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LIFE FORM AND LEAF SIZE SPECTRA OF THE PLANT COMMUNITIES OF DIVERSE AREAS RANGING FROM HARNAI, SINJAWI TO DUKI REGIONS OF PAKISTAN

RASOOL BAKHSH T AREEN AND S.A. QADIR

Abstract: Life form and leaf size spectra of the plant communities of the study area were constructed according to Raunkiaer. Hemicryptophytes, therophytes and chamaephytes were found to be significantly higher, and geophytes were found to be significantly lower than the "Normal spectrum". Life form spectrum of different altitudinal zones shows that phanerophytes decrease gradually from lower elevation to higher elevations, but in lower middle zone, upper middle zone and upper zone they remain more or less constant around 30%. Chamaephytes were slightly lower than the normal spectrum, hemicryptophytes are more or less constant in all zones and therophytes show no consistency. Microphyll leaf size class was found to be the highest percentage, followed by nannophylls. Leaf size spectrum of different altitudinal zones shows that microphylls increase gradually from lower to upper zones. Nanophylls were slightly high in the lower zone, leptophyll and mesophyll did not show much variation.

Department of Botany, University of Balochistan, Quetta, Pakistan.