Background: The utilization of plants and plant resources for various ethnobotanical purposes is a common practice in local towns and villages of developing countries, especially in regard to human and veterinary healthcare. For this reason, it is important to unveil and document ethnomedicinal plants and their traditional/folk usage for human and livestock healthcare from unexplored areas. Here we advance our findings on ethnomedicinal plants from Haripur District, Pakistan, not only for conservation purposes, but also for further pharmacological screenings and applied research. Methodology: Information of ethnomedicinal plants was obtained using a carefully planned questionnaire and interviews from 80 local people and traditional healers (Hakims) in Haripur District, Pakistan, from 2015 to 2017. Informed consent was obtained from each participant before conducting the interview process. Quantitative ethnobotanical indices, such as relative frequency of citation (RFC), use value (UV) and Jaccard index (JI), were calculated for each recorded species. Correlation analysis between the RFC and UV was tested by Pearson’s correlation, SPSS (ver. 16). Results: A total of 80 plant species (33 herbs, 24 trees, 21 shrubs and 2 climbers) belonging to 50 families were being used in the study area to treat livestock and human diseases. Lamiaceae was the most dominant family with 7 species (8.7%), followed by Fabaceae with 6 species (7.5%), and Moraceae with 5 species (6.2%). Local people used different methods of preparation for different plant parts; among them, decoction/tea (22 species) was the popular method, followed by powder/grained (20 species) and paste/poultice (14 species). It was observed that most of the species (~ 12 to 16 species) were utilized to treat human and livestock digestive system-related problems, respectively. The Jaccard index found that plant usage in two studies (District Abbottabad and Sulaiman Range) was more comparable. Local people mainly relied on folk medicines due to their rich accessibility, low cost and higher efficacy against diseases. Unfortunately, this important traditional knowledge is vanishing fast, and many medicinal plants are under severe threat. The most threats associated to species observed in the study area include Dehri, Garmthun, Baghpur, Najafpur and Pharala. Conclusion: The study has indicated that local people have higher confidence in the usage of ethnomedicinal plants and are still using them for the treatment of various ailments. Comparative analysis with other studies may strongly reflected the novel use of these plants, which may be due to the deep-rooted and unique socio-cultural setup of the study area. However, awareness campaigns, conservation efforts and pharmacological and applied research are required for further exploration and may be a step in the right direction to unveil prospective pharmaceuticals.

Moso bamboo expansions into Japanese cedar forests are common. The expansion effects on soil nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions have not been thoroughly understood, and the underlying microbial mechanisms remain unclear. We studied bacterial and fungal contribution to soil N₂O emissions under moso bamboo or Japanese cedar by applying bacterial or fungal inhibitors using streptomycin and iprodione, respectively. Soil N₂O emissions were measured and the relative contribution of bacteria and fungi to soil N₂O emissions was calculated. N₂O emission from soil with moso bamboo was significantly higher than under Japanese cedar. Compared with control, bacterial or fungal inhibitor or their combination decreased N₂O emissions, indicating substantial contribution of microbial activities to N₂O emissions. However, the relative contribution of bacteria and fungi to N₂O emissions was not affected by plants. Soil organic carbon, total and ammonium nitrogen were lower in soil under moso bamboo than Japanese cedar, suggesting faster microbial decomposition under moso bamboo. Fungal inhibitor and plants interactively affected soil pH, total phosphorus and ammonium nitrogen, while bacterial inhibitor and plants interactively affected total nitrogen, indicating substantial dependence of effects by microbial communities on plant species. Moso bamboo and Japanese cedar differed in their effects on soil N₂O emissions with higher emissions under moso bamboo. Stimulation of N₂O emission under moso bamboo might occur due to higher nitrogen mineralization and subsequent denitrification induced by high root exudation. These results highlight the need to consider the effect of species shifts on N₂O emissions in forests.

Introduction: Indigenous people in a far-flung mountainous area without basic facilities, mainly rely on medicinal plants to cope with various veterinary health problems. Objective: The present study was carried out to explore the traditional knowledge of ethnoveterinary practices in Kaghan Valley, district Mansehra, Western Himalayas-Pakistan. Method: Ethnoveterinary data were collected between February to October 2014 from nine villages of the Kaghan Valley by involving 80 local people include traditional healers using a semi-structured interview. Results: A sum of 41 plant taxa of ethnoveterinary medicinal plants was documented for treating livestock ailments. Out of which, herbaceous plants were recorded with high percentage (27 species, 65.8 %). Most of the species were used to treat gastrointestinal diseases (12 taxa), followed by health improvement (7 taxa). The widely used part of plants for livestock aliments was the whole plant (9 species) followed by leaves (7 species), and preparation were paste (18 species) followed by powder with 10 species. The highest used values were recorded for Arisaema costatum (0.82), Primula denticulata (0.76), and high relative frequency citations for Berberis lyceum and Dryopteris ramosa with 0.37 each. Among the plant species Skimmia laureola, Thymus linearis and Phytolacca latbenia were among the taxa with cent fidelity level. Conclusion: The flora used in traditional remedies of the valley was found mostly endemic due to excessive utilization. Thus, further chemical investigation, better utilization and conservation of indigenous use of the reported species should be considered for future work.

Litter decomposition impacts carbon (C) and nutrient cycling. Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) addition as well as litter age impact litter decomposition. Effects of nutrient addition and litter age on litter decomposition may impact emissions of soil nitrous oxide (N₂O), which is an important greenhouse gas. However, no study has examined the effects of interactions between litter age and nutrient addition on soil N₂O emissions, and explored the underlining mechanisms simultaneously, thus limiting our evaluation of litter decomposition effects on N₂O emissions. Litter with different age was collected from Cunninghamia lanceolata plantations experienced N and P addition treatments to examine the effects of nutrient addition and litter age on N₂O emissions by incubation study. Litter age generally increased N₂O emissions via a decrease in litter C:N ratio. While P addition decreased N₂O emissions, N addition increased them mainly by positive effects on soil enzymes as indicated by microbial functional genes associated with N₂O production and negative effects on litter C:N ratio. Litter age and nutrient addition interacted to impact soil N₂O emissions. In future forest management, both nutrient addition and litter age should be considered in evaluation of management effects on N₂O emissions, especially thinning or selectively cutting involving litter input with different age.