EMERGENT LIFE SCIENCES RESEARCH - Vol 8, Issue 1, Published on 30, June 2022

Pages: 195-206
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Phytosociological assessment of Juniperus macropoda dominated forest stands in the Gurez valley of Kashmir Himalaya, India

Author: Aafaq A. Parrey, T. H. Masoodi, Nazir A. Pala, P.A. Sofi, Akhlaq A. Wani, S. A. Mir, Asma Sultan

Category: Research Article

Abstract:

The present study entitled “Phytosociological assessment of Juniperus macropoda dominated forest stands in the Gurez valley of Kashmir Himalaya” was carried out to access the ecological status of this important species in the high-altitude landscapes of Gurez valley in Kashmir Himalaya, India. For a better understanding of these stands, the area was divided into three sites namely Kanzalwan, Dawar, and Burnai based on the standard sampling procedure. The results revealed that these three different sites harbor a total of 80 plant species representing 72 genera and belonging to 38 families. Of these reported 80 plant species, 6 species were trees, representing 4 genera under 3 families and 4 species of shrubs belonging to 4 genera from 4 families. The number of herbaceous species was 71 representing 64 genera under 31 families. Juniperus macropoda was dominant in all the sample sites with IVI of 205.57, 279.62, and 239 in Kanzalwan, Dawar, and Burnai forests respectively. Among shrubs, Rosa webbiana with IVI value of (114.5) was the dominant species followed by Hippophae rhamnoides (34.6) in Dawar only. Among the herbs, Stipa sibirica was dominant with IVI values of 20.08, 9.78, and 16.23 in Kanzalwan, Dawar, and Burnai forest stands respectively. Out of these three sites, Dawar reported the highest number of species followed by Kanzalwan and Burnai. The study is a baseline and will be of high significance in formulating conservation and sustainable management practices of this important Himalayan species.

Keywords: altitude, conservation, forest, Himalaya, management, sampling

DOI URL: https://doi.org/10.31783/elsr.2022.81195206