DIVERSITY OF VASCULAR PLANTS, ETHNOBOTANY AND THEIR CONSERVATION STATUS IN USHAIRY VALLEY, DISTT. DIR (UPPER) NWFP; NORTHERN PAKISTAN

Abstract

The present studies were carried out to explore the vascular plant diversity and investigate the ethnobotanical potential and their conservation status in Ushairy Valley. The study area is located in District Dir (Upper) of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), Pakistan. The area is gifted with diverse and unique flora because of the extension and representation of all the three mountain ranges i.e. Himalaya, Hindu Kash and Karakorum. The people are mostly poor and depend on plants for their domestic needs. Extensive exploration of Ushairy Valley shows that 562 angiosperm species are found here representing by 107 families (17 families of monocots and 90 families of dicots) and 343 genera. Among these families Asteraceae is the leading one with 50 species followed by Rosaceae with 35 species and Brassicaceae with 32 species. The gemnosperm are represented by 4 families with 9 genera and 11 species in which Pinaceae is the leading one with 6 species followed by Cupressaceae with 3 species. The Pteriodphyte represented by 37 species, 16 genera and 10 families in which the Dryopteridaceae is the leading one with 7 species and followed by Aspleniacaceae and Pteridaceae with 6 species each in Ushairy Valley. The collected species were identified, preserved and voucher specimens were deposited in the herbarium of Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad and Department of Botany, Islamia College Peshawar. The ethnobotanical information revealed that there are 26 different usage of 274 plant species in which 151 used as medicine, 57 fuelwood in which 16 species are preferred as a best quality fuel, 35 vegetable and pot herb, 16 fencing and hedges, 83 fodder in which 53 are herb, 11 are shrub and 19 are tree species, 15 furniture and 19 species are used as timber. Other ethnobotanical uses of plants in Ushairy Valley as, for making agricultural appliances used 12 spp., in thatching and roofing 14 spp., in making tooth brushes, 7 spp., as insect repellent, 5 spp., honeybee attractants, 19 spp., 8 spp. are used in spices and condiments, 9 spp., used in scorpion sting, dog and snake bite, 7 spp., used in snuff preparation and 19 spp., used in fish poisoning or considered as poison plants. 20 spp., are used as dye and for yielding oil, 36 spp., are edible fruits and seed producing plants, Ornamental plants are 9 and 10 spp., are used as veterinary medicines. The species Abies pindrow, Aesculus indica, Cedrus deodara, Ficus palmata, Pinus Roxburghii, Pinus wallichiana, Quercus spp., and Salix babylonica exhibit multiple uses. The part used data shows that mostly the leaves, whole plant, fruit and stem are in common use. There are 66 species belonging to 45 families used in different monoherbal and polyherbal recipes. It has been discovered that some species are no more available in their respective habitats due to over collection and has been threatened by unsustainable extraction, over grazing, cutting, deforestation and unawareness. One of the major causes of the degradation of forest is poverty that most of the people live below poverty line in hilly areas. Sustainable harvest of natural resources may help to partially alleviate poverty. Programmes for natural resources management must become integral parts of over all developments strategies. The conservation status of Ushairy Valley was evaluated through IUCN (1994-2001) modified criteria. Among these species, 18 are critically endangered, 14 are endangered, 16 are vulnerable and 8 are near threatened.