Plant species represent the hierarchical expression of vegetation as it is affected by various environmental gradients. We explored the plant species composition, distribution pattern, communities formation and their respective indicators under the influence of various environmental factors in the Dhirkot region, Azad Jammu and Kashmir. It was hypothesized that different environmental factors were responsible for the formation of various plant communities each with a distinct indicator. Quantitative ecological techniques were used for the sampling of vegetation. A total of 114 quadrats were established in 13 selected sampling sites. Phytosociological attributes were calculated for each plant species at each quadrat. Soil samples were collected and analyzed using different standard protocols. All the collected data were analyzed using Cluster Analysis, Indicator Species Analysis and Canonical Correspondence Analysis of PCORD and CANOCO software, respectively. A total of 145 plant species were recorded belong to 62 different families. Asteraceae and Lamiaceae were the dominant families, represented by 12 species each (8.27%). Cluster Analysis classify all the stations and plants into four major plant communities as 1) Olea-Desmodium-Prunilla community. 2) Abies-Zanthoxylum-Pteracanthus community 3) Cedrus-Elaeagnus-Hypericum community 4) Alnus-Myrsine–Ranunculus community. Soil pH, electrical conductivity, soil saturation, organic matter and altitude were the significant environmental factors that play its essential role in the plant species distribution, composition, formation of major plant communities and their respective indicators in the region. It is recommended that the identified indicator and rare plant species of the investigated area can further be grown for conservation and management purposes in in-situ environment.

Climate change has a profound impact on global biodiversity and species geographical distribution, especially in alpine regions. The prediction of species’ habitat could help the understanding of species’ responses to potential climate threats. Triosteum L. (1753) is a typical mountain plant with medicinal and ecological value. There are three species of this genus in East Asia. Triosteum Pinnatifidum Maxim. 1888 and Triosteum himalayanum Wall. 1829 are mainly distributed in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau and its surroundings, and they are sensitive to climate changes. In this study, a MaxEnt model was used to predict the potential distribution of T. Pinnatifidum and T. himalayanum in the present time and at four different time periods in the future under two different Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs). Topographic factors were taken into account in the prediction. In the present study, the accuracy of the model’s prediction was verified (the AUC values are 0.975 and 0.974), and the results indicate that temperature is the key factor that affects the distribution of these two species. Compared with current distribution, the potential suitable area of T. Pinnatifidum will increase in the future under two types of SSPs (an average increase is 31%), but the potential suitable area of T. himalayanum will decrease significantly (the average area is 93% of what it was before). In addition, the overlap of potential suitable areas of these two species will also expand, potentially affecting their hybridization and interspecific competition. The centroids of T. Pinnatifidum will migrate to the east, but the trajectory of centroids of T. himalayanum is complex. This study could provide basic data for the resource utilization and biogeography research of Triosteum. It will also be helpful for conservation and sustainable use of mountain herbaceous plants under climate change.

The pomegranate (Punica graatum L.) is an local fruit of Pakistan, having a long history of cultivation as wild plant in warm temperate Himalayan range of the country; however its production is quite low to meet ever increasing market demand. Sustainable production of high quality pomegranate fruit in the world has been achieved through morphogenetic characterization and estimation of genotypes diversity. Thus, it is important to estimate morphological, and genetic diversity of wild pomegranate. In the present study 50 genotypes of wild pomegranate were collected from District Dir and estimated for eight morphological traits and randomly selected 18 genotypes out of 50 genotypes for molecular characterization by applying six SSR marker for estimation of genetic diversity. In this study eight morphological characters two qualitative and six quantitative trait were used for the determination of genetic diversity. Analysis of variance revealed that significant variations were found in fruit length and fruit width in PC4, PC5 and PC6. The principal component analysis of six quantitative variables revealed a total variation of (100%) with an Eigenvalue of 0.167%. PC1 has a total variation of 31.548%, PC2 has 19.054%, PC3 has 16.483%, PC4 has 15.85%, PC5 has 11.827% variation while PC6 has 5.237%. Cluster based analysis of six quantitative traits of wild pomegranate using ward method and all genotypes were divided into two linkage groups A at 33% genetic distance and B at 67% genetic distance. The genotypes P1 and P28 being the most diversified and is found at the extreme periphery of the Dendrogram. The highest genetic diversity was observed by primer pgSSR25 (0.85) and minimum gene diversity was recorded by primer PgSSR19 (0.500) a mean PIC value 0.70. Overall primers considerably diverse between all genotypes. The present result revealed superior genotypes, as P1, P2, P25 and P28 both morphogenaticaly which can be used as parents that certainly increase the chance of obtaining desirable genotypes in a breeding program. Moreover present results revealed that the both morphological characterization and molecular characterization provide a powerful tool for the estimation of genetic variations existing among the genotypes of Wild pomegranate This studies provide basic information for morphological and molecular diversity programs to develop new cultivars to enhance the production of high quality pomegranate with desirable traits in Pakistan.