PHYTODIVERSITY AND PLANT LIFE OF KHANPUR DAM, KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA, PAKISTAN

Abstract

The present study was aimed to record the flora of Khanpur Dam, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. For this purpose, the whole area was surveyed during 2009 to 2010 for the collection of plant specimens. A total of 221 plant species of 169 genera and 66 families were recorded from the study area, including two ferns, one gymnosperm, 39 monocots and 179 dicots. Poaceae was found as the most dominant family in the flora of the project area that contributed 33 species (14. 86%), followed by Asteraceae 26 spp. (11.71%), Fabaceae 13 spp. (5.86%), Amaranthaceae & Lamiaceae 9 spp. each (4.05% each), Euphorbiaceae & Solanaceae 8 spp. (3.60% each), Polygonaceae 7 spp. (3.15%) and Brassicaceae 6 spp. (2.70%), while rest of the families shared 1-5 species. It was observed that most of the taxa were perennials (49.32%) followed by annuals (47.51%) and biennial (3.17%). Herbs were dominating fraction in the floristic composition that contributed 57.47%, followed by shrubs (14.03%), grasses (10.86%) and trees (9.50%), whereas rest of 5 categories were in the range of 3.17-0.45%. Therophytes were the most abundant life form that constituted 42.53% of the total flora, followed by phanerophytes (27.15%), emicryptophytes (18.55%), chamaephytes (7.24%) and cryptophytes (4.52%). Two species viz., Alternanthera paronychioides and Boerhavia diandra are reported for the first time from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.