Spatial Pattern and Key Environmental Determinants of Vegetation in Sand Mining and Non-Mining Sites along the Panjkora River Basin

Kishwar Ali (), Nasrullah Khan, Rafi Ullah, Muzammil Shah, Muhammad Ezaz Hasan Khan, David Aaron Jones and Maha Dewidar
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Kishwar Ali: College of General Education, University of Doha for Science and Technology, Arab League Street, Doha P.O. Box 24449, Qatar
Nasrullah Khan: Department of Botany, University of Malakand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Chakdara P.O. Box 18800, Pakistan
Rafi Ullah: Department of Botany, University of Malakand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Chakdara P.O. Box 18800, Pakistan
Muzammil Shah: Department of Botany, University of Malakand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Chakdara P.O. Box 18800, Pakistan
Muhammad Ezaz Hasan Khan: College of General Education, University of Doha for Science and Technology, Arab League Street, Doha P.O. Box 24449, Qatar
David Aaron Jones: College of Health Sciences, University of Doha for Science and Technology, Arab League Street, Doha P.O. Box 24449, Qatar
Maha Dewidar: College of General Education, University of Doha for Science and Technology, Arab League Street, Doha P.O. Box 24449, Qatar

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 10, 1-16

Abstract: A specific set of environmental conditions characterizes plant species patterns and distribution on Earth. Similarly, riparian vegetation can be impacted by anthropogenic activities like mining practices involving the removal of vegetation cover, which destroys the structure and diversity of the habitat, adversely affecting the ecosystem services. In this study, we explored the role of environmental variables and biotic intervention in deriving spatial patterns and distribution of riparian vegetation at mining and non-mining sites along the most depleted Panjkora River basin in NW Pakistan. Vegetation data and its determining factors at 28 mining and non-mining sites (14 each) were sampled using 10 m × 10 m (100 m 2 ) systematic plots at 50 m intervals along transects in a downstream direction from the upper catchments to the bottom junction with the Swat River. We recorded 186 species in both mining and non-mining sites, belonging to 70 families comprising 174 angiosperms, 3 gymnosperms, and 9 Pteridophytes. Results show that annual or perennial therophytic life forms predominated in the Panjkora River system, indicating anthropogenic disturbances. At the same time, the aggressively invasive species, such as Xanthium strumarium and Cannabis sativa, further heightened plant community disturbances. Generally, the species diversity was higher in non-mining sites and may be attributed to habitat fragmentation. Likewise, the Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA-ordination) revealed that geographic coordinate (i.e., latitude r = 0.80; longitude r = 0.75) and elevation ( r = 0.95) were more meaningful predictors than soil texture (i.e., silt%, r = −0.30), nutrients (i.e., potassium, r = −0.35; phosphorus, r = 0.38) and soil pH ( r = −0.50) in shaping the spatial pattern and vegetation structure. Our result implies that the present vegetation composition and spatial assemblages are due to heavy anthropogenic interventions, especially mining activities. Therefore, the heavily degraded fragile riparian system of the Panjkora River and its tributaries needed to be conserved and restored by predicting the composition of communities in response to changing climatic conditions.

Keywords: Panjkora River basin; Canonical Correspondence Analysis; mining activities; socioeconomic aspects (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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