Contribution to the red list of Pakistan: A case study of Astragalus gahiratensis ali (Fabaceae-Papilionoideae)

Astragalus gahiratensis ali (fabaceae-papilionoideae) is endemic to district chitral pakistan. the population size i.e. 127 mature individuals were found in 4 localities in 2005,28 mature individuals were found in 03 localities in 2006 and 107 mature individuals were found in 4 localities in 2007,the taxon deserved the status of critically endangered (cr) category. the main threat posed to the taxon is its habitat degradation. soil erosion resulted from deforestation and grazing are among the other main threats responsible for the reduction in population size. in 3 localities i.e.,chitral-chaghbeni towards ishpeder,chitral-gokhshal and chitral gol-ishpeder,75%,13.79% and 18.64% decrease has been observed in its population size,respectively. there is urgent need to develop species specific conservation strategies,followed by comprehensive conservation action plan and thereafter their implementation at ground root level on national scale.