Viburnum

Rahman, A. U., Ullah, Z., Qureshi, R., Burslem, D. F. R. P. & Mashwani, Z. U. R., 2022, Composition and structure of plant communities in the Moist Temperate Forest Ecosystem of the Hindukush Mountains, Pakistan, Brazilian Journal of Biology (e 266637) 82, pp. 1-14 : 6

3.8. Viburnum - Taxus - Poa community (VTP)

A total of 24 sampling sites were clustered in this association by TWINSPAN. In comparison with other community types, VTP was a unique association with the highest recorded 141 plant species. The top 3 indicator species of this association were Viburnum cotinifolium , Taxus wallichina and, Poa supine with importance values of 42.1, 23.5 and 10 respectively. Co-dominant trees were Ilex dipyrena (21.5 VI), Aesculus indica (17.6 IVI) and Pyrus pashia (18.7 IVI), however Diospyros lotus (5.9 IVI), Quercus dilatata (5.9 IVI) and Alnus nitida (4.7 IVI) were rare species of this association. Co-dominant shrubs with high IVI values were Parrotiopsis jacquemontiana (23.9 IVI), Indigofera heterantha (23.6 IVI) and Rhamnus purpurea (22.8 IVI) while H. nepalensis , R. alpestre , R. ellipticus and Z. armatum were rare most shrubs of this community. Among 106 herbs second high IVI values were found for Hypericum perforatum (8.1 IVI), Primula denticulate (5.9 IVI) and Cynodon dactylon (5.0 IVI) while 28 plant species were lowest IVI values equal to 1of which A. mutica , A.vulgaris , A. grahamianus , B.pectinatus , V.thapsus , T.minuta , S. laureola , S.auriculata , P.eriocarpa , P.eriocarpa and P.nepalensis were prominent rare species. The soil were mostly loamy and slightly acidic (pH 5.2-4.3) with silt 36.1-31.1%, clay 7.6-4.9% and sand 35.5-13.3%. Soil also contained 5.7-2.3% organic matter, 12.3-3.5% calcium carbonate, EC 0.18-0.09 dSm-1, 115.27- 71.34mg /Kg potassium, 0.6-0.27% nitrogen, 3.03- 1.72mg /Kg phosphorus. Grazing pressure was high with moderate deforestation.