Effects of slope aspects on forest compositions, community structures and soil properties in natural temperate forests of Garhwal Himalaya

The present study was undertaken in seven natural forest types of temperate zone （1500 to 3100 m, a.s.l.） of Garhwal Himalaya to understand the effects of slope aspects viz., north-east （NE）, north-west （NW）, south-east （SE） and south-west （SW）, on the forest structure, composition and soil characteristics of each selected forest type. The sample plots in each forest type were laid out by using stratified random approach. The indices i.e., the Importance Value Index, Shannon-Wiener diversity index, Simpson’s concentration of Dominance, Simpson diver-sity index, Pielou equitability and Margalef species richness index were calculated statistically using standard softwares to elucidate the differ-ences in forest structure and composition of forest types on different slope aspects of the sites. The composite soil samples were taken from each forest stand and the physico-chemical properties of the soil i.e., moisture content （MC）, water holding capacity （WHC）, pH, organic carbon （OC）, phosphorus （P）, potassium （K） and available nitrogen （N） were analyzed. The results show that the higher values of total basal cover （74.4 m2·ha-1 in Quercus semecarpifolia forest）, Concentration of dominance （0.85 in Pinus roxburghii forest） and Tree diversity （1.81 in Quercus floribunda forest） in the forests were recorded in the northern aspects. MC （40.8% in Quercus leucotrichophora forest）, WHC （48.9% in Cupressus torulosa forest）, OC （3.8% in Cedrus deodara forest）, P （31.9 kg·ha-1 in Quercus leucotrichophora forest） and N （1.0% in Pinus roxburghii forest） had also higher values in the soils of northern aspects. Consequently the higher productivity of the forests was also noticed on the northern aspects.

Regeneration dynamics of dominant tree species along an altitudinal gradient in moist temperate valley slopes of the Garhwal Himalaya

The present study was undertaken in moist temperate forest of Mandal-Chopta area in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, India. The aim of the present study was to understand the regeneration dynamics of the dominant tree species along an altitudinal gradient in naturally regen- erating, restricted access forest. The overall regeneration status was fairly high in the study area. Most of the native canopy and undercanopy domi- nants had frequent reproduction and expanding populations, which sug- gests the stability of forest structure/composition and further expansion of dominant species. The overall regeneration of trees in the forest had a greater contribution of middle and understurey species. Because of infre- quent rep＇roduction and declining populations of some of the dominant native species viz., Abies pindrow, Alnus nepalensis and Betula alnoides, structural/compositional changes in the future are expected in respective forests dominated by them..4bies pindrow and Taxus baccata need im- mediate attention by forest managers for their survival in the area. Seed- lings were found to be more prone to competition from herb and shrubs than saplings.