Kurram is a newly merged tribal district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan. The Kurram valley is well-known for its natural beauty. It is located between 33°20' and 34°10' N and 69°50' and 70°50' E. The objectives of the study were to compile a comprehensive floristic list of the area, document the ecological characteristics of the flora, and identify invasive species. A floristic study was conducted in the Shurku valley of lower Kurram from January 2021 to March 2023. During this period, plant specimens were collected, preserved, and identified using existing literature. The flora of Shurku valley consists of 130 species, 105 genera from 47 families. Out of 47 families, 40 families of dicot, six families of monocots, and single family of Gymnosperms. Monocots comprise 23 genera (21%), while dicots have 81 genera (77%) and a single genus from Gymnosperms. Among the leading families, Asteraceae represented by 19 species (14.61%), Poaceae by 19 species (14.61%), Lamiaceae by 10 species (7.69%), Rosaceae by eight species (6.15%), and Papilionaceae by seven species (5.38%). Other families have four species or fewer. The dominant life form was therophytes 37 species (28.46%), followed by hemicryptophytes with 29 species each (22.31%), chamaephytes (16 species; 12.30%), geophytes (15 species;11.53%), nanophanerophytes (13 species; 10%), mesophanerophytes (8 species; 6.15%), megaphanerophytes (7 species;5.39%), megaphyanerophytes (4 species; 3.077%), and only parasite (1 species; 0.77%). The dominant leaf size is nanophylls with (42 species; 32.30%) followed by mesophylls (29 species; 22.30%), microphylls (25 species; 19.23%), leptophylls (22 species; 16.92%), macrophylls (8 species; 6.15%), megaphyll (2 species; 1.5%), and also only two species fell in categare Apyllous (1.5%). Majority of the species had simple lamina with 102 species (78.46%). Most common plant species life cycle was perennial (104 species; 80%), by habit 98 species were herbs (75.38%), and habitats were dry slopes 101 species (77.69%). In the current study, it was observed that Withania coagulans, Caralluma tuberculata, Artemisia kurramense, and Nannorrhops ritchiana were under severe stress due to climate change and anthropogenic activities like deforestation, uprooting, soil erosion, and fire. Understanding this flora is essential for conservation efforts and assessing the ecological health of the region.
Cite this article as: Mehmood Shah, S., Hussain, W., Hussain, I., Ali, A., Ali, N., Ali, F., Ul Haq, A., & Bussmann, R. W. (2025). Phytoecological study of threatened plant communities along the durand line at Shurku valley, district lower Kurram, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Forestist, 75, 0029, doi:10.5152/forestist.2025.24029.