Human Influence on Banj Oak (Quercus leucotrichophora, A. Camus) Forests of Central Himalaya

Abstract

The present study suggests that the impact of human-induced small-scale disturbances (lopping of branches and leaf litter removal) adversely impacts the functioning of banj oak ( Quercus leucotrichophora, A. Camus) forests of Central Himalaya. Significantly higher ( p < .001) biomass stocks, carbon sequestration rates, soil carbon, leaf area index (LAI), litter fall, and faster litter decomposition rates were observed in least human influenced (LHI) forests as compared to moderately human influenced (MHI) forests and highly human influenced (HHI) forests.Three replicate forest stands of each category were selected for the observation. The study is used as a background to suggest alternative strategies to conserve the forests, taking into account the social and economic concerns of the village community.

Forest Composition and Structure Under Various Disturbance Regimes in the Alaknanda River Basin, Western Himalaya

“…A prominent weed species recorded in the area, E. adenophorum, was also associated with disturbance, as its average coverage decreased from 16.6% in highdisturbance plots to 5.75% in low-disturbance plots. Our results support previous studies carried out in the Himalaya that have shown that unregulated biomass extraction is widely associated with vegetation-related changes and declining forest cover and biodiversity (Dhar et al 1997;Pandit et al 2007;Tiwari 2008;Thakur et al 2011;Singh et al 2014Singh et al , 2016Prasad et al 2015;Bhatt and Bhatt 2016).…”

“…Lopping, along with leaf litter collection, create a double disturbance, as lopping reduces production of acorns and litter collection sweeps away the acorns and leads to desiccation of the remaining acorns and seedlings by exposure to the sun. Singh et al (2014) found that this incessant small-scale disturbance adversely impacts the functioning of banj oak forests in the central Himalaya, with significantly higher biomass stocks, soil carbon, and carbon sequestration rates observed in the least humaninfluenced forests. However, Singh et al (2016) found that regeneration patterns were adequate across the banj oak zone in Uttarakhand, though their results also indicated large-scale fragmentation of these forests.…”

Forest degradation impacts on carbon stocks, tree density and regeneration status in banj oak forests of Central Himalaya

“…It is widely believed that the extent of deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries is large and growing over time. Studies conducted in the mid‐Himalayan region contend that forest degradation, not deforestation, is the key problem (Baland & Mookherjee, ; Singh, Thadani, Tewari, & Ram, ). Starting from the theory of Himalayan degradation in 1980s, which predicted the complete loss of Himalayan forests and devastations in downstream areas, adverse repercussions of forest degradation on environment has been a major issue in scientific research and public debate (Ives & Messerli, ; Singh, ; Singh et al, ; Singh, Rawat, & Chaturvedi, ; Singh & Thadani, ; Thadani, ).…”

Cutting Management Versus Biomass and Carbon Stock of Oak Under High Density Plantation in Central Himalaya, India

“…Among the climate change lessening strategies trees are the economical means to capture and store atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in vegetation (Malhi et al, 2008) which has encouraged screening of trees with high carbon (C) storage potential (Delaney et al, 1997;Paquette et al, 2009). Multipurpose tree species such as Quercus leucotrichophora A. Camus have an imperative position for C storage potential (Singh et al, 2014). Tree management practices and site characteristics (Nair et al, 2010) in addition to the inherent production potential of the species affect C sequestration (removal of CO 2 from the atmosphere).…”