Geology, Ecology, and Landscapes

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Composition and community structure of Olea

ferruginea Royle forests in Jammu and Kashmir,
India

Sajid Khan, Zishan Ahmad Wani, Sajan Thakur, Shreekar Pant & Susheel
Verma

To cite this article: Sajid Khan, Zishan Ahmad Wani, Sajan Thakur, Shreekar Pant & Susheel
Verma (2023): Composition and community structure of Olea ferruginea Royle forests in Jammu
and Kashmir, India, Geology, Ecology, and Landscapes, DOI: 10.1080/24749508.2023.2216535

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Group on behalf of the International Water,
Air & Soil Conservation Society(INWASCON).

Published online: 24 May 2023.

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GEOLOGY, ECOLOGY, AND LANDSCAPES
https://doi.org/10.1080/24749508.2023.2216535 INWASCON

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Composition and community structure of Olea ferruginea Royle forests in

Jammu and Kashmir, India
Sajid Khana, Zishan Ahmad Wania, Sajan Thakurb, Shreekar Pantc and Susheel Vermaa,b
a
Department of Botany, Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir, India; bDepartment of Botany, University of
Jammu, Jammu, India; cCentre for Biodiversity Studies, Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir, India

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

Olea ferruginea Royle is a wild Olive species commonly known as Indian or African Olive. In Received 4 February 2022
India, it is distributed in the Northwestern Himalaya, from Jammu and Kashmir to Uttarakhand, Accepted 17 May 2023
at an altitude of up to 2400 m amsl. The present study aims to determine the composition and KEYWORDS
community structure of Olea L. forests in Jammu and Kashmir, India. During the present study, Indian Himalayan region;
21 sites were surveyed from September 2019‒August 2021 and a total of 34 plant species Olea ferruginea; vegetation
belonging to 32 genera and 22 families were recorded. Fabaceae was the dominant family with structure; species
five species followed by Moraceae (four species) and Fagaceae, Rosaceae, Malvaceae, composition
Meliaceae, and Salicaceae (two species each). A total of 1333 individuals of trees were recorded
including 362 individuals of Olea ferruginea. From the dendrogram resulting from Ward’s
cluster analysis of 21 sites based on presence/absence data, five communities were identified
on the basis of the Importance Value Index (IVI). The species richness and diversity indices
showed great differences from community to community. The present study provides baseline
information about the community structure and biological associations of Olea ferruginea.

Introduction
Olea ferruginea Royle is a wild Olive species com­
The branch of ecology that deals with the study of the monly known as Indian or African Olive which is dis­
composition and development of plant communities tributed throughout the Mediterranean region (Diaz
and the relationships between their component spe­ et al., 2006; Green, 2002; Rallo et al., 2000; Vargas et al.,
cies is called phytosociology. The phytosociological 2001). It is the most widely dispersed species in Africa
analysis is very essential to describe the population with natural distribution ranging from southern to
dynamics of target species and for understanding north-eastern parts of the continent and from the
how they relate to other species in the same commu­ Arabian Peninsula to China. It is confined to locations
nity (Ali et al., 2022). Owing to its high importance in with adequate precipitation (600 mm), which includes
explaining and predicting the vegetation structure of higher elevation areas including Australia, Hawaii, New
a community, phytosociology has been considered Zealand, and Norfolk Island (Green, 2002). In India, it is
a basic biological science with applied importance in distributed in the Northwestern Himalayas, from Jammu
plant resource management (Hailu, 2017). These types and Kashmir to Uttarakhand, at altitudes of up to
of studies allow ecologists to analyze the diversity, 2400 m (Anon, 1997). It can thrive in marginal and
richness, and abundance of plants in an ecosystem wastelands where other plants are unable to thrive
(Daly et al., 2018). Being at the basic level of the (Joshi, 2011). It produces less oil and smaller fruits than
ecological hierarchy, species play very important the widely grown old Olive (European olive).
roles in a community, ecosystem, and finally the bio­ Domestication of wild species through constant anthro­
sphere and cannot be studied under isolation pogenic selection for desired features has resulted in
(Kharkwal, 2009). Further, such types of studies a cultivated version; as a result, O. ferruginea has been
increase our understanding of the ecological specifi­ employed as a stock in O. europaea grafting trials
cities and associations of a particular species under (Ladizinsky, 1985). The leaves and bark of this plant are
consideration (Nazir et al., 2012). Therefore, the dis­ utilized as antiperiodics, antiseptic, and anthelmintic, in
tribution and dynamics of important plant species the treatment of fever and debility, toothache, mouth
must be studied to provide a rational basis for plan­ ulcers, demulcents, gonorrhea, sore throat, hoarse voice,
ning and management strategies, without which con­ and as a tea beverage (Ahmad et al., 2002; Anon, 1997;
servation of these species in their natural habitats Zabihullah et al., 2006). Although the species is econom­
would be impossible (Gairola, Sharma, Ghildiyal, ically important, the phytosociology of the species is still
et al., 2011). underexplored. Keeping its multiple services and research

CONTACT Susheel Verma [email protected] Department of Botany, University of Jammu, Jammu 180006, India
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group on behalf of the International Water, Air & Soil Conservation Society(INWASCON).
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits
unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting
of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
2 S. KHAN ET AL.

gaps in consideration, the focus of the present study is to to temperate type and the maximum temperature in
determine the community structure and biological asso­ summers ranges from 25 to 40 °C and in winters from
ciations of Olea ferruginea in Jammu and Kashmir, India. −2 to 6 °C. Maximum precipitation occurs in July, i.e., 96
mm, while minimum precipitation occurs in November,
i.e., 16 mm. Vegetation type in the study area ranges from
Materials and methods
mixed deciduous to evergreen and alpine type with
Study area Cedrus deodara (Roxb. Ex D.Don) G.Don, Pinus wall­
ichiana A.B.Jacks, Pinus roxburghii Sarg., Populus alba L.,
The Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir is located
Quercus leucotrichophora A.Camus and Quercus baloot
between 32°−35° North latitude and 74°−77° East long­
Griff. Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. as the dominant tree species
itude. Jammu division is spread over an area of 26,293
(Thakur, 2021).
km2 in presently Jammu and Kashmir, a union territory
of India, including Jammu, Doda, Kathua, Ramban,
Reasi, Kishtwar, Poonch, Rajouri, Udhampur, and Data collection and analysis
Samba districts (Figure 1). The principal drainage sys­ A total of 21 forest sites representing the targeted plant
tems in this region are Chenab and Tawi Rivers (Thakur, were selected for the present study. Coordinates of each
2021). In the current study, three districts, namely, site were recorded with the help of the Global Positioning
Rajouri, Poonch, and Doda in Jammu division are System (GPS), and mapping of the sampling sites was
focused for our study in which 22 sites are randomly carried out in ArcGIS 10.3. At each site, a plot of 100 ×
selected which are distributed from 650 m − 1650 m 100 m in size was demarcated and within each plot, ten
above sea level. The climate in all these sites is subtropical quadrats (10 × 10 m) were laid for trees. Circumference at

Figure 1. Location map of the study area.

 GEOLOGY, ECOLOGY, AND LANDSCAPES 3

Breast Height (CBH) of each individual tree was mea­ Relative Dominance ¼ Basal area of aspecies
sured with a measuring tape. The phytosociological =Total basal area of all the species � 100
aspects considered for the study include analysis of den­
The IVI of tree species was calculated by using the
sity and relative density, frequency and relative fre­
formula;
quency, basal area, relative dominance, and importance
value index (IVI) of tree species. These parameters were IVI ¼ Relative Density þ Relative Frequency
analyzed and calculated following the methods of Curtis þ Relative Dominance
and McIntosh (1950), Misra and Puri (1954), Misra
(1968, 1969), Mueller-Dombois and Ellenbcrg (1974), The species diversity index was determined by using
Werger (1974), and Induchoodan (1996). Plant commu­ Shannon Wiener Index (H’) (Shannon & Weaver, 1949)
nities at each site were identified on the basis of IVI. Sites X
s

at which a single tree species contributed >50% of IVI H¼ ðpi ln piÞ

i¼1
were considered pure communities, whereas sites at
which two or more species contributed >50% of IVI where, pi = fraction of the entire population made up
were considered mixed communities. of species; s = numbers of species encountered; Ʃ =
Density ¼ Total number of individuals
sum from species 1 to s
of aspecies Concentration of dominance “D” by Simpson’s
studied
Total number of quadrats Index calculated as follows;
�n�
species D¼�
Relative DensityðRDÞ ¼ Density of a N2
Total
density of all the species � 100 The species richness was calculated by Menhinick’s
Index (D) (Menhinick, 1964)
p
Frequency ¼ Number of quadrats in which species is d ¼ S= N
present=ðTotal number of quadrats studiedÞ where, S = Number of species, N = Number of indivi­
After determining the frequency, plant species were duals of all species
divided into five frequency classes based on the per­ Evenness or Equability (E) was calculated using the
centage of frequencies; A (0–20%), B (21–40%), C (41– Pielou’s (1966) equation
60%), D (61–80%), and E (>80%). E ¼ H 0 = ln S
Relative FrequencyðRF Þ ¼ Frequency of aspecies where, S = Number of species
=Total frequencies of all the species � 100 H′ = Diversity
Basal area (BA), total basal area (TBA), and relative
dominance were calculated by using the formulae:
BA ¼ CBH2=4π
Results and discussion
Twenty-one sites of Olea ferruginea were surveyed
TBA ¼ Mean basal area X density from September 2019‒August 2021. Sampling was

Table 1. Site characteristics, total density, total basal area, and other parameters of O. ferruginea.
Site Longitude Latitude Altitude (m) Den ha−1 BA ha−1 Dominant species (based on IVI)
Badoon 74.34306 33.34623 938 3000 42.05 Olea ferruginea, Pyrus pashia, Punica granatum
BGSBU 74.35472 33.39816 1160 700 12.03 Toona ciliata, Pinusroxburghii, Olea ferruginea
BGSBU Top 74.35376 33.39856 1287 2100 47.10 Olea ferruginea
Budhal 74.67887 33.37479 1605 800 11.42 Pyrus pashia, Olea ferruginea, Mallotus philippensis
Dangri 74.33483 33.32595 865 2500 52.59 Pyrus pashia, Olea ferruginea, Punica granatum
Danwan 74.29732 33.27149 777 1300 7.90 Olea ferruginea, Acacia catechu
Dehri Ralyote 74.23974 33.5356 1558 1900 39.8 Olea ferruginea, Quercus leucotrichophora
Dhanore 74.34666 33.40127 1173 1500 26.7 Olea ferruginea, Toona ciliata
Dhanore Jaralan 74.33444 33.39269 1159 2000 45.4 Olea ferruginea, Toona ciliata
Kali dub 74.27091 33.26168 719 1500 29.3 Olea ferruginea
Khellani 75.52111 33.13278 1281 1400 25.3 Olea ferruginea, Pyrus pashia, Punica granatum
Kotedhara 74.38611 33.4122 1211 3200 54.3 Olea ferruginea
Mandi Poonch 74.23659 33.98428 1388 1900 44.7 Olea ferruginea
Manjakote 74.26142 33.47998 1275 1900 37.2 Olea ferruginea, Toona ciliata, Punica granatum
Margan 74.36583 33.41503 1630 1900 37.9 Olea ferruginea, Quercus leucotrichophora
Nagrota 74.35158 33.36314 934 3000 78.64 Olea ferruginea, Pyrus pashia, Punica granatum
Narian 74.28758 33.20868 714 400 12.5 Populus alba, Mallotus philippensis, Pyrus pashia
Nowshera 74.27945 33.16062 640 500 5.97 Dalbergia sissoo, Punica granatum
Pranoo 75.58417 33.09444 1073 1500 33.1 Olea ferruginea, Quercus baloot
Rajal 74.27889 33.15983 645 700 10.1 Dalbergia sissoo, Olea ferruginea
Salani 74.30925 33.3658 943 2500 57.2 Olea ferruginea, Quercus leucotrichophora
4 S. KHAN ET AL.

carried out at different altitudes ranging from 640 to the leading dominant species at 15 sites, whereas
1630 m amsl. Site characteristics along with geo- at 6 sites it was associated with other species like
references of each site are given in Table 1. Dalbergia sissoo, Pyrus pashia, Mallotus philippen­
During the study, a total of 34 plant species sis, Punica granatum, and Populus alba. Pyrus
belonging to 32 genera and 22 families were pashia was present at 20 sites and was first domi­
recorded. Tree species richness was higher than nant at two sites, second dominant at three sites,
Gracia et al. (2007), Kunwar and Sharma (2004), and third dominant at one site. Punica granatum
and Sharma and Raina (2013). Fabaceae was the was present at 14 sites and was represented as
dominant family with five species followed by the second dominant at one site and the third
Moraceae (four species) and Fagaceae, Rosaceae, dominant at five sites. A total of 1333 individuals
Malvaceae, Meliaceae, and Salicaceae (two species of trees were recorded including 362 individuals of
each). Genus Acacia Mill. and Quercus L. were Olea ferruginea trees. Besides Olea ferruginea,
represented by two species each, whereas all Pyrus pashia was found at all the sampling sites,
other genera were represented by single species. whereas Bauhinia variegata, Diospyros virginiana,
The density of trees ranges from 1000 to 2100 Elaeagnus umbellata, Grevillea robusta, Platanus
individuals ha−1 which is comparable with earlier orientalis, and Ziziphus mauritiana were found at
reports from Indian Himalayas like Chaturvedi only one sampling sites. Based on the IVI of the
and Singh (1987), Kunwar and Sharma (2004), tree species, five plant communities were identi­
Raturi (2012) and higher than Gairola, Sharma, fied, which include Olea ferruginea-Pinus roxbur­
Ghildiyal, et al. (2011). The basal area ranges ghii-Toona ciliata mixed community (OF-PR-TC),
from 29.3 to 57.3 m 2 /ha, which is comparable Olea-ferruginea-Quercus leucotrichophora-Toona
with Chaturvedi and Singh (1987), Dar and ciliata mixed community (OF-QL-TC), Olea ferru­
Sundarapandian (2016), Rana and Gairola (2009) ginea-Pyrus pashia mixed community (OF-PP),
and lower than Kunwar and Sharma (2004) and Olea ferruginea-Dalbergia sissoo-Pyrus pashia com­
Shaheen et al. (2012). Table 2 provides the sum­ munity (OF-DS-PP), and Olea ferruginea, Pyrus
mary of species composition and phytosociological pashia, Morus alba, Mallotus philippensis mixed
analysis of the sampling sites. Olea ferruginea was community (OF-PP-MA-MP). The representative

Table 2. Community wise mean IVI of the documented plant species.

OF-PR-TCMean ± OF-QL-TCMean ± OF-PPMean ± OF-DS-PPMean ± OF-PP-MA-MPMean
Tree species Family SE SE SE SE ± SE
Acacia catechu (L.f.) Willd. Fabaceae X X X 6.9 ± 3.64 23.06±6.83
Acacia nilotica (L.) Willd. Ex Delile Fabaceae X X X 15.48 ± 5.07 9.85±4.92
Albizia lebbeck (L.) Benth. Fabaceae X X X X X
Bauhinia variegata L. Fabaceae X X 1.62 ± 0.99 X X
Bombax ceiba L. Malvaceae X X X 5.40 ± 1.79 7.55±2.32
Broussonetia papyrifera (L.) L’Her. Ex Moraceae 13.41 ± 1.34 X 8.73 ± 2.44 X X
Vent.
Celtis australis L. Cannabaceae 12.2 ± 0.64 X 7.32 ± 1.89 3.33 ± 1.79 X
Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. ex DC. Fabaceae 9.45 ± 0.95 X 2.9 ± 1.63 44.27 ± 10.8 20.93±6.04
Diospyros virginiana L. Ebenaceae X X X X X
Elaeagnus umbellata Thunb. Elaeagnaceae 19.3 ± 2.05 X X X X
Emblica officinalis Gaertn. Phyllanthaceae 23.3 ± 2.4 X X X 2.62±1.31
Eucalyptus sp. Myrtaceae X X X X 2.39±1.19
Ficus carica L. Moraceae 12.8 ± 1.48 X 8.4 ± 1.78 2.004 ± 1.05 X
Ficus Palmata Forssk. Moraceae 8.9 ± 0.97 X 1.95 ± 1.09 X X
Grevillea robusta A.Cunn. ex R.Br. Proteaceae X X X X X
Grewia optiva J.R.Drumm. ex Burret Malvaceae X X 16.69 ± 3.58 X 26.73±0.77
Juglans regia L. Juglandaceae X 14.13 ± 0.42 X X X
Mallotus philippensis (Lam.) Mull.Arg. Euphorbiaceae X X X 7.24 ± 2.34 31.40±4.86
Melia azedarach L. Meliaceae X 13.4 ± 2.85 X X 17.92±2.80
Morus alba L. Moraceae 6.02 ± 0.62 X 1.03 ± 0.63 11.03 ± 4.83 34.16±1.05
Olea ferruginea Royle Oleaceae 62.4 ± 6.1 84.36 ± 2.78 129.9 ± 15.62 85.18 ± 11.31 54.7±6.48
Pinus roxburghii Sarg. Pinaceae 53.1 ± 6.9 17.62 ± 0.18 X 2.44 ± 1.29 X
Pistacia integerrima J.L.Stewart Anacardiaceae X X X 3.04 ± 1.60 X
Platanus orientalis L. Platanaceae X 9.91±2.11 X X X
Populus alba L. Salicaceae X X X X 14.18±6.59
Punica granatum L. Lythraceae 5.62 ± 3.90 12.88 ± 8.78 29.57 ± 9.83 28.60 ± 4.30 X
Pyrus armeniaca (Hedl.) M.F.Fay Rosaceae 21.1 ± 2.2 24.7 ± 2.2 6.06 ± 3.39 7.63 ± 4.02 X
&Christenh.
Pyrus pashia Buch.-Ham. Ex D.Don Rosaceae. X 26.5 ± 1.2 42.79 ± 5.95 40.44 ± 3.50 37.68±2.96
Quercus baloot Griff. Fagaceae X X X X X
Quercus leucotrichophora A.Camus Fagaceae X 42.06 ± 0.75 13.4±2.76 8.84 ± 4.66 9.68±4.84
Salix alba Thunb. Salicaceae X X 9.64 ± 2.82 X X
Toona ciliata M.Roem. Meliaceae 41 ± 4.30 40.90 ± 0.41 13.50 ± 5.24 2.44 ± 1.29 7.05±3.52
Ulmus wallichiana Planch. Ulmaceae X 13.6 ± 0.56 7.32 ± 4.48 3.74 ± 1.97 X
Ziziphus mauritiana Lam. Rhamnaceae X X X 22.05± 2.38 X
 GEOLOGY, ECOLOGY, AND LANDSCAPES 5

tree species along with their IVIs in each commu­ 1.03. Simpson’s dominance, Shannon index, and
nity are given in Table 2. Equitability were 0.85, 2.3, and 0.79, respectively.
Community 1:Olea ferruginea-Pinus roxburghii- Community 5: Olea ferruginea, Pyrus pashia,
Toona ciliata community Morus alba, Mallotus philippensis mixed community
This community was distributed within an altitu­ This community was distributed within an altitu­
dinal range of 943‒1281 m asl. A total of 23 species dinal range of 714‒1650 m asl. A total of 16 species
with a total of 278 individuals including 61 individuals with a total of 222 individuals including 40 individuals
of Olea ferruginea were recorded in this community. of Olea ferruginea were recorded in this community. It
Olea ferruginea was the most frequent species with is a totally mixed community in which no particular
a frequency of 85. The density of this community species is dominant. Olea ferruginea was the most
ranges from 1440 to 1560 Ind ha−1. The relative den­ frequent species with a frequency of 65. Density of
sity of Olea ferruginea was recorded as 19.43. Basal this community ranged from 1000 to 1350 Ind ha-1.
area ranged from 48.6 to 56.2 m2ha−1. Species richness The relative density of Olea ferruginea was recorded as
determined by Menhinick index was recorded as 1.31. 18.24. Basal area ranged from 29.3 to 36.6 m2 ha-1.
Simpson’s dominance, Shannon index, and Species richness determined by the Menhinick index
Equitability were 0.9, 2.7, and 0.88, respectively. was recorded as 1.07. Simpson’s dominance, Shannon
Community 2: Olea-ferruginea-Quercus leucotri­ index, and Equitability were determined as 0.9, 2.5,
chophora-Toona ciliata community and 0.90, respectively.
This community was distributed within an altitu­ Based on the frequency of plant species in each
dinal range of 1275‒1558 m asl. A total of 11 species community, Olea ferruginea was the most frequent
with a total of 158 individuals including 38 individuals plant species. The frequency of Olea ferruginea was
of Olea ferruginea were recorded in this community. least in Olea ferruginea mixed community. The fre­
Olea ferruginea was the most frequent species with quency of associated species varied from community
a frequency of 90. The density of this community to community (Table 3).
ranges from 1680 to 1840 Ind ha−1. The relative den­ The identified plant communities are characterized
sity of Olea ferruginea was recorded as 22.13, basal by their different floristic compositions. The species
area ranges from 36.5 to 41.2 m2ha−1, and species richness and diversity indices vary from community to
richness determined by Menhinick was recorded as community (Table 4). This could be attributed to
0.8. The community has Simpson’s dominance, variations in environmental factors (Birhanu et al.,
Shannon index, and Equitability of 0.86, 2.1, and 0.9, 2021).
respectively. According to Gairola et al., (2011), the three
Community 3: Olea ferruginea-Pyrus pashia most significant aspects of a forest ecosystem are
community structure, composition, and function. A plant com­
This community was distributed within an altitu­ munity is a function of time, although altitude and
dinal range of 934‒1388 m asl. A total of 15 species aspect play a key role in the creation, composition,
with a total of 375 individuals including 135 indivi­ and organization of plant communities (Kharkwal
duals of Olea ferruginea were recorded in this com­ et al., 2005). The density and basal area of plants
munity. Olea ferruginea was the most frequent species are important aspects to be considered for assessing
with a frequency of 100. The density of this commu­ the dominance level of plant species in a particular
nity ranges from 1900 to 2200 Ind ha−1 with a relative area, as the basal area increases the dominance
density of Olea ferruginea was recorded as 29.3. Basal level also increases. The density and basal area of
area ranged from 23.8 to 29.6 m2ha−1. Species richness the stems vary greatly from site to site in the
determined by Menhinick index was recorded as 0.9. current research, and it is anticipated that stem
Simpson’s dominance, Shannon index, and density is influenced by a variety of historical,
Equitability were 0.88, 2.3, and 0.86, respectively. anthropogenic, and environmental factors (Sagar
Community 4: Olea ferruginea-Dalbergia sissoo- et al., 2003). Anthropogenic disturbance, on the
Pyrus pashia community other hand, could be a dominant influence in
This community was distributed within an altitu­ these forests. Higher density and increased basal
dinal range of 640‒1630 m asl. A total of 18 species area are usually found to be the characteristics of
with a total of 300 individuals including 88 individuals the tree population in undisturbed forests; however,
of Olea ferruginea were recorded in this community. lower tree density and reduced basal area are gen­
Olea ferruginea was the most frequent species with erally recorded among the tree species in the forest
a frequency of 95. Th density of this community area which are subjected to extraction. Lawes et al.
ranges from 1600 to 1900 Ind ha−1. The relative den­ (2007) reported that the anthropogenic and other
sity of Olea ferruginea was recorded as 31.8. Basal area disturbances in the forest area have an impact on
ranged from 54.3 to 59.8 m2ha−1. Species richness diversity, post-disturbance regeneration process,
determined by Menhinick index was recorded as and tree species dominance. It is observed that
6 S. KHAN ET AL.

Table 3. Community-wise frequency distribution of the documented plant species.

Plant species Community 1 Community 2 Community 3 Community 4 Community 5
Acacia catechu - - - A A
Acacia nilotica - - - A A
Albizia lebback B - - - -
Bauhinia variegate - - A - -
Bombax ceiba - - - A A
Broussonetia papyrifera A - A - -
Celtis australis B - A A -
Dalbergia sissoo A - A B B
Diospyros virginiana A - - - -
Elaeagnus umbellate A - - - -
Emblica officinalis A - - - A
Eucalyptus - - - - A
Ficus carica B - A A -
Ficus Palmata A - A - -
Grevillea robusta A - - - -
Grewia optiva - - B - B
Juglans regia - B - - -
Mallotus philipensis A - - A B
Melia azaderach B B - B B
Morus alba A - A A B
Olea ferruginea E E E E D
Pinus roxburghii B B - A -
Pistacia integerrima A - - A -
Platanus orientalis - A - - -
Populus alba A - - - A
Punica granatum C C B D -
Pyras armeniaca - C A A -
Pyras pashia B D C C B
Quercus baloot B - - - -
Quercus leucotrichophora A D B A A
Salix alba - - A - -
Toona ciliata C D B A A
Ulmus wallichiana - B A A -
Ziziphus mauritiana A - - - -

Table 4. Community-wise species richness and diversity indices.

Community Margalef Index Simpson’s index of Diversity (D) Shanon Wiener’s Index (Hʹ) Equitability (E)
Community 1 3.73 0.90 2.72 0.88
Community 2 1.97 0.86 2.16 0.90
Community 3 2.55 0.88 2.35 0.86
Community 4 2.98 0.85 2.30 0.79
Community 5 2.77 0.90 2.50 0.90

when the forest communities are in stressed condi­ sampling sites, whereas Bauhinia variegata,
tions, the diversity lowers as close to zero. The Diospyros virginiana, Elaeagnus umbellata,
diversity index is noticed to be always high when Grevillea robusta, Platanus orientalis, and
the dominance of the number of species is less. The Ziziphus mauritiana were found at only one sam­
greater stability of an ecosystem is attributed to the pling sites. Based on the frequency of plant spe­
higher diversity of plant species. Any ecosystem in cies in each community, Olea ferruginea was the
a seriously disturbed condition generally is found most frequent plant species. Five plant commu­
to exhibit a Shannon index value of less than one. nities were identified, among which the species
richness and diversity indices vary. The present
study provides the baseline information about the
Conclusion community structure and biological associations
of Olea ferruginea. These tree species are per­
Olea ferruginea is an important tree species and
forming important roles as keystone species in
phytosociological studies on its community struc­
forest ecosystems. These community structures
ture are scarce. The present study is the first
and plant associations help in the ecosystem’s
attempt to study its phytosociology in Jammu
stability and functioning.
and Kashmir. During the present study, Olea fer­
ruginea was found dominant at 15 sites, whereas
at 6 sites it was associated with other species like
Dalbergia sissoo, Pyrus pashia, Mallotus philippen­ Disclosure statement
sis, Punica granatum, and Populus alba. Besides No potential conflict of interest was reported by the
Olea ferruginea, Pyrus pashia was found at all the authors.
 GEOLOGY, ECOLOGY, AND LANDSCAPES 7

Funding harishin rangelands of eastern Ethiopia. Land, 6(4).

https://doi.org/10.3390/land6010004
This work was supported by the National Mission on Induchoodan, N. C. (1996). Ecological Studies on the Sacred
Himalayan Studies (NMHS) under fellowship grant No: Groves of Kerala. Ph.D. Thesis, Pondicherry University,
GBPNI/NMHS-2018-19/HSF-24-02/153. 156 p.
Joshi, S. (2011). Olea ferruginea Royle, Indian olive: An
under utilised fruit tree crop of North-west Himalaya.
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