Classification and Ordination of Vegetation Communities of the Lohibehr Reserve Forest and Its Surrounding Areas, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Agglomerative clustering, Two Way Indicator Species Analysis (WINSPAN), and Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) were used for the plant community analysis. Remotely sensed data was used as a surrogate in identifying and locating field sites from where floristic composition, environmental and spatial data were collected. Characteristic plant species of each community type are presented together with the information on dominance and sub-dominance species. Four plant communities were recognized. Classification and ordination techniques provided very similar results based on the floristic composition. The results formed the basis for the mapping spatial distribution of vegetation communities using image analysis techniques.