| Extent
and types:
In the Northern Areas, forests are
typically found in parts of the
districts of Diamer, Gilgit, Skardu
and Ghizer. Rao and Marwat (2003)
have compiled forest cover data
from various sources and give the
following figures:
Chilas, Darel and
Tangir has 217,088 ha (848 sq.mi),
Astore area has 30,720 ha (120 sq.
mi), Gilgit, Punial and Nagar have
24,576 (96 sq.mi), Baltistan has
9,216 ha (36 sq.mi) for a total
of 281,600 ha (1,100 sq.mi).
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).
1.1.1
Montane Sub-Tropical Scrub forests
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.
1.1.2
Montane Dry Temperate Coniferous
forests
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.
1.1.3
Montane Dry Temperate Broadleaved
forests
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.
1.1.4
Sub-Alpine forests
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, juniper, Ephedra,
Vibernum, Andropogon, Berbris, Lonicera
and Ribes.
1.1.5 Northern
Dry Scrub
This is scattered scrub vegetation.
Rivers and nullahs support sea buckthorn
and willow species. Scattered and
stunted juniper trees also grow
on hillsides.
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