Himalayan Dry Temperate Forests: These are open evergreen forest with open scrub undergrowth. Both coniferous and broad-leaved species are present. This type occurs on the inner ranges throughout their length and is mainly represented in the north-west. Dry zone deodar, Pinus gerardiana (Chalghoza) and/or Quercus ilex are the main species. Higher up, blue pine communities occur and in the driest inner tracts, forests of blue pine, Juniperus macropoda (Abhal, Shupa, Shur) and some Picea smithiana E.g. in Gilgit are found locally.
Based on ecological zonation five main types of forests exist in Northern Areas, namely, Montane Sub-Tropical Scrub, Montane Dry Temperate Coniferous, Montane Dry Temperate Broadleaved, Sub-Alpine and Northern Dry Scrub (Rao and Marwat, 2003).
MontaneSub-TropicalScrubforests
These forests are found between 750 to 3,900 meters elevation and are divided into Dodonaea scrub, Monotheca scrub, Reptona scrub, Pistacia scrub and sub-tropical stream bed scrub. Montane sub-tropical scrub comprises of Capparis, Spinosa, Pisticia, Artemisia, Saccharum, Dodonaea, Berberis, Rosa moschata and Daphne oloides. This area is found along the Indus River up to Raikot and Bunji.
MontaneDryTemperateConiferousforests
This zone contains dry deodar (Cedrus deodara), blue pine (Pinus wallichiana), fir (Abies spectabilis), spruce (Picea smithina), chilgoza (Pinus gerardiana) and juniper (Juniperus spp), both in pure or mixed stands. All the important coniferous forests are found in this zone. These are mostly found in district Diamer, some parts of districts Gilgit, Skardu and two villages (Sherquilla and Singul) in Ghizer district.
MontaneDryTemperateBroadleavedforests
Broadleaved species are found in pockets within the temperate coniferous zone. The main species in this zone include oak (Quercus ilex), ash (Fraxinus spp.), poplar (Populus), willow (Salix) and Artemisia.
Sub-Alpineforests
This zone has the highest snowfall in Northern Areas, up to 3 m/year, but gets little rainfall. Plant species found in this zone include birch, willow, and juniper, Ephedra, Vibernum, Andropogon, Berbris, Lonicera and Ribes.
NorthernDryScrub
This is scattered scrub vegetation. Rivers and nullahs support sea buckthorn and willow species. Scattered and stunted juniper trees also grow on hillsides. |
Mr. Babar Khan
Head WWF – P, Gilgit Baltitan
WWF – P, Regional Office, Gilgit
GCIC, NLI Colony, Shahra-e-Quaid Azam
Jutial Gilgit
Tel: +92 5811 455658
Email: bkhan@wwf.org.pk |
Mr. Garee Khan
GIS Analyst
WWF – Pak, Regional Office, Gilgit
GCIC, NLI Colony, Shahra-e-Quaid Azam Jutial
Jutial Gilgit
Tel: +92 5811 455658
Email: gareewwf@gmail.com |
