SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF VASCULAR FLORA OF AYUBIA NATIONAL PARK, KPK, PAKISTAN: A CLASSICAL EXAMPLE OF MOIST TEMPERATE HIMALAYA

The current study analyzed the diversity of vascular flora in relation to the prevailing environmental gradients of Ayubia National Park (ANP) of 33.2km(2) area. The phyto-environmental conditions of ANP were analyzed by multivariate techniques. The data analysis was based on indicator species concept and only presence data were used to classify and ordinate species distribution. The hierarchical clustering by an agglomerative method and ordination by Nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) identified major plant communities in the Park. The study revealed that some environmental factors have a determining role in defining and shaping the key vegetation classes and species richness in the area. NMDS-Ordination indicated elevation (Pr>0.001) as highly significant environmental gradient followed by stream power index (Pr>0.012) and slope length factor (Pr>0.025) in plant species distribution. The study recommends important phyto sociological parameters for species distribution that may facilitate conservation of biodiversity and developing future strategies for mountain ecosystems.