Indicator Plants

The vegetation of the treeline ecotone of the southern declivity of arid High Asia (Hindu Kush, northern areas of Pakistan; Himalaya, northern central Nepal) is dominated by hedgehog-like open dwarf shrublands of thorny cushions. Since climatically sensitive ecotones are always also sensitive to human impact, the question arises whether the current lack of forests is a result of the Subboreal climate decline or of human impact. Due to inadequate knowledge of the pollen flora and of ecological indicator values of the plants, pollen analyses in High Asia have mainly been limited to the regional verification of globally known climatic impulses. However, the role of human impact on regional vegetation patterns has been widely neglected. We postulate that today's open dwarf shrublands replace woodlands and forests. Isolated vigorous juniper trees and successful reforestation appear to confirm our hypothesis. An abrupt decline of Pinus forests before 5700 and 5400 ka cal yr BP can be demonstrated. As the first indicator pollen of human impact appeared at both sites synchronous with the forest pollen decline, we infer human impact to be a more decisive cause for this environment change superimposing the effects of a climatic deterioration. The forests were displaced by open dwarf shrublands.

The absence or presence of particular plant species indicates specific level of pollution. It was hypothesized that the marble waste polluted ecosystem also host specific plant indicators that can grow, survive and tolerate more successfully than others and can be utilized in better managements of such systems. The current research work was therefore, conducted to determine the indicators of marble polluted region of Buner, Pakistan. Ecological techniques using varying sized quadrats i.e., 1 Â 1 m 2 , 5 Â 2 m 2 and 10 Â 2 m 2 for herbs, shrubs and tree species were used respectively. Standard protocols were used to prepare soil samples and plant parts (root, leaf and shoot) for Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry. Indicator i.e., Populus alba L., Arundo donax L., Erigeron canadensis L and Morus alba L. were identified via Indicator Species Analyses (ISA) in various polluted zones. All the collected data were put in MS Excel for analyses in PCORD through Cluster Analysis (CA), Two Way Cluster Analysis (TWCA) and ISA. CANOCO software was used to examine the impact of miscellaneous environmental variables in zonation via both direct and indirect gradient techniques i.e., Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) and Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA). A total of 102 plant species belonging to 95 genera and 48 families were recorded in the marble waste polluted ecosystem. CA and TWCA through Jaccard Distance measurements and Wards Linkage methods gave rise to 3 major polluted zones. These zones were i) Heavily Polluted Zone (HPZ), ii) Moderate Polluted Zone (MPZ) and iii) Less Polluted Zone (LPZ). The recorded values of Biological Concentration Factor (BCF), Translocation Factor (TF) and Bioaccumulation Coefficient (BAC) for analyzed heavy metals i.e. Fe, Mg, Ca, Na and Cu in root and shoot of P. alba L., A. donax L., and M. alba L. showed that these species were significant phytostabilizers and E. canadensis L. was phytoextracters and hence best indicandum of marble waste polluted ecosystems. It was concluded that among all the measured environmental variables, higher phosphorus level, higher pH, moderate potassium and lower electrical conductivity (EC) had significant effects (p < 0.05) on the functions of these indicators as phytoremediaters. It is recommended to develop green belts of these indicators around the marble industrial areas for the better management and hazardous free environment.

Graveyards or sacred groves are often places of natural vegetation protected by spiritual believers because of their sacred beliefs and indigenous culture. A study of graveyards was conducted to determine their role in species conservation, community formation, and associated indicators and species composition using multivariate statistical approaches. It was hypothesized that variations in the age of graveyards would give rise to diverse plant communities under the impact of various edaphic and climatic factors. Quantitative ecological techniques were applied to determine various phytosociological attributes. All the data were put in MS Excel for analysis in PCORD and CANOCO softwares for cluster analysis (CA), two-way cluster analysis (TWCA), indicator species analysis and canonical correspondence analysis. CA and TWCA through Sorenson distance measurements identified five major graveyard plant communities: (1) Ficus – Bougainvillea – Chenopodium ; (2) Acacia – Datura – Convolvulus ; (3) Ziziphus – Vitex – Abutilon ; (4) Acacia – Lantana – Salsola ; and (5) Melia – Rhazya – Peganum . Species such as Capparis decidua , Herniaria hirsuta , Salvadora oliedes and Populus euphratica were only present inside graveyards rather than outside and advocate the role of graveyards in species conservation. The impact of different environmental and climatic variables plus the age of the graveyards were also assessed for comparison of plant communities and their respective indicator species. The results indicate that higher chlorine concentration, age of graveyards, low soil electrical conductivity, lower anthropogenic activities, higher nitrogen, calcium and magnesium concentrations in the soil, and sandy soils were the strong environmental variables playing a significant role in the formation of graveyard plant communities, their associated indicators and species distribution patterns. These results could further be utilized to evaluate the role of edaphic and climatic factors, indicator species and conservation management practices at a greater scale.

Graveyards or sacred groves are often places of natural vegetation protected by spiritual believers because of their sacred beliefs and indigenous culture. A study of graveyards was conducted to determine their role in species conservation, community formation, and associated indicators and species composition using multivariate statistical approaches. It was hypothesized that variations in the age of graveyards would give rise to diverse plant communities under the impact of various edaphic and climatic factors. Quantitative ecological techniques were applied to determine various phytosociological attributes. All the data were put in MS Excel for analysis in PCORD and CANOCO softwares for cluster analysis (CA), two-way cluster analysis (TWCA), indicator species analysis and canonical correspondence analysis. CA and TWCA through Sorenson distance measurements identified five major graveyard plant communities: (1) Ficus – Bougainvillea – Chenopodium ; (2) Acacia – Datura – Convolvulus ; (3) Ziziphus – Vitex – Abutilon ; (4) Acacia – Lantana – Salsola ; and (5) Melia – Rhazya – Peganum . Species such as Capparis decidua , Herniaria hirsuta , Salvadora oliedes and Populus euphratica were only present inside graveyards rather than outside and advocate the role of graveyards in species conservation. The impact of different environmental and climatic variables plus the age of the graveyards were also assessed for comparison of plant communities and their respective indicator species. The results indicate that higher chlorine concentration, age of graveyards, low soil electrical conductivity, lower anthropogenic activities, higher nitrogen, calcium and magnesium concentrations in the soil, and sandy soils were the strong environmental variables playing a significant role in the formation of graveyard plant communities, their associated indicators and species distribution patterns. These results could further be utilized to evaluate the role of edaphic and climatic factors, indicator species and conservation management practices at a greater scale.

Graveyards or sacred groves are often places of natural vegetation protected by spiritual believers because of their sacred beliefs and indigenous culture. A study of graveyards was conducted to determine their role in species conservation, community formation, and associated indicators and species composition using multivariate statistical approaches. It was hypothesized that variations in the age of graveyards would give rise to diverse plant communities under the impact of various edaphic and climatic factors. Quantitative ecological techniques were applied to determine various phytosociological attributes. All the data were put in MS Excel for analysis in PCORD and CANOCO softwares for cluster analysis (CA), two-way cluster analysis (TWCA), indicator species analysis and canonical correspondence analysis. CA and TWCA through Sorenson distance measurements identified five major graveyard plant communities: (1) Ficus–Bougainvillea–Chenopodium; (2) Acacia–Datura–Convolvulus; (3) Ziziphus–Vitex–Abutilon; (4) Acacia–Lantana–Salsola; and (5) Melia–Rhazya–Peganum. Species such as Capparis decidua, Herniaria hirsuta, Salvadora oliedes and Populus euphratica were only present inside graveyards rather than outside and advocate the role of graveyards in species conservation. The impact of different environmental and climatic variables plus the age of the graveyards were also assessed for comparison of plant communities and their respective indicator species. The results indicate that higher chlorine concentration, age of graveyards, low soil electrical conductivity, lower anthropogenic activities, higher nitrogen, calcium and magnesium concentrations in the soil, and sandy soils were the strong environmental variables playing a significant role in the formation of graveyard plant communities, their associated indicators and species distribution patterns. These results could further be utilized to evaluate the role of edaphic and climatic factors, indicator species and conservation management practices at a greater scale.

Graveyards or sacred groves are often places of natural vegetation protected by spiritual believers because of their sacred beliefs and indigenous culture. A study of graveyards was conducted to determine their role in species conservation, community formation, and associated indicators and species composition using multivariate statistical approaches. It was hypothesized that variations in the age of graveyards would give rise to diverse plant communities under the impact of various edaphic and climatic factors. Quantitative ecological techniques were applied to determine various phytosociological attributes. All the data were put in MS Excel for analysis in PCORD and CANOCO softwares for cluster analysis (CA), two-way cluster analysis (TWCA), indicator species analysis and canonical correspondence analysis. CA and TWCA through Sorenson distance measurements identified five major graveyard plant communities: (1) Ficus-Bougainvillea-Chenopodium; (2) Acacia-Datura-Con-volvulus; (3) Z...