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Floristic Diversity and Indicator Species Analysis Along Altitudinal Gradients of the Upper Indus Basin, Northern Pakistan.

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Title: Floristic Diversity and Indicator Species Analysis Along Altitudinal Gradients of the Upper Indus Basin, Northern Pakistan.
Authors: Khan, Adam1 (AUTHOR) adam@ulm.edu.pk, Saleem, Sidra2 (AUTHOR), Zaidi, Sahar3 (AUTHOR), Ahmad, Zeeshan4 (AUTHOR), Ali, Hamada E.5,6 (AUTHOR) helsayedali@gmail.com
Source: Ecology & Evolution (20457758). Mar2026, Vol. 16 Issue 3, p1-16. 16p.
Subject Terms: *Plant diversity, *Plant communities, *Bioindicators, *Restoration ecology, *Soils
Geographic Terms: Pakistan, Indus River
Abstract: Understanding how altitudinal gradients influence floristic diversity and indicator species is essential for unlocking the ecological dynamics of biodiversity‐rich regions. We examined the floristic diversity, communities' formation and their respective indicator species across defined altitudinal zones of the Upper Indus Basin region in Indus Kohistan Valley, northern Pakistan. Vegetation was sampled along transects ranging from 1957 to 3380 m using quadrat, with a total of 600 quadrats from 30 different sites surveyed during the summer season (June–August). Most plants belonged to family Asteraceae, Pinaceae, Lamiaceae and Berberidaceae, with chamaephytes as the dominant life forms, followed by geophyte and phanerophytes. Cluster Analysis classified the vegetation into three communities: Taxus‐Rumex‐Mentha (TRM), Pinus‐Indigofera‐Leontice (PIL), and Pinus‐Phyllanthus‐Valeriana (PPV). Species attributes plots identified based on Canonical Correspondence Analysis demonstrated that TRM community is primarily influenced by calcium, pH and salinity. The PIL community is limited by potassium, oxygen reduction potential, sand and silt while the PPV community by sodium, MWHC, soil moisture and carbon content. Tukey showed that the TRM community had the highest mean dominance, the PIL community exhibited the highest Simpson, Shannon and Evenness indices, and the PPV community had the lowest values, indicating that soil properties and microclimatic factors along the altitudinal gradients shape the species composition and association. Detrended correspondence analysis explained a total of 23.89% of the variance, as the first axis illustrated the maximum gradient length (3.07) further strengthening the influence of environmental variables on species distribution and association. The DCA indicated that environmental variables such as salinity, pH, carbon content, soil texture, and calcium substantially influenced species distribution and association, a pattern supported by the Mantel test. It is recommended that reforestation efforts should prioritize the PPV community at high‐altitude zone (2390–3380 m) and consider sodium, MWHC, soil moisture and carbon content when selecting suitable indicator species for restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Ecology & Evolution (20457758) is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Floristic Diversity and Indicator Species Analysis Along Altitudinal Gradients of the Upper Indus Basin, Northern Pakistan.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Khan%2C+Adam%22">Khan, Adam</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> adam@ulm.edu.pk</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Saleem%2C+Sidra%22">Saleem, Sidra</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Zaidi%2C+Sahar%22">Zaidi, Sahar</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ahmad%2C+Zeeshan%22">Ahmad, Zeeshan</searchLink><relatesTo>4</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ali%2C+Hamada+E%2E%22">Ali, Hamada E.</searchLink><relatesTo>5,6</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> helsayedali@gmail.com</i>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Ecology+%26+Evolution+%2820457758%29%22">Ecology & Evolution (20457758)</searchLink>. Mar2026, Vol. 16 Issue 3, p1-16. 16p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Plant+diversity%22">Plant diversity</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Plant+communities%22">Plant communities</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Bioindicators%22">Bioindicators</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Restoration+ecology%22">Restoration ecology</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Soils%22">Soils</searchLink>
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  Label: Geographic Terms
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Pakistan%22">Pakistan</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Indus+River%22">Indus River</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Understanding how altitudinal gradients influence floristic diversity and indicator species is essential for unlocking the ecological dynamics of biodiversity‐rich regions. We examined the floristic diversity, communities' formation and their respective indicator species across defined altitudinal zones of the Upper Indus Basin region in Indus Kohistan Valley, northern Pakistan. Vegetation was sampled along transects ranging from 1957 to 3380 m using quadrat, with a total of 600 quadrats from 30 different sites surveyed during the summer season (June–August). Most plants belonged to family Asteraceae, Pinaceae, Lamiaceae and Berberidaceae, with chamaephytes as the dominant life forms, followed by geophyte and phanerophytes. Cluster Analysis classified the vegetation into three communities: Taxus‐Rumex‐Mentha (TRM), Pinus‐Indigofera‐Leontice (PIL), and Pinus‐Phyllanthus‐Valeriana (PPV). Species attributes plots identified based on Canonical Correspondence Analysis demonstrated that TRM community is primarily influenced by calcium, pH and salinity. The PIL community is limited by potassium, oxygen reduction potential, sand and silt while the PPV community by sodium, MWHC, soil moisture and carbon content. Tukey showed that the TRM community had the highest mean dominance, the PIL community exhibited the highest Simpson, Shannon and Evenness indices, and the PPV community had the lowest values, indicating that soil properties and microclimatic factors along the altitudinal gradients shape the species composition and association. Detrended correspondence analysis explained a total of 23.89% of the variance, as the first axis illustrated the maximum gradient length (3.07) further strengthening the influence of environmental variables on species distribution and association. The DCA indicated that environmental variables such as salinity, pH, carbon content, soil texture, and calcium substantially influenced species distribution and association, a pattern supported by the Mantel test. It is recommended that reforestation efforts should prioritize the PPV community at high‐altitude zone (2390–3380 m) and consider sodium, MWHC, soil moisture and carbon content when selecting suitable indicator species for restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Ecology & Evolution (20457758) is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1002/ece3.73228
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 16
        StartPage: 1
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Plant diversity
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Plant communities
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Bioindicators
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Restoration ecology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Soils
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Pakistan
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Indus River
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Floristic Diversity and Indicator Species Analysis Along Altitudinal Gradients of the Upper Indus Basin, Northern Pakistan.
        Type: main
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            NameFull: Khan, Adam
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            NameFull: Saleem, Sidra
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            NameFull: Zaidi, Sahar
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            NameFull: Ahmad, Zeeshan
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            NameFull: Ali, Hamada E.
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            – D: 01
              M: 03
              Text: Mar2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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              Value: 16
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            – TitleFull: Ecology & Evolution (20457758)
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