Akhtar H Malik

University of Kashmir, Srinagar, J&K, India, Center for Biodiversity and Taxonomy,Deptt. of Botany, Jr. Scientist at CBT & Curator (KASH Herbarium)

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Phone: 09596147195
Address: Centre for Biodiversity and Taxonomy (CBT),Deptt. of Botany
University of Kashmir
Jammu&Kashmir,India

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University of Wisconsin-Madison

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UNL - New University of Lisbon

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University of Aberdeen

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University of Michigan

Prof.(Dr.) Sobhan Kr. Mukherjee

University of Kalyani

ABHAYA P Das

North Bengal University

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Universidad Nacional de Córdoba

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Papers by Akhtar H Malik

Erratum to: Benefitting from geoinformatics: Estimating floristic diversity of Warwan valley in Northwestern Himalaya, India

Journal of Mountain Science, 2015

The spelling of the third author's name was incorrect. The correct one is 'Aijaz Hassan GANIE'.

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A Note on the Occurrence of Rubia manjith (Rubiaceae) from Hirpora Wildlife Sanctuary, Jammu & Kashmir

Nelumbo

The present paper deal with the collection of Rubia manjith Roxb. ex Fleming (Rubiaceae) from Hir... more

Miscanthus nepalensis (Trin.) Hack, an addition to the flora of Jammu & Kashmir state, India

The current study reports a new record, Miscanthus nepalensis (Trin.) Hack. (Poaceae) in the flor... more The current study reports a new record, Miscanthus nepalensis (Trin.) Hack. (Poaceae) in the flora of Jammu and Kashmir based on the data collected from three locations in the northwestern Kashmir Himalayas and the western Himalayas of Jammu. This result marks its first documented presence in the flora of Jammu and Kashmir. The report offers an in-depth account of the macro and micro-morphological features of the plant, complete with illustrations. It also includes a geo-coordinate map that indicates the locations of the newly documented specimen. The report also contains ecological information about the species like distribution, blooming and fruiting times, and habitat features.

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ETHNOMEDICINAL SURVEY OF PLANTS IN PROTECTED AREAS OF KASHMIR HIMALAYA: A CASE STUDY OF THE HIRPORA WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

by Akhtar H Malik and M.SULIMAN DAR

ETHNOMEDICINAL SURVEY OF PLANTS IN PROTECTED AREAS OF KASHMIR HIMALAYA: A CASE STUDY OF THE HIRPORA WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

INTRODUCTION Globally, unique co-existential relationships exist between the biodiversity and its... more INTRODUCTION Globally, unique co-existential relationships exist between the biodiversity and its utilization practices by the indigenous tribal communities [1]. It is all about the multiple ways the indigenous people, belonging to different socio-cultural systems, are using biodiversity and the associated ecosystem goods and services [2]. The indigenous people are facing problems in their day-today lives and they overcome these with their local solutions by employing practical experiences and skills leading to the development of these traditional knowledge systems [3]. Till now a considerable number of rural people in India are still using herbal medicines for the treatment of various ailments [4, 5]. Local traditional healing systems are well adopted by the

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Bromus diandrus Roth (Poaceae) New Addition to the Flora of Jammu & Kashmir from Kashmir Himalaya Kuntal Saha 29 (1)

Bromus diandrus Roth has been recorded for the first time in Jammu & Kashmir, India, where its di... more Bromus diandrus Roth has been recorded for the first time in Jammu & Kashmir, India,
where its distribution was previously known only in Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. This new finding
raises the number of Bromus L. taxa in Jammu and Kashmir to seventeen. A detailed description, habitat,
and illustrations of B. diandrus are provided, along with a geo-coordinate map showing the collection site.

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Bioactive potential of Lagotis cashmeriana a study on morphology phytochemicals and antioxidant activity

Bioactive potential of Lagotis cashmeriana: a study on morphology, phytochemicals, and antioxidant activity

The present study aimed to investigate the morphological features, phytochemicals, phenolic conte... more The present study aimed to investigate the morphological features,
phytochemicals, phenolic content, and antioxidant activity in different
parts of Lagotis cashmeriana. The morphological features depicted that
the plant is 7.9 ± 1.699 cm tall with flowers arranged into an inflorescence.
The length of inflorescence was 2.597 ± 0.796 cm. Basal leaves
were measuring 2.99 ± 0.58 cm. Besides, the number of basal leaves
and inflorescence ranged from 4–9 and 0–4 respectively. Methanolic
extract of leaves displayed the highest phenolic content (169.5 μg/mL
of GAE), followed by inflorescences (157 μg/mL of GAE). Among aqueous
extracts, leaves displayed the highest phenolic content (88.38 μg/
mL of GAE), followed by inflorescences (76.95 μg/mL of GAE). The
results of antioxidant study revealed that the methanolic extracts of
leaves possessed the highest antioxidant potential (180.76 μg/mL of
AAE). Interestingly, for each extract, there was a positive correlation
between the phenolic content and the antioxidant activity.

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Assessment of the alpine plant species biodiversity in the western Himalaya using Resourcesat-2 imagery and field survey

Journal of Earth System Science, 2019

In the alpine ecosystem of the Himalaya, an observation of species diversity with habitat heterog... more In the alpine ecosystem of the Himalaya, an observation of species diversity with habitat heterogeneity predicts some important factors that govern them. Information theory-based species biodiversity at the community level and habitat heterogeneity at the landscape level were studied. Resourcesat-2 linear imaging self-scanning sensor (LISS-III and LISS-IV)-based spectral diversity indices and species diversity indices of four summits with increasing elevation gradients were estimated. The species richness decreased with an increase in elevation. The southern aspect of the sub-alpine zone has the highest biodiversity having a 3.5 Shannon' entropy (H). Despite receiving higher insolation, the increase in elevation leading to coldness and dominance of a few species make the southern aspects less diverse at the higher elevation. Both elevational gradients and microclimatic conditions define biodiversity in the Himalaya. Resolution from coarser (LISS-III) to finer (LISS-IV) to micro (field) scale showed an increasing range of values, H = 0.1, 0.2 and 2.1, respectively. There is significantly less correlation between field and satellite measured biodiversity indices (r, À0.5 to 0.3). To go closer to the field level of biodiversity assessment, there is a need to use satellite data having a higher spatial resolution. Spectral variation hypothesis does not hold good in the alpine ecosystem of the Himalaya.

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Floristic diversity and correlates of naturalization of alien flora in urban green spaces of Srinagar city

Urban Ecosystems

The sustainable management of green spaces in cities is crucial in achieving the challenging goal... more The sustainable management of green spaces in cities is crucial in achieving the challenging goal of urban sustainability. The common practice of cultivation of alien plants in urban green spaces is often associated with risk of naturalisation (i.e. escape into wild), which can have sometime adverse impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services. To mitigate these risks, understanding patterns and processes of naturalisation of alien flora in urban green spaces becomes crucial. Here we report the floristic diversity of alien flora and correlates of its naturalisation in the green spaces of Srinagar city – one of the largest urban centres in the Himalaya. We documented 342 plant species belonging to 66 families from the green spaces of Srinagar, predominantly represented by 245 alien species (72%). Among the alien species pool, 133 species (54%) are exclusively under cultivation (non-escapes) and 112 species (46%) grow in the wild (cultivation escapes and accidentally introduced species); and of the latter, 51 were naturalised, 39 casual and 22 invasive. The cultivated alien species escaped into the wild belong to 27 families, and most prominently to the Asteraceae. Habitat-wise, plant dumping sites in the green spaces constituted the most dominant habitat of cultivation escapes. A significant relationship was revealed between the proportion of aliens under cultivation and species traits such as growth form, life span and residence time; and plant species with herbaceous growth form, annual life span and relatively longer residence time showed higher proportion of naturalisation. We found a significant correlation between abundance of the cultivation escapes and residence time (r = 0.507). The present study has generated policy-relevant data on urban green spaces of Srinagar, which can support policy regulations to steer the sustainable development of this rapidly urbanising Himalayan city.

Worthful Willows: Economic and Ethnomedicinal Uses of Genus Salix L. in the Kashmir and Ladakh Himalayas

Worthful Willows: Economic and Ethnomedicinal Uses of Genus Salix L. in the Kashmir and Ladakh Himalayas, 2020

The genus Salix L. (commonly known as willow) has been one of the valuable groups of plants for h... more The genus Salix L. (commonly known as willow) has been one of the valuable groups of plants for humankind due to their multiple uses. In India, the Himalayan regions of Kashmir and Ladakh harbor maximum diversity of Salix. In this context, the present study documents multiple economic and ethno-medicinal uses of Salix in these Himalayan regions. The different species of Salix are used in plantation, landscaping, fuel wood, timber, livestock fodder, wickerwork, bat, fruit box and plywood industry; and also locally used for treatment of different human diseases. A total of 100 informants selected from representative age groups were interviewed in these Himalayan regions to collect the data on ethnomedicinal uses of these species. Hopefully, the results from the present study will guide the bio-prospection and commercial utilization of the worthful willow species in these two Himalayan regions.

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Worthful Willows: Economic and Ethnomedicinal Uses of Genus Salix L. in the Kashmir and Ladakh Himalayas

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THE WOODY FLORA OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR STATE, INDIA: AN UPDATED CHECKLIST

Journal of Economic & Taxonomic Botany, 2010

Taxonomic inventory of biota serves as a foundationstone in the documentation, conservation and s... more Taxonomic inventory of biota serves as a foundationstone in the documentation, conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity at the local, regional and global scales. Thus contributing to the regional biodiversity, the present study provides an updated checklist of the woody flora of Jammu and Kashmir State, India. The woody flora of the State comprises of 521 species belonging to 254 genera and 88 families. Growthform-wise, the trees, shrubs, undershrubs and woody climbers are represented by 185, 259, 27, 50 species, respectively. Provincial-wise, the three distinct provinces of the State, viz. Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh contribute 368, 304 and 72 species, respectively to the total woody flora.

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Woody flora of JK

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Assessment of the alpine plant species biodiversity in the western Himalaya using Resourcesat-2 imagery and field survey

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Ethnovetenaery uses Asian j of Bot

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Floristic composition and biological spectrum of Keran -a remote valley of northwestern Himalaya

The Himalayas are one of the youngest and richest ecosystems on earth with a variety of species a... more The Himalayas are one of the youngest and richest ecosystems on earth with a variety of species and forest types due to the varying altitude, topographic, and climatic conditions. The present study was aimed to investigate the floristic composition and biological spectrum of Keran valley, a region nestled in the northwestern frontiers of Himalayan biodiversity hotspot. Floristically, a total of 183 species were recorded, out of which 55 were aliens. Herbaceous growth form was dominant (67%) and therophytes were the dominant (37%) life form. Likewise, me-sophylls (34%) followed by nanophylls (29%) and microphylls (27%) were major leaf size categories; and the simple leaf lamina type was recorded in majority of the species (65%). Almost 1/3rd of the total species pool was growing in the forest habitats, while as the 2/3rd occur within the rest 9 habitat types which were largely human-modified. The vegetation phenology observed during different seasons revealed that most of the species were dominant in summer season (37%), followed by spring (29%), autumn (21%) and winter (13%). The present study provides baseline information on the plant diversity in this hitherto unexplored region of northwestern Himalaya.

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Biodiversity and conservation

To know about the diversity and distribution of living organisms is fundamental to the conservati... more To know about the diversity and distribution of living organisms is fundamental to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. In recent times, documentation of alien species at different spatial scales has assumed priority because biological invasions by alien species are believed to pose grave threat to native biodiversity. Infact, lack of such studies in the developing world, particularly in global biodiversity hotspots is a major limitation that hampers proper management of biological invasions. It is in this context that the present study provides an account of taxonomic diversity and state-wise distribution of alien flora in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR). Taxonomically, a total of 674 alien plant species which belong to 410 genera in 103 families have been documented. The largest families in terms of number of species are Fabaceae, Asteraceae and Poaceae and the dominant genera are Eucalyptus, Ipomoea and Senna. The state-wise distribution of the alien flora in IHR reveals Uttarakhand with the largest number of species, followed by Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. The results also reveal that majority of the alien plant species are native of Southern America, followed by Asia-temperate and Africa. Analysis of the lifespan shows that perennials dominate the alien flora, followed by annuals. In addition, growth form wise, herbs dominate the alien flora followed by trees and shrubs. Hopefully, the results from the present study will help in the better scientific assessment and monitoring of alien flora in the region. Furthermore, the comprehensive database on alien flora can be immensely useful in developing the basic scientific framework to implement the adaptive invasive plant management and impact mitigation strategies at the scale of states in the Indian Himalyan Region.

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Early Evidence of Shifts in Alpine Summit Vegetation: A Case Study From Kashmir Himalaya

Under the contemporary climate change, the Himalaya is reported to be warming at a much higher ra... more Under the contemporary climate change, the Himalaya is reported to be warming at a much higher rate than the global average. However, little is known about the alpine vegetation responses to recent climate change in the rapidly warming Himalaya. Here we studied vegetation dynamics on alpine summits in Kashmir Himalaya in relation to in situ measured microclimate. The summits, representing an elevation gradient from treeline to nival zone (3530-3740 m), were first surveyed in 2014 and then re-surveyed in 2018. The initial survey showed that the species richness, vegetation cover and soil temperature decreased with increasing elevation. Species richness and soil temperature differed significantly among slopes, with east and south slopes showing higher values than north and west slopes. The re-survey showed that species richness increased on the lower three summits but decreased on the highest summit (nival zone) and also revealed a substantial increase in the cover of dominant shrubs, graminoids, and forbs. The nestedness-resultant dissimilarity, rather than species turnover, contributed more to the magnitude of β-diversity among the summits. High temporal species turnover was found on south and east aspects, while high nestedness was recorded along north and west aspects. Thermophilization was more pronounced on the lower two summits and along the northern aspects. Our study provides crucial scientific data on climate change impacts on the alpine vegetation of Kashmir Himalaya. This information will fill global knowledge gaps from the developing world.

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Anthropogenic disturbances alter community structure in the forests of Kashmir Himalaya

Both natural and anthropogenic disturbances are key drivers of forest dynamics that alter species... more Both natural and anthropogenic disturbances are key drivers of forest dynamics that alter species composition and diversity, which in turn determine the successional trajectory of the forests. The present study aimed to investigate the community composition, population structure and regeneration status of tree species in relation to anthropogenic disturbances in temperate pure coniferous forests of Kashmir Himalaya. Comparable forest sites with varying degree of disturbance were selected and the regeneration status of the tree species was determined by measuring the population size of seedlings and saplings. The seedling, sapling and tree density were significantly greater in the less disturbed (LD) sites as compared to the highly disturbed sites (HD). Moreover, the LD sites showed highest frequency of lower tree girth classes, resulting in the formation of an inverse J-shaped curve, while as the HD sites showed unimodal distribution with maximum number of individuals in higher girth classes. Such a shift in forest structure from inverse J-shaped to unimodal distribution alters the niche space and facilitates the colonization of non-resident oak species (Quercus baloot, Q. incana), which otherwise are component of relatively low-altitude mixed temperate forests of the region. The results of the present study provide baseline ecological indicators in characterizing and quantifying the human-driven changes in forest composition and structure; and can help in developing scientifically-informed policy tools for the effective management and ecological restoration of human-modified forest landscapes in this Himalayan region.

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A Contribution to the Flora of Rajouri and Poonch Districts in the Pir Panjal Himalaya (Jammu & Kashmir), India List

Trikuta hills, presenting a good floristic account of the plants harboring these hills and the su... more Trikuta hills, presenting a good floristic account of the plants harboring these hills and the surroundings of Shri Vaishno Devi Shrine. published the Flora of Udhampur district, which is a useful treatise on the higher plants of this region. Bhellum and Magotra (2012) catalogued the flowering plants of Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts, dealing with floristic richness of these three adjacent districts in the Chenab Valley.

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GC-FID and GC-MS analysis of the Essential oil of Elsholtzia densa Benth - a rich source of acylfuran non-terpene ketones

The essential oil from Elsholtzia densa Benth aerial parts was isolated by hydrodistillation and ... more The essential oil from Elsholtzia densa Benth aerial parts was isolated by hydrodistillation and analysed by a combination of capillary GC-FID and GC-MS analytical techniques. Nineteen components accounting for 94.3 % of the total oil were identified. The oil composition was dominated by the presence of acylfuran non-terpene ketones which are the biochemical markers of various Elsholtzia species, together constituting 84.7% of the total oil composition. The major components were elsholtzia ketone (23.4 %), α-dehydroelsholtzia ketone (5.0 %), β-dehydroelsholtzia ketone (56.3%), alpha humulene (3.75 %), and humulene epoxide (1.0 %).

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Erratum to: Benefitting from geoinformatics: Estimating floristic diversity of Warwan valley in Northwestern Himalaya, India

Journal of Mountain Science, 2015

The spelling of the third author's name was incorrect. The correct one is 'Aijaz Hassan GANIE'.

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A Note on the Occurrence of Rubia manjith (Rubiaceae) from Hirpora Wildlife Sanctuary, Jammu & Kashmir

Nelumbo

The present paper deal with the collection of Rubia manjith Roxb. ex Fleming (Rubiaceae) from Hir... more

Miscanthus nepalensis (Trin.) Hack, an addition to the flora of Jammu & Kashmir state, India

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ETHNOMEDICINAL SURVEY OF PLANTS IN PROTECTED AREAS OF KASHMIR HIMALAYA: A CASE STUDY OF THE HIRPORA WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

by Akhtar H Malik and M.SULIMAN DAR