Beauty Of Life ............. Fauna and Flora

Beauty of Life……… Fauna and Flora

Pakistan is rich in flora and fauna of diverse varieties due to its great landscape, ranging from sea level to 8,611m (28,251ft). Pakistan is endowed with a rich and varied flora and fauna. We can say that Pakistan's native flora reflects its varied climatic zones, which range from arid and semi-arid to temperate and tropical.

What meant by FAUNA and FLORA is?

Fauna means all the animal life in a particular region and flora means all  living organism lacking the power of locomotion, plants life . You can say it as BIODIVERSTY of  a region or country.

The importance of biodiversity cannot be overlooked. It renders socio-economic, environmental benefits in different manifestations and forms. Apart from occurrence, status, significance and so many tangible and intangible benefits that biodiversity renders, it has been a symbol of recognition of many countries in the

Jasmine

world.

Flora:

Pakistan has conifer forests in most of the northern and north-western highlands. These occur from 1,000 to 4,000 m altitudes. Swat,Upper Dir, Lower Dir, Malakand, Mansehra and Abbottabad districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly North-West Frontier Province) are the main areas covered with coniferous forests.

In most of Punjab and Sindh, the Indus plains have many fluvial  (Fluvial is a term used in geography and Earth science to refer to the processes associated with rivers and streams and the deposits and landforms created by them)  landforms that support various natural biomes including tropical and subtropical dry and moist broadleaf forestry as well.

In north of Balochistan, conifer forests of juniper (Juniperous macropoda are found, such as in Quetta and Ziarat. Near Sulaiman Mountains, chilghoza pine (Pinus gerardiana) forests are also present. In the xeric regions of Balochistan),date palms and ephedra are common flora varieties.

Fauna:

Vast Indus plains have had vegetation taken away to grow crops. Very little wildlife lives there and only animals like the jackal,mongoose, jungle cat, civet cat, scaly anteater, desert cat and the wild hare live in these areas.

Parts of Thal desert and Cholistan desert are now being irrigated. The Chinkara is the only animal living there now. The blackbuck, who lived there once in big numbers, is now extinct. However, efforts are being made to reintroduce them back into the country.

Markhor

Irrigated forest plantations are now being made. These give very good conditions for chinkara, hog deer and blue bull to live in.

The striped hyena and the wolf are found almost everywhere in the country. However, little is known about the black bear and brown bear populations.

Birds of prey like the peregrine, cherrug or saker falcons, tawny eagle, imperial and greater spotted eagles, osprey, awesome shikra, and the black-winged kite live throughout Pakistan but their population statuses are unknown.

Pakistan’s coastline of 1,050 km consists of a large variety of habitat types, having a wide range of animals,  there more than 1000 are fish species, Pakistan’s marine fauna and flora have not yet been studied in detail and properly, Along shores are four species of turtles, which are of high economic importance.

National Animal of Pakistan:

Markhor (Capra falconeri) is a majestic mountain wild goat with magnificently curled horns which attains an average length of 45 inches in the male, and is often called a trophy animal. The horns of the female are short and attain a length of about 10 inches.

Markhors are adapted to mountainous terrain and can be found residing at regions that are between 600-3,600 meters in elevation, mainly in Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It is called markhor because of the fact that its spiral/corkscrewing horns look like a coiling snake. It is believed that markhor is the ancestor of the domestic goat.

National Bird :

Chukar partridge (Alectoris chukar), normally called chakor, is national bird. It is a common and a very adaptable species that is found in all kinds of arid, rocky and hilly areas of the country. Because of its adaptability, it remains even at high altitude in winter when snow covers the ground.

Traditionally, the bird is considered as a sacred one in local folklores and myths. It is believed that this bird gets very excited on the night of the full moon and in a bid to reach the moon, it flies up till it falls exhausted.

National Tree

Deodar or diar (Cedrus deodara) is recognised as the national tree of Pakistan and is also very popular and well-known among people because of its majestic and graceful shape, and usefulness. The deodar is a large evergreen tree, assuming a distinctive pyramidal shape which is easily identified among other trees of the pine group. It has a majestic extended crown that gives a conical shape to the tree. The word ‘deodar’ is derived from Sanskrit that translates to “timber of the gods”. Its wood is comparatively expensive and is one of the most sought-after trees for making furniture because of its elegance, beauty and fine texture.

National Flower :

The white coloured flower is mostly knows as chanbeli (jasminum officinale). Commonly famous as a house plant, it is popularly grown in gardens due to the sweet smell of its flowers. The flowers emit their sweet powerful scent at dusk which attracts people.

Pakistan is endowed with a rich and varied flora and

fauna.