Identification and assessment of socio-cultural values of ecosystem services are increasingly important for the planning and management of forest resources. Key information necessary is how different forest user groups perceive and prioritize different ecosystem services based on their local setting. We assessed the socio-cultural values of ecosystem services of high-altitude oak forests in Western Bhutan using participatory approaches with two important forest users: local communities and forest experts. We found that these forests serve as a pool of 22 ecosystem services under four MEA categories of provisioning (9), regulating (8), supporting (2), and cultural (3) services. Fresh water was unanimously identified as the most valuable service, as well as the most vulnerable, by both the groups. The priorities of local communities inclined towards provisioning and cultural services due to their dependence on these services for their livelihood and wellbeing. Forest experts’ priorities were more evenly spread over three categories of services: provisioning, regulating, and supporting services, reflecting their broader interest in resource management, biodiversity conservation, and climate change mitigation. Several regulating and supporting services were not easily identified by many villagers, suggesting that bridging the priorities of local interests with broader national forestry goals may require public partnerships and integrated decision-making about the entire suite of ecosystem services. Several management interventions proposed by the groups were presented for consideration by local users, scientists, and policy makers. For all ongoing and future ecosystem service assessments, we recommend the integration of socio-cultural values with biophysical and monetary assessments to fully value the benefits from the high-altitude oak forests.

Forests in mountain ecosystems provide a diversity of services and goods in mountain landscapes, and the immediate utility of the forest to upstream residents must be balanced with the insurance forests provide for downstream residents in the form of, especially, the services of water regulation and soil stabilization. Little empirical data exist for Bhutan that confirm a causal link between upstream forest use and downstream security. To help to fill this gap, we summarize the results of two literature reviews related to forest ecosystem services and human well-being, using the framework of Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness (GNH). We report preliminary findings of three field-based assessments of forest ecosystem services on hillsides. We conducted an assessment of the perceptions of local residents about the forest ecosystem services in three distinct forest areas of Bhutan. The studies were carried out in high-altitude oak forests, forest management units (FMUs) in government reserve forests, and community plantations. We engaged villagers in focus group discussions and conducted key informant interviews. The strongest evidence in the literature for linkages between forests and GNH was found for the role forests play in socio-economic development and good governance, particularly through the community forestry program. Regulating services of forests were cited as crucial to several aspects of human well-being, but little empirical evidence was provided. To local residents in the three study locations, the provisioning services of forests were highly ranked, as were water regulating services. At the plantation sites, residents felt that the new forests did improve soil stability and water provisioning services. Cultural services were identified but not highly prioritized. Awareness of forest ecosystem services was high among participants in the study, but understanding of the causal links between forest use and human well-being was mixed. Lack of direct evidence about causal pathways between upstream forest condition and downstream security leaves gaps in our knowledge and even perpetuates myths and misconceptions about the role that forests play. We encourage further research at multiple scales and using mixed methods to test hypotheses on the linkages between forests and human well-being in mountain landscapes.

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Dendrocalamus hamiltonii, a large, clump-forming bamboo, has great potential to contribute towards poverty alleviation efforts across its distributional range. Harvesting methods that maximize yield while they fulfill local objectives and ensure sustainability are a research priority. Documenting local ecological knowledge on the species and identifying local users’ goals for its production, we defined three harvesting treatments (selective cut, horseshoe cut, clear cut) and experimentally compared them with a no-intervention control treatment in an action research framework. We implemented harvesting over three seasons and monitored annually and two years post-treatment. Even though the total number of culms positively influenced the number of shoots regenerated, a much stronger relationship was detected between the number of culms harvested and the number of shoots regenerated, indicating compensatory growth mechanisms to guide shoot regeneration. Shoot recruitment declined over time in all treatments as well as the control; however, there was no difference among harvest treatments. Culm recruitment declined with an increase in harvesting intensity. When univariately assessing the number of harvested culms and shoots, there were no differences among treatments. However, multivariate analyses simultaneously considering both variables showed that harvested output of shoots and culms was higher with clear cut and horseshoe cut as compared to selective cut. Given the ease of implementation and issues of work safety, users preferred the horseshoe cut, but the lack of sustainability of shoot production calls for investigating longer cutting cycles.

Brown oak (Quercus semecarpifolia) forest is essential for ecological and socioeconomic functions, mainly grazing in the Himalayas. The tree has failed to regenerate naturally and is a threatened species. Restoration of brown oaks is crucial to ensure sustainability while maintaining livestock grazing in these habitats. Achieving this requires cost-effective restoration techniques that are practicable and sympathetic to the multiple uses of the forest. We assessed the combined effect of grazing (control) and three tree shelters (Protex tubes, mesh wires, and wooden frames) on the field performance of oak seedlings in a forest with heavy grazing pressure. Seedling survival and morphological indicators, including seedling height, collar diameter, sturdiness quotient (SQ), and leaf mass per area (LMA) indices, were measured. More than 90% of control seedlings without protective shelters suffered severe browsing and demonstrated significantly lower survival rates compared to tree shelter seedlings, indicating that grazing was the primary factor governing regeneration success. Seedling survival in tree shelters was three times higher, while the height increase was two times higher than the control. Additionally, locally made mesh wire and wooden tree shelters were more effective than Protex and control in producing quality seedlings reflected by the SQ and LMA values. We suggest that tree shelter is a promising option to restore brown oaks due to its efficacy to defend grazing and support the local community's rights to forest grazing. Our finding is expected to support Bhutan's forest policy of incorporating grazing and tree regeneration into forest management.