Ethnobotanical study of Makra Hills district Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan

Authors

  • Zaafran Mirzaman
  • Sadaf Kayani Department of Botany, Mohi-Ud-Din Islamic University, Nerian Sharif AJ&K, Pakistan
  • Muhammad Manzoor Plant Systematic and Biodiversity Lab, Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan
  • Muhammad Azhar Jameel Department of Zoology, Wildlife, & Fisheries, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi 45600, Pakistan
  • Muhammad Waheed Department of Botany, University of Okara, Okara 56300, Pakistan;
  • Syed Waseem Gillani Plant Systematic and Biodiversity Lab, Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan
  • Choudhary Muhammad Babar Department of Botany, Mohi-Ud-Din Islamic University, Nerian Sharif AJ&K, Pakistan
  • Rainer W. Bussmann Department of Botany, State Museum of Natural History, Karlsruhe, Germany and Department of Ethnobotany, Institute of Botany, Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia

Abstract

Background: It is the first ethno-botanical study to preserve the ethno-flora of Makkra hills along with their different uses to document the indigenous knowledge. This study enumerated and highlighted the ethno-botanical significance of plants for different used categories by local people in unexplored and biodiversity rich region of Makkra hills AJ&K, Pakistan.

Methods: A questionnaire method was adopted to conduct an ethno-medicinal study. A Questionnaire were filled by researcher during interviewing the local people in their native languages and data was analyzed by quantitative ethno-botanical indices such as Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC), Use Value (UV), and Relative Importance (RI).

Results: Our findings revealed 68 plant species belonging to 64 genera of 36 families were used by the inhabitants of Makkra hills for various purposes. Angiosperms were leading in number with the contribution of 62 species of ethnoflora of study area. Herbaceous flora contributed 75% of ethnoflora of study area. Leading plant families were Poacceae, Compositae and Polygonaceae. Classification of ethnoflora based on use categories revealed the most used category was medicinal with 57 plant species followed by food 26 species and 19 species with miscellaneous uses. Among plant parts usage leaves were most used parts with the representation of 26 plant species.

Three quantitative matrices were used to calculate the important ethnobotanical species of study area with their versatility in uses. Based on Use Value index and Relative Frequency Citation, Juglans regia showed higher values of 2.62 and 0.84 respectively. Berberis lycium was the most versatile species of Makkra hills having a Relative Importance value of 1.80.

Conclusions: We conclude that the people of Makkra hills are still harbouring a good knowledge due to their dependences on local flora. Conservation practices along with providence of basic facilities to the local inhabitants will be helpful to retain and recover the vegetation of Makkra hills in its original position.

Keywords: RFC=Relative Frequency Citation, UV=Used value, Mis= Miscellaneous, Traditonal knowledge, Ethnobotanical indices

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Published

2023-09-08

How to Cite

Zaafran Mirzaman, Sadaf Kayani, Muhammad Manzoor, Muhammad Azhar Jameel, Waheed, M. ., Syed Waseem Gillani, Choudhary Muhammad Babar, & Rainer W. Bussmann. (2023). Ethnobotanical study of Makra Hills district Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan. Ethnobotany Research and Applications, 26, 1–17. Retrieved from https://ethnobotanyjournal.org/index.php/era/article/view/5405

Issue

Vol. 26 (2023)

Section

Research

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