Abstract
Pteridophytes (ferns and ferns allies) are the second-largest group of vascular plants. These are represented by 202 species in Pakistan. Their ecological requirements have been investigated to some extent. In this chapter, an overview of their ecological features, specific habitats and distribution in discrete vegetation units has been summarized. The group inhabits a wide range of terrestrial environments. The terrestrial ferns observed to grow on the forest floor include the species from the genera Coniogramme, Osmunda, Botrychium, Onychium, Pteris, Pteridium, Christella, Phegopteris, Pseudophegopteris, Asplenium, Athyrium, Deparia, and Dryopteris. Those found on dry rocks are represented by the genera Selaginella, Lepisorus, Adiantum, Polystichum, Asplenium, and Cheilanthes. The representative genera of the free-floating water ferns are Azolla, Salvinia and Marsilea. The xerophytic rock ferns include the genera of Cheilanthes and Asplenium. The pteridophyte are dominantly found phytogeographically in the Western Himalayan province. Many areas in the country need more thorough exploration, and most of the materials need careful taxonomic and nomenclatural investigation. The ecological and taxonomic work on ferns is scanty, and a complete and updated list of ferns and lycophytes is still needed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Fazalullah, Ali U (2014) Pteridophytic flora of Maidan Valley Dir (L) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Int J Biol Biotechnol 11:649–653
Fraser JC (2014) Ferns and Allies of the far-west Indo-Himalaya (Afghanistan, Pakistan and Kashmir) and Iran-revised checklists, classification and phytogeography. Indian Fern J 30:161–191
Gul A, Alam J, Ahmad H, Irfan M (2016) An updated checklist of pteridophytes of district Mansehra, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa-Pakistan. Plant Sci Today 3:237–247
Gul A, Alam J, Majid A et al (2017) Diversity and distribution patterns in the pteridophyte flora of Pakistan and Azad Kashmir. Pak J Bot 42:83–88
Mehltreter K, Walker LR, Sharpe JM (2010) Fern ecology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Murtaza G, Majid SA, Asghar R (2004) Morpho-palynological studies on the climbing Fern Lygodium japonicum. Asian J Plant Sci 3:728–730
Murtaza G, Asghar R, Majid SA et al (2006) Anatomical and palynological studies on some Filicales from Neelum valley, Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir. Pak J Bot 38:921–929
Nakaike T, Malik S (1992) A list of pteridophytes collected from Pakistan in 1990. In: Cryptogamic flora of Pakistan, vol 1. National Science Museum, Tokyo, pp 261–281
Nakaike T, Malik S (1993) A list of pteridophytes collected from Pakistan in 1991. In: Cryptogamic flora of Pakistan, vol 2. National Science Museum, Tokyo, pp 261–281
Ozturk M, Altay V, Latıff A et al (2018a) Chapter 9: a comparative analysis of the medicinal pteridophytes in Turkey, Pakistan and Malaysia. In: Ozturk M, Hakeem KR (eds) Plant and human health, vol 1. Springer, Cham, pp 349–390
Ozturk M, Altay V, Latiff A et al (2018b) Chapter 11: a comparative analysis of the medicinal plants used for diabetes mellitus in the traditional medicine in Turkey, Pakistan, and Malaysia. In: Ozturk M, Hakeem KR (eds) Plant and human health, vol 1. Springer, Cham, pp 409–461
Ozturk M, Altay V, Latiff A et al (2018c) Chapter 16: potential medicinal plants used in the hypertension in Turkey, Pakistan, and Malaysia. In: Ozturk M, Hakeem KR (eds) Plant and human health, vol 1. Springer, Cham, pp 595–618
Rahman F, Mumtaz AS, Shah SA (2015) Psilotum nudum: a new pteridophyte record for the cryptogamic flora of Pakistan. Pak J Bot 47:493–494
Rajpar MN, Ozturk M, Altay V et al (2020) Species composition of dry-temperate forest as an important habitat for wildlife fauna species. J Environ Biol 41:328–336
Saima S, Dasti AA, Hussain F et al (2009) Floristic compositions along an 18-km long transect in Ayubia National Park district Abbottabad, Pakistan. Pak J Bot 41:2115–2127
Shah SN, Ahmad M, Zafar M et al (2018a) A light and scanning electron microscopic diagnosis of leaf epidermal morphology and its systematic implications in Dryopteridaceae: investigating 12 Pakistani taxa. Micron 111:36–49
Shah SN, Ahmad M, Zafar M et al (2018b) Foliar epidermal micromorphology and its taxonomic implications in some selected species of Athyriaceae. Microsc Res Tech 81:902–913
Shah SN, Ahmad M, Zafar M et al (2019a) Taxonomic importance of spore morphology in Thelypteridaceae from Northern Pakistan. Microsc Res Tech 82:1326–1333
Shah SN, Ahmad M, Zafar M et al (2019b) Leaf micromorphological adaptations of resurrection ferns in Northern Pakistan. Flora 255:1–10
Shah SN, Celik A, Ahmad M et al (2019c) Leaf epidermal micromorphology and its implications in systematics of certain taxa of the fern family Pteridaceae from northern Pakistan. Microsc Res Tech 82:317–332
Stewart RR (1967) Check list of the plants of Swat State, Northwest Pakistan. Pak J For 45:462–464
Stewart RR, Ali S, Nasir E (1972) An annotated catalogue of the vascular plants of West Pakistan and Kashmir. Fakhri Print Press, Karachi, pp 2–22
Sundas I, Zaheer-ud-Din K, Noreen R (2012) A contribution to the taxonomic study of fern flora of Punjab, Pakistan. Pak J Bot 44:315–322
Zaman W, Shah SN, Ullah F et al (2019) Systematic approach to the correct identification of Asplenium dalhousiae (Aspleniaceae) with their medicinal uses. Microsc Res Tech 82:459–465
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Shah, S.N., Ahmad, M., Khan, S.M. (2022). The Ecology of Pakistani Ferns and Lycophytes. In: Öztürk, M., Khan, S.M., Altay, V., Efe, R., Egamberdieva, D., Khassanov, F.O. (eds) Biodiversity, Conservation and Sustainability in Asia. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73943-0_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73943-0_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-73942-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-73943-0
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)