Diversity, Ecological and Traditional Knowledge of Pteridophytes in the Western Himalayas
Aadil Abdullah Khoja,
Shiekh Marifatul Haq,
Muhammad Majeed,
Musheerul Hassan,
Muhammad Waheed,
Umer Yaqoob,
Rainer W. Bussmann,
Abed Alataway,
Ahmed Z. Dewidar,
Mohamed Al-Yafrsi,
Hosam O. Elansary,
Kowiyou Yessoufou,
Wajid Zaman
Affiliations
Aadil Abdullah Khoja
Department of Life Science, Glocal University, Saharanpur 247121, India
Shiekh Marifatul Haq
Clybay Research Private Limited, Bangalore 560114, India
Muhammad Majeed
Department of Botany, University of Gujrat, Hafiz Hayat Campus, Gujrat 50700, Pakistan
Musheerul Hassan
Clybay Research Private Limited, Bangalore 560114, India
Muhammad Waheed
Department of Botany, University of Okara, Okara 56130, Pakistan
Umer Yaqoob
Zonal Educational Office, Vehil, Shopian, Jammu & Kashmir 192303, India
Rainer W. Bussmann
Department of Ethnobotany, Institute of Botany, Ilia State University, 0105 Tbilisi, Georgia
Abed Alataway
Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water Chair, Prince Sultan Institute for Environmental, Water and Desert Research, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Ahmed Z. Dewidar
Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water Chair, Prince Sultan Institute for Environmental, Water and Desert Research, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Mohamed Al-Yafrsi
Plant Production Department, College of Food & Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Hosam O. Elansary
Plant Production Department, College of Food & Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Kowiyou Yessoufou
Department of Geography, Environmental Management, and Energy Studies, University of Johannesburg, APK Campus, Johannesburg 2006, South Africa
Wajid Zaman
Department of Life Sciences, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 38541, Korea
Pteridophytes have been used by humans for millennia, but in comparison to flowering plants, the documentation of their traditional uses is still neglected; as a result, they must be highlighted and popularized. The present study was carried out from January 2019 to November 2021 to gather ecological and traditional use information on pteridophytes from local inhabitants of the Kashmir valley via semi-structured personal interviews and group discussions. We recorded 58 pteridophyte species belonging to 13 families. The distributions of the species among the families were unequal, with four families constituting more than half of the total species (Dryopteridaceae 26%, Woodsiaceae 17%, Aspleniaceae 14%, and Pteridaceae (14%). The highest numbers of species (45%) were found growing on the forest floor, followed by those growing in rock crevices (26%). This was supported further by a cluster analysis, which identified two primary clusters based on the species presence in different habitats. Half of the species (56%) were reported from altitudes below 2000m, followed by 19% from 2001–2500m, and 8% (e.g., Deparia allantodioides, Dryopteris xanthomelas, Asplenium viride) from 3001–3500m. Among the documented species (N = 58), only 28 species had a traditional usage (as medicine, vegetables, for oral hygiene, and for veterinary use). The aerial parts were most commonly used (64%) followed by the rachis (18%). The highest use value was observed for Diplazium maximum and the lowest for Asplenium fontanum. The findings of our study contribute baseline data to fill the existing knowledge gaps on ecological and traditional knowledge of pteridophytes in the Himalayas.
