Valley bottom wetland plant communities and their relationship with soil factors in the Gangtey-Phobji Wetland, Wangdi Phodrang, Himalayan, Bhutan

Abstract

Valley-bottom wetlands are valuable assets as they deliver many ecosystem services to humankind. This study determines the plant communities and distribution in the Gangtey-Phobji Valley bottom wetland of Wangdue Phodrang, Bhutan. Used 100 m line transect with random sampling (1x1 m2 , 4x4 m2 , 10x10 m2 ) quadrats were used for herbs, shrubs, and trees respectively to record floristic composition. In addition, the hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and indicator species analysis were performed to define plant communities and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) to investigate relationships between environmental variables and plant communities. The present study recorded 241 plant species from 173 genera and 75 families in the wetland. Cluster and indicator species analysis identified four community types, and three species were named from the highest indicator value (IV) in each community. Essential variables that affect the plant communities were the edaphic factors such as available nitrogen, soil organic matter, calcium, magnesium, and sodium ions.

Keywords

• plant community
• valley bottom wetland
• floristic composition
• himalayan
• bhutan