Assessment of Land Use–Land Cover and Phytosociological Characteristics of Bangus Grassland in the Ramhal Forest Range, Kashmir Himalaya
Talib Bashir Bhat *
Division of Natural Resource Management, Faculty of Forestry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Benhama, Ganderbal, Jammu and Kashmir-191201, India.
Akhlaq Amin Wani
Division of Natural Resource Management, Faculty of Forestry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Benhama, Ganderbal, Jammu and Kashmir-191201, India.
Shah Murtaza Mushtaq
Division of Natural Resource Management, Faculty of Forestry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Benhama, Ganderbal, Jammu and Kashmir-191201, India.
Asif Ali Gatoo
Division of Natural Resource Management, Faculty of Forestry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Benhama, Ganderbal, Jammu and Kashmir-191201, India.
Mohammad Aijazul Islam
Division of Natural Resource Management, Faculty of Forestry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Benhama, Ganderbal, Jammu and Kashmir-191201, India.
Khursheed Ahmad Sofi
Division of Natural Resource Management, Faculty of Forestry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Benhama, Ganderbal, Jammu and Kashmir-191201, India.
Mohammad Iqbal Jeelani
Division of Social and Basic Sciences, Faculty of Forestry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Benhama, Ganderbal, Jammu and Kashmir-191201, India.
G.M. Bhat
Division of Silviculture and Agroforestry, Faculty of Forestry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Benhama, Ganderbal, Jammu and Kashmir-191201, India.
Parvez Ahmad Sofi
Division of Forest Products and Utilization, Faculty of Forestry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Benhama, Ganderbal, Jammu and Kashmir-191201, India.
Mir Muskan Un Nisa
Division of Forest Products and Utilization, Faculty of Forestry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Benhama, Ganderbal, Jammu and Kashmir-191201, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Grasslands are globally extensive ecosystems that deliver key services (carbon sequestration, climate regulation, soil and water conservation) and sustain pastoral livelihoods, yet they are increasingly degraded by land-use change, overgrazing, infrastructure expansion, and climate variability. This study assessed grassland distribution and phytosociological characteristics in the Ramhal Forest Range of Kemil Forest Division. Sentinel-2 multispectral imagery (October 2024) was pre-processed and classified using on-screen digitisation, map accuracy was evaluated using confusion-matrix metrics and kappa statistics. Vegetation composition was quantified using randomly placed 1 × 1 m quadrats and the Importance Value Index (IVI) derived from relative density, frequency, and basal area. The Ramhal Forest Range covers 32,008.72 ha and is forest-dominated, with closed forest as the principal class (13,252.82 ha; 41.40%) and grasslands form a relatively small but ecologically pivotal component (2,517.27 ha; 7.86%), mainly in forest openings and higher elevations. Classification performance was high (overall accuracy 92.8%, and κ = 0.91). Floristic analysis revealed that the, 36 herbaceous species were recorded, Poa annua exhibited the IVI of 15.88, indicating its clear dominance in the community followed by Plantago lanceolata (15.63), and Trifolium repens (15.37). These results indicate that relatively intact forest matrices and moisture controls (snow and hydrology) shape patchy grassland habitats that sustain high herbaceous diversity, underscoring the need for regulated grazing and spatially informed conservation planning to maintain high-altitude ecosystem integrity in the Kashmir Himalaya.
Keywords: Phytosociological analysis, land use patterns, Kashmir Himalayan grasslands, sustainable management