suitability of the targeted species might expand (about 3.7 to 13%) under all the future climate change scenarios. The same is evident according to local residents as species which are locally considered extinct in most of the area, might be shifting northwards along the elevation gradient away from human settlements. This study recommends additional research is conducted to prevent potential population collapses, and to identify other possible causes of local extinction events. Our findings will aid in formulating conservation plans for the Himalayan goral in a changing climate and serve as a basis for future monitoring of the species.

The freshwater algae grow in a wide range of aquatic habitats across the globe and are rich in secondary metabolites. The present study was designed to conduct the phytochemical screening, proximate analysis, antioxidant and antibacterial activities of water net (Hydrodictyon reticulatum), an algal weed from Pakistan. The pure and dried algal mass was crushed into a fine powder and four solvent-based extracts were used for phytochemical screening. The results of preliminary qualitative screening indicated the presence of flavonoids, phenols, quinones, steroids, resins, anthraquinones, glycosides, lignin, proteins, saponins, tannins, reducing sugars, alkaloids, terpenoids, fats, and oils, whereas the quantification results revealed the high quantities of total ash, crude proteins, crude fiber, alkaloids, carotenoids, flavonoids, and chlorophyll a. The studied methanolic extracts with maximum concentration (150 μg/ml) showed significantly (p-value ≤ 0.05) higher antioxidant and antibacterial activities. The IC50 values of the crude methanolic extract of water net were found very close to streptomycin (positive control) against both bacterial pathogenic species of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus. This study concluded that the crude extracts of water net possessed antibacterial activity at par to streptomycin drug, and requires further detailed study for the separation, identification, and testing of the pure phytochemical compound to be used by the nutraceutical and or pharmaceutical industry.

This study hypothesized that native people have unique traditional knowledge of plant resources in the rural areas and basic objective was the documentation of this valuable inheritance. Ethnobotanical data was collected from a remote rural area of Mandi Ahmad Abad, Union council number NA-144 Tehsil Depalpur District Okara, Pakistan. A total of 94 informants were randomly interviewed to collect data about local names of plant species, mode of administration, recipes and ailments, and ethnobotanical uses through semi-structured questionnaire, interviews and group discussion methods. The collected data was statistically analyzed by calculating use value (UV), frequency of citation (FC), relative frequency of citation (RFC), factor of informant consensus (FIC), family importance value, and relative importance (RI). This study is also compared with ethnobotanical literature by using Jaccard's index (JI) for similarity analysis. A total of 126 species belonging to 52 families were documented. The Poaceae (13spp.), Leguminosae (12spp.), Solanaceae (10spp.) and Cucurbitaceae (10spp.) were dominant families. Highest used value (UV = 0.22) was obtained for Azadirachta indica. The minimum used value (UV) was showed by Alhagi maurorum, Eclipta prostrata, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, Solanum virginianum and Trianthema potulacastrum (UV = 0.01). Hepatitis, stomach ulcer, bowel disorders, urinary problems, psoriasis, cancer, and leucoderma were the most treated ailments with ICF value of 1, followed by leucorrhea (ICF: 0.89), and vomiting (ICF: 0.86). The highest Jaccard's similarity index value (JI = 0.329) showed that plant species reported in our study was more similar with Arid regions of Northern Punjab, Pakistan. This novel ethnobotanical report concluded that traditional knowledge about use of medicinal plants is decreasing due to allopathic medicines. Immediate steps should be taken for conservation and documentation of traditional knowledge of plants especially those having medicinal properties.

Chilgoza pine is an economically and ecologically important evergreen coniferous tree species of the dry and rocky temperate zone, and a native of south Asia. This species is rated as near threatened (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This study hypothesized that climatic, soil and topographic variations strongly influence the distribution pattern and potential habitat suitability prediction of Chilgoza pine. Accordingly, this study was aimed to document the potential habitat suitability variations of Chilgoza pine under varying environmental scenarios by using 37 different environmental variables. The maximum entropy (MaxEnt) algorithm in MaxEnt software was used to forecast the potential habitat suitability under current and future (i.e., 2050s and 2070s) climate change scenarios (i.e., Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs): 245 and 585). A total of 238 species occurrence records were collected from Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, and employed to build the predictive distribution model. The results showed that normalized difference vegetation index, mean temperature of coldest quarter, isothermality, precipitation of driest month and volumetric fraction of the coarse soil fragments (>2 mm) were the leading predictors of species presence prediction. High accuracy values (>0.9) of predicted distribution models were recorded, and remarkable shrinkage of potentially suitable habitat of Chilgoza pine was followed by Afghanistan, India and China. The estimated extent of occurrence (EOO) of the species was about 84,938 km2, and the area of occupancy (AOO) was about 888 km2, with 54 major sub-populations. This study concluded that, as the total predicted suitable habitat under current climate scenario (138,782 km2) is reasonably higher than the existing EOO, this might represent a case of continuous range contraction. Hence, the outcomes of this research can be used to build the future conservation and management plans accordingly for this economically valuable species in the region.

Land use–land cover (LULC) alteration is primarily associated with land degradation, especially in recent decades, and has resulted in various harmful changes in the landscape. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) has the prospective capacity to classify the vegetative characteristics of many ecological areas and has proven itself useful as a remote sensing (RS) tool in recording vegetative phenological aspects. Likewise, the normalized difference built-up index (NDBI) is used for quoting built-up areas. The current research objectives include identification of LULC, NDVI, and NDBI changes in Jhelum District, Punjab, Pakistan, during the last 30 years (1990–2020). This study targeted five major LULC classes: water channels, built-up area, barren land, forest, and cultivated land. Satellite imagery classification tools were used to identify LULC changes in Jhelum District, northern Punjab, Pakistan. The perception data about the environmental variations as conveyed by the 500 participants (mainly farmers) were also recorded and analyzed. The results depict that the majority of farmers (54%) believe in the appearance of more drastic changes such as less rainfall, drought, and decreased water availability for irrigation during 2020 compared to 30 years prior. Overall accuracy assessment of imagery classification was 83.2% and 88.8% for 1990, 88.1% and 85.7% for 2000, 86.5% and 86.7% for 2010, and 85.6% and 87.3% for 2020. The NDVI for Jhelum District was the highest in 1990 at +0.86 and the lowest in 2020 at +0.32; similarly, NDBI values were the highest in 2020 at +0.72 and the lowest in 1990 at −0.36. LULC change showed a clear association with temperature, NDBI, and NDVI in the study area. At the same time, variations in the land area of barren soil, vegetation, and built-up from 1990 to 2020 were quite prominent, possibly resulting in temperature increases, reduction in water for irrigation, and changing rainfall patterns. Farmers were found to be quite responsive to such climatic variations, diverting to framing possible mitigation approaches, but they need government assistance. The findings of this study, especially the causes and impacts of rapid LULC variations in the study area, need immediate attention from related government departments and policy makers.

Recent ethnobotanical studies have raised the hypothesis that religious affiliation can, in certain circumstances, influence the evolution of the use of wild food plants, given that it shapes kinship relations and vertical transmission of traditional/local environmental knowledge. The local population living in Jhelum District, Punjab, Pakistan comprises very diverse religious and linguistic groups. A field study about the uses of wild food plants was conducted in the district. This field survey included 120 semi-structured interviews in 27 villages, focusing on six religious groups (Sunni and Shia Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, and Ahmadis). We documented a total of 77 wild food plants and one mushroom species which were used by the local population mainly as cooked vegetables and raw snacks. The cross-religious comparison among six groups showed a high homogeneity of use among two Muslim groups (Shias and Sunnis), while the other four religious groups showed less extensive, yet diverse uses, staying within the variety of taxa used by Islamic groups. No specific plant cultural markers (i.e., plants gathered only by one community) could be identified, although there were a limited number of group-specific uses of the shared plants. Moreover, the field study showed erosion of the knowledge among the non-Muslim groups, which were more engaged in urban occupations and possibly underwent stronger cultural adaption to a modern lifestyle. The recorded traditional knowledge could be used to guide future development programs aimed at fostering food security and the valorization of the local bio-cultural heritage.

The problems of synonymy, incorrect species author citation/abbreviation and spelling errors are hampering botanical research around the globe. This article was aimed to quantify the intensity and errors encountered in this regard in published botanical articles pertaining to the Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan. To address this issue, 100 articles published in 1999-2015 were reviewed. A total of 5460 entries were processed carefully and 1350 species binomials (excluding repititions) were extracted that were linked with 1333 accepted binomials according to theplantlist.org. Out of these accepted species binomials, 1109 were communicated correctly, whereas the remaining 224 binomials were conveyed in the form of 241 synonyms. Average synonyms to accepted binomials ratio for the said timespan was calculated quite high as 13.99%. By taking these conveyed synonyms as our sub sample, we further detected 712 errors related to orthography, author citations and abbreviations. A strong positive and significant Pearson correlation was observed amongst the number of articles published, total numbers of species binomials communicated and the number of synonyms conveyed. These taxonomic errors and nomenclatural issues in botanical articles are causing ambiguity and confusions, thus reducing the reliability and reproducibility of botanical researches. Our results prove modest basic taxonomic skills of authors, dwindling taxonomic understanding and non-updating of regional floras on a periodic basis as primary reasons. We briefly discuss this global issue and its consequences and also document numerous suggestions to mitigate the impacts.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0171896.].