Community structure and carbon pool of oak and pine forests in Garhwal Himalaya
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Date
2018-06
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G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand)
Abstract
The present study was conducted in temperate Himalayan forests in district Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India to understand community structure and total carbon pool of Oak and Pine forests. Among tree species, the total density of 780 ind/ha and percent frequency of 280 was recorded in summer, winter and spring seasons for Oak type forest. The highest density was for Quercus oblongata (560ind/ha) and the lowest for Lyonia ovalifolia (40 ind/ha). In the Oak type forest IVI of Q. oblongata and Rhododendron arboreum tree species recorded highest values of 165.84 and 58.02, respectively. The Pinus roxburghii was the exclusive tree species in the Pine forest community. Pinus roxburghii provided a total density of 500 ind/ha and 100 percent frequency in all the three seasons. IVI of Pinus roxburghii was 300 in all the three seasons. Physico-chemical properties of the soil, i.e., soil moisture content (SMC), soil pH, soil organic carbon (SOC), soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen (N), available phosphorus (P) and available potassium (K) were analyzed for three different depths viz., 0-15 cm, 15-20 cm and 20-30 cm in both the forests types. SMC was highest during winter season in both the forest types which showed a decreasing trend with increased soil depth. The pH was slightly acidic to neutral in both the forests. SOC and SOM values were higher under Oak forests in summer season followed by spring and the least in winter season. N showed a slight difference between different seasons in both forest sites and was found maximum in winter season. P and K values were found maximum in summer season and minimum in spring season. Most of the physicochemical properties were recorded higher under Oak forests than in Pine forests and showed a decreased trend with increasing soil depth. Total carbon stock of Pine type forest (387.37 Mg C/ha) was higher than that of Oak forests (178.99 Mg C/ha).
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