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Article History

Received: 22 November 2025

Accepted: 2 April 2026

First Online: 19 April 2026

Declarations

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: The study does not include any animal or human subjects; hence, no specific ethical approval is required. All necessary guidelines set by the University of Poonch Rawalakot, for handling plant material during laboratory work were followed. All samplings were conducted with minimal disturbance to plant communities and the surrounding environment. Upon completion of the study, all experimental materials were properly discarded/incinerated in a controlled environment to prevent bio-contamination. It is certified that this manuscript is an original work submitted solely to this journal and has not been published or submitted elsewhere (in part or in full) except as part of the first author’s thesis, which has been duly acknowledged. Not applicable. The study does not involve human participants. All research activities involving plant collection and field studies will be conducted in accordance with institutional, national, and international guidelines for ethical research in plant ecology. Necessary permits for field sampling in protected and non-protected areas of Azad Jammu and Kashmir have been or will be obtained from relevant authorities.

: The authors consent to the publication of the data and findings resulting from this study. All information presented is original and has not been published elsewhere.

: Leaf trait analyses were conducted on Arundo donax L., a widely distributed and non-threatened perennial grass species naturally occurring across the Kashmir Himalayas of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Plant material was collected from multiple wild populations along climatic and altitudinal gradients and verified as native and naturally present at all sampling sites. The species was taxonomically identified by Dr. Sajjad Hussain, Curator, Department of Botany, University of Poonch Rawalakot. A voucher specimen has been deposited in the Herbarium of the Department of Botany, University of Poonch Rawalakot, under the accession number POONCH-1265, ensuring future reproducibility and reference integrity. The study complies with institutional, national, and international regulations governing field research, plant collection, and biodiversity documentation, and conforms to best-practice frameworks including the IUCN Policy Statement on Research Involving Species and consultation of the IUCN Red List Index, as well as the Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), although the focal species is not listed as threatened or trade-restricted.

: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.