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Objective: Protected areas are of immense importance to enhance the functional role of plants due to abundance of woody species, their carbon sequestration ability and the rich organic matter and hence it needs to be documented and quantified scientifically with special focus on its carbon sink potential. Mathods: In this study, the Carbon sequestration, diversity and abundance of woody plants were evaluated in the Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP), Pakistan using quantitative and functional ecological approaches. We randomly sampled 40 (20 m × 20 m) plots from March, 2020 to March, 2021. PC-ORD version-5 and CANOCO software were used to evaluate relationships of different environmental factors with species composition, distribution pattern and other quantitative traits of forests. R program was used for regression and correlation analyses to model Carbon sequestration capacity of MHNP. Results: A total of 4916 individuals belonging to 49 species and 28 families were reported. The higher carbon sequestration was found in Albizia lebbeck 2620.75 lbs per year followed by Pinus roxburghii 2214.48 lbs and Castanea sativa 1731.59 lbs while the lower rate of carbon dioxide sequestration per year were found in Myrsine africana 1.81 (lbs) followed by Nerium oleander 2.84 (lbs) and Jasminum officinale 3.92 (lbs). The Two-way Cluster Analysis shows the distribution of species in the study area. The CCA analysis show that pH, EC, and TDS play a significant role in the distribution of woody plant vegetation. Carbon sequestration mainly depends on plant DBH, followed by plant crown. Conclusion: The results prove that the DBH has a leading role in the carbon sequestration rather than height of the woody species. The present study indicates the MHNP is a rich source of woody plant vegetation because of its conserve nature and plays a significant role in ecosystem stability and air quality, therefore, more studies are required to study other aspects of the woody plant vegetation in the MHNP.

We investigated the occurrence and diet of two sympatric mongoose species; the small Indian mongoose Urva auropunctatus and the grey mongoose Herpestes edwardsii inhabiting Margalla Hills National Park, Islamabad, Pakistan. The two species occurred in the park at elevations between 537 m and 1363 m a.s.l., with the grey mongoose occurring at higher elevations than the small Indian mongoose. Out of 23 sites sampled, only three were common to both mongoose species. The diet of mongooses, determined through food remains in scats, comprised of small mammals (rodents, shrews), insects, birds, reptiles and seeds and fruits. Rodents were the most frequently-consumed prey species of both mongooses during summer and winter, whereas insects were consumed more frequently during the summer. The small Indian mongoose showed a wider niche breadth than the grey mongoose, but the overall dietary overlap between the two mongoose species was high with a value of 0.93. Our results support the idea that these sympatric mongoose species may reduce interspecific competition for food with each other through spatial adjustments in their habitat use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protected areas are of immense importance to enhance the functional role of plants due to abundance of woody species, their carbon sequestration ability and the rich organic matter and hence it needs to be documented and quantified scientifically with special focus on its carbon sink potential. In this study, the Carbon sequestration, diversity and abundance of woody plants were evaluated in the Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP), Pakistan using quantitative and functional ecological approaches. We randomly sampled 40 (20 m × 20 m) plots from March, 2020 to March, 2021. PC-ORD version-5 and CANOCO software were used to evaluate relationships of different environmental factors with species composition, distribution pattern and other quantitative traits of forests. R program was used for regression and correlation analyses to model Carbon sequestration capacity of MHNP. A total of 4916 individuals belonging to 49 species and 28 families were reported. The higher carbon sequestration was found in Albizia lebbeck 2620.75 lbs per year followed by Pinus roxburghii 2214.48 lbs and Castanea sativa 1731.59 lbs while the lower rate of carbon dioxide sequestration per year were found in Myrsine africana 1.81 (lbs) followed by Nerium oleander 2.84 (lbs) and Jasminum officinale 3.92 (lbs). The Two-way Cluster Analysis shows the distribution of species in the study area. The CCA analysis show that pH, EC, and TDS play a significant role in the distribution of woody plant vegetation. Carbon sequestration mainly depends on plant DBH, followed by plant crown. The results prove that the DBH has a leading role in the carbon sequestration rather than height of the woody species. The present study indicates the MHNP is a rich source of woody plant vegetation because of its conserve nature and plays a significant role in ecosystem stability and air quality, therefore, more studies are required to study other aspects of the woody plant vegetation in the MHNP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]