Effects of environmental and spatial gradients on Quercus-dominated Mountain forest communities in the Hindu-Kush ranges of Pakistan.

ABSTRACT

Quercus-dominated forests are among the most important broad-leaved evergreen forests of the Hindu Kush ranges and are currently prone to drastic anthropogenic and climatic changes. The aim of this study was to provide basic data for the development of a regional oak forest ecosystem framework for ecological restoration and management plan development to maintain local peoples' livelihoods. Hence, we analyzed distribution patterns and environmental factors that affect regional oak forests' species composition and diversity. Ward's Agglomerative clustering divided oak-dominated forest communities into three groups i.e., Group I, dominated by Quercus baloot had an importance value index (IVI) of 89.87 ± 4.31, Group II, dominated by Quercus dilatata had an IVI of 32.16 ± 15.01, and Group III, dominated by Quercus oblongata had an IVI of 83.14 ± 4.67, respectively. The environmental factors which vary significantly within these communities were latitude, elevation, clay content and bulk density of the soil. Wilting point, saturation point, and electrical conductivity were also considered as ecosystem structural variables. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) indicated that community structure was affected by various environmental factors including precipitation, slope angle, elevation, clay content, and relative humidity.