In the western Himalayan region (Uttarakhand State in India), oak (Quercus leucotrichophora) and pine (Pinus roxburghii) are the two major forest ecosystems. Because of their difference in functionality, this study was aimed at the quantification and valuation of provisioning and regulating services provided by the oak and pine forests and to assess the importance to the local people in setting the forest conservation priorities. This study was carried out in 11 villages (665 households) using a structured questionnaire. The villages were situated in the vicinity of the oak and pine forests and covered a wide range of altitudes and human and livestock populations in the western Himalayan region. The study revealed that oak forests provide a greater variety of provisioning services as compared to pine forests. Provisioning services such as fuelwood, fodder, and natural fertilizers (leaf litter) provided by oak forests (Rs. 5676/person/year) were more valuable than those provided by pine forests (Rs. 4640/person/year). Stakeholder perceptions of the regulating services of oak forests, such as maintenance of soil fertility, soil moisture retention, prevention of soil erosion, air and water purification, was also more positive than for pine forests. However, more detailed quantitative studies on the ecosystem services of these forests are required to better understand their contribution to human well-being in the region and to design appropriate conservation strategies.

Article Info Received : 20.12.2017 Accepted : 09.06.2018 Soil is one of the basic natural resources on which all forms of terrestrial life co-exist. The soils of three forest types i.e., banj-oak (Quercus leucotrichophora A. Camus) chir-pine (Pinus roxburghii Sargent) and sal (Shorea robusta Gaertn. f.) of Betalghat block, Nainital District, (Kumaun Himalaya). Soils were drawn from three depths viz. 0-10 cm, 11-20 cm, 21-30 cm. The present study were studied resulted to soil physico-chemical properties i.e. maximum soil texture (sand 34.30 %, silt 57.21 % and clay 33.23 %), soil moisture (12.6 %), bulk density (1.43 g.cm -3 ), porosity (52.06%), water holding capacity (69.27%) and the maximum values of chemical analysis i.e. pH (6.80), total carbon (3.82 %), organic matter (6.57 %), total nitrogen (0.36 %), available potassium (267 mg/kg) and available phosphorous (62 mg/kg). Banj-oak forest shows rich physical properties followed by sal and chir-pine forest while chir-pine forest shows rich chemical properties in compared to sal and banj-oak forest.