Roadside Flora in Transition: Plant Communities Across Pine Forest Elevations | InformativeBD

Shaheen Qadir,  Adeela Altaf,  Muhammad Hashim,  Eamon Bushra,  Asia BiBi,  Nazir Ahmad,  Ishtiaq Ahmad,  Kaneez Fatima, and Altaf Ahmad Dasti, from the different institute of Pakistan. wrote a Research article about, Roadside Flora in Transition: Plant Communities Across Pine Forest Elevations. Entitled, Distribution of roadside plant communities along the altitudinal gradient in pine forests, Pakistan. This research paper published by the International Journal of Biosciences | IJB. an open access scholarly research journal on Biosciences. under the affiliation of the International Network For Natural Sciences| INNSpub. an open access multidisciplinary research journal publisher.

Abstract

In mountainous areas, road construction is accompanied by large‐scale physical disturbance that drastically modify the landscape. Road construction and cutting process of mountains removes soil and rock from the hillside above the proposed road, while soil and rock are deposited on the down‐slope area. The resultant roadsides are highly disturbed habitats characterized by plant communities maintained at an early successional stage. The present research was conducted along the roadside, consisting of Nathia Gali (Temperate forest), Abbottabad (Tropical forest) and Thandiani Valley (Sub alpine forest) to determine the associations and relationships between the plant communities and soil, grouping and quantification of plant communities using multivariate ordination techniques. The study area ranges in altitude from 2400 to 2700 m, a.s.l. A total 74 genera having 82 species belonging to 44 families were recorded during the field survey. The major families were Rosaceae (30%), Lamiaceae (23%) and Asteraceae (17%). Other families also contributed a good share in flora. Herbs contributed the more share followed by shrubs and trees. Presence/absence data were used to classify and ordinate for both sites and species. DCA axes 1 and 2 were used for data interpretation. The relationships between soil characters and DCA axes 1 and 2 were determined using Spearman Rank correlation. Cluster analysis identified 3 vegetation types. These vegetation types have been discussed in the context of topographic and edaphic heterogeneity.

Read more : Roadside Leaves as Pollution Sensors: Weather and Particulates in Quetta | InformativeBD 

Introduction

Roads are designed as major channels of intercommunication between the communities existing in disparate strata of earth, yet it is pervasive disturbance with far-reaching impacts on vegetation and plant community composition (Coffin, 2007; Cui et al., 2009). Vegetation recovery is essential to stabilize slopes (Fu et al., 2010), increase water infiltration capacity (Walton et al., 2014), and reduce erosion and sedimentation of watersheds (Donaldson et al., 2013). Vegetation recovery following road construction is dynamic, variable and is strongly influenced by underlying edaphic and environmental conditions (Dong et al., 2010).

Roads often traverse heterogeneous substrate e.g. parent material/rock type (Deduke et al., 2016; Walker et al., 2013) that directly influence additional edaphic factors (Hahm et al., 2014; Ullmann et al., 1995; Abella et al., 2008). In particular, substrate variability influences on vegetation and species composition of roadside slopes (Neher et al., 2013). For the distribution pattern of different animals and plants varieties roadsides can also considered as entranceway and habitats or barriers (Angold, 1997).

Plant communities of roadside also provides refugees for the conservation of isolated or relict population of plant species in highly modified regions where novel ecosystems are emerging (Dolley and Audet, 2013). For example, soil depth and texture are strong determinants of nutrient contents (Li et al., 2016) which subsequently influence plant species diversity and long term species persistence following disturbance (Cui et al., 2009; He and Monaco, 2018) and roads are mostly noted as assisting to the spatial spread of alien species, since they express the basic corridor for various invader floristic species introduction, with high reproductive rates and short life spans (Parendes and Jones, 2000).

Although mountain ecosystems are considered to be at low risk of plant invasion due to their harsh climate and limited human activities but the promotion of mountain areas, particularly the Himalayan region (Khuroo et al., 2007), as global tourist destination has put these ecosystems at higher risk of invasion. Pickering and Hill (2007) described that distribution pattern of invasive plants along roadsides varied with altitude and road construction facilitated plant invasion in mountainous regions. Arevalo et al. (2005) revealed that at elevation of (1900-2000 m) the maximum quantity of alien vegetation present. Pauchard and Alaback, (2004) illustrated that along roadside with the variation of altitude between (280- 1290 m) alien varieties richness was negatively associated with altitude.

Along the environmental gradient the various well known factors that find out the distribution of the plant species include topographic heterogeneity and particularly elevation (Liberman et al., 1985), Rain fall (Hall and Swaine, 1976) and redistribution of rain fall water (Shmida et al., 1986), Edaphic factors particularly Topography(Richards, 1996), Soil texture (Davis et al., 1998), Light availability (Liberman et al., 1995), Drainage (Hubbell and Foster, 1986), Soil nutrients (Baillie et al., 1987), Light regime and the degree of anthropogenic other catastrophic disturbances (Perkins and Hatfield, 2014).

However, roadside exotic or native plant communities help in conserving landscape qualities (Khalid et al., 2008). They are also essential places to observe the floristic communities, patterns of distribution and their potential for incursion into interior environment (Trombulak and Frissell, 2000). Furthermore, roadsides are helpful for discovering the effect of climatic factors on distribution pattern of plant species across a various altitudinal gradient (Antonio et al., 2001).

In the present investigation, we assessed variation in vegetation structure and plant community composition along express highways radiating from Murree outward into Abbottabad and Thandiani in Northern Pakistan. Our primary objectives were to identify vegetation structure and plant community composition along the roadside and to relate roadside vegetation and environmental heterogeneity that affects the vegetation patterns along roadside crossing Himalayan forests in Pakistan.

To achieve the objectives of the present investigation, numerical analysis of the data was preferred. Multivariate analysis techniques are the swift tools for ecologist. Ordination analysis is also important statistical tool to elucidate major axes on compositional variation in vegetation data obtained from presence/absence record of species. Cluster analysis is mostly used (Charman et al., 1993; Franklin et al., 1999). The results of species DCA were used to correlate the response of species for edaphic variations (Dasti et al., 2010).

The aims of the present study were To relate roadside vegetation and environmental heterogeneity that affects the vegetation patterns along the roadside crossing Himalayan forests in Pakistan.

To identify the environmental factors of overriding importance in determining the nature of plant communities in these landscapes.

To know the factors which control the distribution pattern of species?

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Article source : Distribution of roadside plant communities along the altitudinal gradient in pine forests, Pakistan  

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How Water Shapes Fish Life: Bigaan River’s Impact on Freshwater Diversity | InformativeBD

Gina C Lacang, from the institute of Philippines. Alma N Abug, from the institute of Philippines and Horacio Emmanuel S Factura, from the institute of Philippines.  wrote a Research article about, How Water Shapes Fish Life: Bigaan River’s Impact on Freshwater Diversity. Entitled, Effects of physico-chemical characteristics of Bigaan River to the species richness and distribution of freshwater Ichthyofauna. This research paper published by the Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences | JBES. an open access scholarly research journal on Biosciences. under the affiliation of the International Network For Natural Sciences| INNSpub. an open access multidisciplinary research journal publisher.

Abstract

This study was conducted to assess the physicochemical characteristics of Bigaan River and determine species richness and distribution of Ichthyofauna. Water samples were collected from three sampling sites of Brgy. Gango, Brgy. Indahag and Brgy. Cugman using grab sampling method during the wet season to determine water quality parameters namely: Total Solids, Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Turbidity, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Conductivity, Density, Redox Potential (ORP), pH, Salinity, Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Nitrates, Potassium, Phosphate, and Mercury while other parameters were measured onsite namely: Temperature, Dissolved Oxygen (DO), and Flowrate. The collection of fish species was done using purposive sampling. The findings of the study revealed that all physicochemical parameters have not exceeded the given standard values of DAO 2016-08. Results also showed significant differences in the parameters: total dissolved solids and turbidity. There were five identified Ichthyofauna species present in Bigaan River and it showed low diversity. Puntius binotatus is the most abundant species and Oreochromis niloticus is the least number of Ichthyofauna species. The Ichthyofauna species richness and distribution identified in Bigaan River have different tolerance on water quality. Some species were tolerant and sensitive to the water quality fluctuations and they were absent in a particular area. Although Bigaan River is within the acceptable level for Class C waters according to DAO-2016-08; however, water quality in Bigaan River limits the condition of Ichthyofauna species survival and growth because it was disrupted by sudden changes in the water quality.

Read more : Tracking Gerbera Troubles: Surveying and Identifying Plant Diseases | InformativeBD

Introduction

Prominent anthropogenic activity that influences the water quality is mining. Mining involves exploration and removing of minerals from the earth, this process of removing precious metals from the ore use some heavy metals like mercury in amalgamation process which resulted in contamination of riverine system. Mercury contamination on freshwater from mining may cause by tailing ponds that overflow and runoff’ into the surface of water. Mercury is persistent, bioaccumulative and it is known to bio-magnify through aquatic food chains causing deleterious environmental effects (Powell, 2009). When mercury gets into water, bacterial activity can change into a form of methyl mercury which can be absorbed by aquatic organisms. It may affect the distribution and richness of species on freshwater organisms, like fishes and macroinvertebrates. Fish are the most diverse group of vertebrates with more than 30,000 species worldwide (Desidera et al., 2019). It can be found in every underwater habitat such as marine and freshwater. Freshwater fishes are the most threatened group of vertebrates based on more than 5,000 species assessed by the IUCN (Reid et al., 2013). In other words, water quality of a river may affect the growth, survival, and biodiversity of fish on the water.

Bigaan River is one of the seven rivers traversing across the city of Cagayan de Oro (Canencia & Gomez, 2016). Many people depend on Bigaan River because they use it for washing their clothes, bathing and even for their daily food consumption such as fish. The river is now surrounded by communities with high populations (Walag & Canencia, 2016). Population growth can increase the deterioration rate of the Bigaan River on its excessive use and dumping of the waste directly or indirectly into the river. Unfortunately, jeopardizing the water quality can affect living aquatic organisms such as fish. Freshwater fish in the Bigaan River are edible. Many of the local people use them for daily consumptions. In the light of these scenarios, the researchers assessed the physicochemical characteristics of the Bigaan River and the species richness and distribution of freshwater fish. Previous researches conducted were about the accumulation of mercury on fishes but there was no study related to the diversity of fishes, specifically on its species richness and distribution affected by water quality in the Bigaan River. The main objective of this study is to assess the physicochemical characteristics of the Bigaan River during wet season and determine the effects of the water quality on the species richness and distribution of freshwater fish. Specifically, it: i.) determines the physicochemical characteristics of Bigaan River; ii.) compares the measured water quality parameters with DENR (DAO-2016-08) standards; iii.) assess if there is a significant difference in the measured values of water parameters between sampling periods and among sampling sites, and iv.) determines the Ichthyofauna species richness and distribution of the river.

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Article source : Effects of physico-chemical characteristics of Bigaan River to the species richness and distribution of freshwater Ichthyofauna  

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Current Fish Fauna of Mandulog River, Iligan City, Philippines | InformativeBD

Anylin P. Sanchez,  from the institute of the Philippines. Frandel Louis S. Dagoc, from the institute of the Philippines . Jaime Q. Guihawan, from the different of the Philippines . Wella T. Tatil, from the  institute of the Philippines.  Corazon V. Ligaray, from the institute of the Philippines . and Armi G. Torres, from the institute of the Philippines. wrote a Research Article about, Current Fish Fauna of Mandulog River, Iligan City, Philippines. Entitled, Current fish fauna in Mandulog River, Iligan City, Lanao Del Norte, Philippines. This research paper published by the Journal of Biodiversity and EnvironmentalSciences (JBES). an open access scholarly research journal on Biodiversity. under the affiliation of the International Network For Natural Sciences| INNSpub. an open access multidisciplinary research journal publisher.

Abstract

This paper provides the current fish species richness, composition, distribution, and conservation status in the Mandulog River Iligan City, Philippines, highlighting its ecological significance and the impact of anthropogenic activities. A total of Fourteen species from 13 families were recorded, consisting of- 12 native and two introduced species from three sampling sites (upstream, midstream, and downstream). Native species dominated the fish assemblage, with Fibramia thermalis (44.22%) and Planiliza subviridis (18.03%) being the most abundant. This study confirmed the first record of Barbodes tumba, a threatened endemic species confined to upstream areas, reflecting their vulnerability to habitat disturbance. Conservation assessments of the 12 native revealed that ten species (85.7%) are classified as “Least Concern”, one as “Endangered” and another one species as “Data Deficient”. This study also documented two invasive alien species, Oreochromis niloticus and Clarias batrachus. The recent findings underscore significant threats to the Mandulog River’s biodiversity, including pollution, quarry mining, sedimentation, and invasive alien species. Recommendations emphasize conservation strategies targeting habitat restoration, invasive alien species management, and community-driven biodiversity monitoring to sustain the river’s ecological health and align with global conservation goals.

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Introduction

Freshwater ecosystems, such as rivers, play a vital role in maintaining biodiversity and providing ecosystem services to human and natural systems. They are essential habitats for various aquatic species, including fish that contribute to the ecological balance, support livelihoods, and serve as indicators of environmental health (Jamandre, 2023). Among these, rivers in the Philippines, including the Mandulog River in Iligan City, stand out due to their rich ichthyofauna, comprising native and endemic species. However, these ecosystems face mounting challenges from human-induced disturbances such as overfishing, pollution, and invasive alien species environmental degradation (Guerrero, 2023).

The Mandulog River traverses urban and rural areas and supports diverse freshwater fish species. This river system, previously studied by Sempio et al. (2013), Vedra et al. (2013), and Tampus et al. (2015), has been a focal point for understanding the impacts of human activities such as quarrying, urbanization, unregulated fishing activities and landscape alterations on freshwater biodiversity. Quarrying activities, sedimentation, and pollution from surrounding communities significantly threaten aquatic habitats, as Buot et al. (2014) and (Vedra and Ocampo, 2016) highlighted. These threats have led to declines in native and endemic fish populations, echoing trends observed in similar freshwater systems across the Philippines (Gonzalez et al., 2023; Macalisang et al., 2023; Guerrero, 2023).

Past research efforts across Philippine rivers emphasieze the need to understand fish species composition and abundance, particularly as many species remain threatened or poorly documented (IUCN, 2019). Thus, this study aims to build on existing knowledge by providing the current of fish species composition, abundance, distribution, and conservation status in the Mandulog River. This work addresses critical gaps in understanding the river's current ecological state, focusing on its biodiversity's sustainability. The study align with global conservation priorities under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 6.6, which emphasizes the protection and restoration of water-related ecosystems, SDG 15.1, which focuses on the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of freshwater ecosystems and their services, SDG 15.5, which seeks to protect habitats, halt biodiversity loss and safeguard species from extinction, and SDG 15.8 which aims for prevention, reduction, control, and eradication of invasive alien species (UN SDG 2024).

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Source : Current fish fauna in Mandulog River, Iligan City, Lanao Del Norte, Philippines  

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Butterfly Diversity and Abundance Around Rabindra Sarobar, Kolkata: A Field Report I InformativeBD

Mousumi Das , from the institute of India. Srija Gan, from the institute of India Bibarta Jha, from the institute of India. and Madhurima Sen, Sneha Jha, from the institute of India. wrote a research article about, Butterfly Diversity and Abundance Around Rabindra Sarobar, Kolkata: A Field Report. Entitled, A report on diversity and abundance of butterfly (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) fauna at the surrounding vegetation of Rabindra Sarobar, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. This research paper published by the Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences (JBES). an open access scholarly research journal on Biodiversity. under the affiliation of the International Network For Natural Sciences | INNSpub. an open access multidisciplinary research journal publisher. 

Abstract

Butterflies are considered indicator species for conservation planning and environmental monitoring as their diversity and abundance are visibly affected by anthropogenic activities. In this study, the diversity and abundance of butterfly fauna in the surrounding vegetation of Rabindra Sarobar, Kolkata, India was assessed to provide baseline information on the size of species richness and prospective utilization in urban planning and conservation. A total of 64 butterfly species under 5 families and 44 genera were recorded over a period of ten months from June 2023 to March 2024. Family Nymphalidae (36.85% of population) was found dominant with 17 genera and 26 species, followed by Lycaenidae (30.72%, 11genera, 12 species), Pieridae (22.77%, 9 genera, 12 species), Papilionidae (7.01%, 3 genera, 9 species) and Hesperiidae (2.65%, 4 genera, 5 species). Eleven species were found legally protected under different Schedules of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Values of different diversity indices such as Shannon’s index (H’=3.69), Pielou’s evenness index (J’=0.89) and Simpson’s index (Ds=0.03) showed a high diversity, evenly distribution and high abundance persisted in the butterfly community. Information from this preliminary study is expected to be useful toward the conservation of the habitat as well as the butterfly fauna in the study area and similar geographic areas.

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Introduction

Monitoring biological diversity is becoming an essential tool to estimate the alteration of the environmental quality at the local as well as regional scale. Studies on species diversity and abundance are the prior required element to quantify the environmental impact on biota and any prior species diversity investigations are a prerequisite to adopting habitat management strategies (Nichols and Williams, 2006). Appraisal of taxa-specific species richness capacitates a more realistic and accurate assessment of the ecosystem functions and services derived from the specified taxon (Diaz et al., 2006). Diversity analysis of a single taxon or restricted number of taxa is worthwhile as their presence or absence and abundance records are useful for the population size estimation (Williams et al., 2002; Koleff et al., 2003; MacKenzie, 2005) whereas resource limitation impedes the selection of several taxa or the whole community (Mihindukulasooriya et al., 2014). The diversity of a target taxon varies with the features of the landscapes, more precisely with the nature and quality of the habitat and climatic conditions (Boggs, 1986). Butterflies are one of the best-known insects for their variety, presence in all types of environments, the beauty of their wing colouration and patterns and also for their role as effective ecological indicators of terrestrial ecosystems (Venkataramana, 2010). Hence, butterflies are the potential taxa, chosen for the estimation of biodiversity essential for biological conservation and also for monitoring the environmental conditions (Simonson et al., 2001). Any certain change in environmental quality is readily assessed by the change in their diversity, abundance or sometimes local extinction (Hogsden and Hutchinson, 2004). Moreover, butterflies provide several ecological services which are essential for the sustenance of environmental quality and integrity (Kumar, 2013).

Worldwide, over 19,000 butterfly species have been recorded (Kunte, 2000), of which from India, around 1500 species are documented, including 107 swallowtail butterflies (Papilionidae), 521 brushfooted butterflies (Nymphalidae), 109 white and yellow butterflies (Pieridae), 443 small blue butterflies (Lycaenidae) and 321 skippers (Hesperiidae) (Gaonkar, 1996; Kunte, 1997). Diversity and abundance of butterfly species decline day by day with the increase of urban elements like roads, buildings and other concrete constructions and with the expansion of residential, industrial and commercial areas, associated with the depletion of the quantity and quality of natural habitat, habitat degradation or disruption and fragmentation which adversely affects the natural biodiversity of that area (Clark et al., 2007; Malagrino et al., 2008). Urbanization, pollution, excessive usage of fumigant pesticides etc. provide a negative impact on butterfly populations (Pollard and Yates, 1993). Several earlier studies reported the impact of urban development on butterfly fauna, and their richness and abundance in Kolkata and its adjoining areas (Moore, 1882; Niceville, 1885; Ghosh and Siddique, 2005; Ghosh, 2009; Ghosh, 2010; Chowdhury and Chowdhury, 2007; Chowdhury and Das, 2007; Chowdhury and Soren, 2011; Basu Roy, 2011; Biswas et al., 2012; Nair et al., 2014; Biswas et al., 2014; Mukherjee et al., 2016; Maity et al., 2016; Bhattacharya et al., 2018; Mitra et al., 2023). For continuous monitoring of the environmental condition of Kolkata, systematic surveys on butterfly fauna from different regions of Kolkata are essential.

Keeping this view in mind, the present study was undertaken to document the diversity and abundance of butterfly fauna in the surrounding vegetation of Rabindra Sarobar, Kolkata, West Bengal, India, to provide necessary information on the conservation management of habitat and butterflies for sustaining ecosystem services.

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Source : A report on diversity and abundance of butterfly (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) fauna at the surrounding vegetation of Rabindra Sarobar, Kolkata, West Bengal, India 

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