VEGETATIONAL DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTION ALONG AN ELEVATIONAL GRADIENT ON BOTH SIDES OF CHATTERGALLA RIDGE, BHADERWAH, JAM ML) AND KASHMIR, INDIA

摘要

The study was conducted to note the phytodiversity and its distribution along range of 2850 m to 3400 m on both sides of Chattergalla ridge in Jammu and Kashmir, north western Himalayas. The ridge displays a typical conical cross section with characteristic vegetational diversity and distribution along the opposite aspects with more or less same degree of slope inclination. During the investigations, 180 species belonging to 139 genera in 54 families were recorded from the study area, of which 131 species were observed common, while 161 species were exclusively found in northern and 150 in southern aspect, respectively. The number of deciduous species was relatively higher than evergreen species with more concentration along the northern aspect owing to micro-climatic fluctuations. The species richness and diversity revealed a decreasing trend with the rising elevation. The biodiversity of the region is slowly eroding owing to uncontrolled grazing and ruthless extraction of medicinal plants.