Himalayan temperate forest composition and canopy attributes

Paper Details

Research Paper 01/04/2019
Views (256) Download (48)
current_issue_feature_image
publication_file

Himalayan temperate forest composition and canopy attributes

Muhammad Hashim, Altaf Ahmad Dasti
Int. J. Biosci.14( 4), 316-336, April 2019.
Certificate: IJB 2019 [Generate Certificate]

Abstract

The moist temperate conifer forests in Pakistan are located between N 34°38.38ʹ latitudes and E 73°33.11ʹ longitude. The elevation ranges from 1500m to 3000m with a rainfall from 400mm to 800mm. The forest consist of mixture of evergreen Pinus wallichiana, Cedrus deodara, Abies pindrow and Picea smithiana with little admixture of broadleaved trees. All these species are capable of attaining good height (27-35m), very considerable girth (44-48cm). Stem and crown parameters were measured for 2880 trees between 2000- 2700m altitude. DBH and BA increased with increase in elevation while tree height, crown length, crown surface area, crown volume and tree density decreased as elevation increased. Species specific behavior and changing pattern of canopy attributes in relation to altitude in these forests are discussed.

VIEWS 18

Ahmad M. 1976. Multivariate analysis of the vegetation around Skardu. Agri. Pak 26, 177-187.

Ahmad M. 1986. Vegetation of some foothills of Himalayan range in Pakistan. Pak. J. Bot 18(2), 261- 269.

Ahmad M, Hussain T, Sheikh AH, Hussain SD, Siddiqui MF. 2006. Phytosociology and structure of Himalayan Forests from different climatic Zones of Pakistan. Pak. J. Bot 38(2), 361-383.

Ahmad M, Wahab M, Khan N, Siddiqui MF, Khan MU, Hussain ST. 2009. Age and growth rates of some Gymnosperms of Pakistan: A Dendrochronological approach. Pak. J. Bot 41(2), 849-860.

Aiba S, Kohyama T. 1996. Tree species stratification in relation to allometry and demography in a warm-temperate rain forest. J. Eco 84, 207-218.

Aiba S, Kohyama T. 1997. Crown architecture and life-history traits of 14 tree species in a warm-temperate rain forest: significance of spatial heterogeneity. J. Eco 85, 611-624.

Araki M. 1995. Forest meteorology, Tokyo: Kawashima Shoten, Japanese.

Arbainsyah HH, Kustiawan W, Snoo GRD. 2014. Structure, composition and diversity of plant communities in FSC-certified, selectively logged forests of different ages compared to primary rain forest. Bio and Cons 23, 2445-2472.

Baig MN, Tranquillini W. 1976. Studies on upper timberline: morphology and anatomy of Norway spruce (Picea abies) and stone pine (Pinus cembra) needles from various habitat conditions. Can. J. Bot 54, 1622-1632.

Baker WL, Weisberg PJ. 1995. Landscape analysis of the forest tundra ecotone in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Pro. Geo 47, 361-375.

Beg AR. 1975. Wildlife habitats of Pakistan. Bull, no. 5. Pak. Forest. Inst. Peshawar.

Briffa KR, Jones PD, Schweingruber FH, Osborn TJ. 1998a. Influence of volcanic eruptions on Northern Hemisphere summer temperature over the last 600 years, Nat 393, 450-455.

Briffa KR, Schweingruber FH, Jones PD, Osborn TJ, Shiyatov SG, Vaganov EA. 1998b. Reduced sensitivity of recent northern tree-growth to temperature at northern high latitudes, Nat 391, 678-682.

Brodribb TJ, Sam McA, Jordan GJ, Martins SCV. 2014. Conifer species adapt to low-rainfall climates by following one of two divergent pathways. Pro. Nat. Aca. Sci., USA 111, 14489-14493.

Chaffey N. 2002. Why is there so little research into the cell biology of the secondary vascular system of trees? New Phyt 153, 213-223.

Chai Z, Wang D. 2016. A comparison of species composition and community assemblage of secondary forests between the birch and Pine –Oak belts in the mid-altitude zone of the Qinling Mountains, China. Pee. J.

Champion HG, Seth SK. 1968. A revised survey of the forests types of India. Gov. Ind. Pub., New Delhi pp. 404.

Champion HG, Seth SK, Khattak GM. 1965. Forest types of Pakistan Forest Institute, Peshawar.

Coomes DA, Allen RB. 2007. Effect of size, competition and altitude on tree growth. J. Eco. UK. 95, 1084-1097.

Cottam C, Curtis JT. 1956. The use of distance measures in phyto-sociological sampling. Eco 3, 451-460.

Cramer MD. 1972. Unraveling the limits to tree light. A major role for water and Nutrients trade- off. Oec 169, 61-72.

Curtis JT, Mclntosh RP. 1951. An upland forest continuum in the prairie-forest border region of Wisconsin. Eco 32, 476-496.

Curtis RO. 1967. Height- diameter and Height – diameter age equations for second – growth Douglas- fir. Fors. Sci 3, 259-269.

Dai W, Huang Y. 2005. Relation of soil organic matter concentration to climate and altitude in zonal soils of China. Cat 65, 87- 94.

Dasti AA, Malik SA. 1998. A transect of vegetation and soils on the Indus valley scarp slope, Pakistan. Pak. J. Pla. Sci 4(2), 73-84.

Dasti AA, Saima S, Athar M, Rehman A, Malik SA. 2007. Botanical composition and Multivariate Analysis of vegetation on the Pothwar Plateau, Pakistan. J. Bot. Res. Ins. Tex 1, 557-568.

Deslauriers A, Morin H. 2005. Intra-annual tracheid production in Balsam Fir stems and the effect of Metrological variables. Tre 19, 402-408.

Dhar U, Rawal RS, Samant SS. 1997. Structural diversity and representativeness of forest vegetation in a protected area in Kumaun Himalaya, India: Implication for conservation. Bio. Con 6, 1045-1062.

Durrani M, Jan and Hussain F. 2005. Ethno ecological profile of Plants of Harboi rangeland. Kalat, Pakistan. Inst. J. Bio 2(1), 15-22.

Friend A, Woodward F. 1990. Evolutionary and eco-physiological responses of mountain plants to the growing season environment. Advances in Eco. Res 20, 59-124.

Gairola S, Rawal RS, Todaria NP. 2008. Forest vegetation patterns along an altitudinal gradient in sub-alpine zone of west Himalaya, India, Afr. J. Plant. Sci 6, 42- 48.

Garten CT, Post WM, Hanson PJ, Cooper LW. 1999. Forest soil carbon inventories and dynamics along an elevational gradient in the South. App, Mou. Bio 45, 115-145.

Givnish TJ. 1999. On the causes of gradients in tropical tree diversity. J. Eco 87, 193-210.

Gleason HA. 1917. The structure and development of the plant association. Bul. Tor. Bot 53, 726.

Goff LN, Ottorini JM. 1996. Leaf development and stem growth of ash (Fraxinus excelsior) as affected by tree competitive status. J. App. Eco 33(4), 793-802.

Gonzalez SM, Canellas I, Montero G. 2007. Generalized height-diameter and crown diameter prediction models for cork oak forests in Spain. Inv. Agr: Sis. Res. For 1, 76-88.

Grime JP. 1979. Plant strategies and vegetation process. Chichester; Wiley John & Sons.

Grime JP. 1974. Vegetation classification by reference to strategies. Nat 250, 26-31.

Grinnell J. 1917. Field tests of theories concerning distributional control. The American Naturalist 51(602), 115-128.

Hadley JL, Smith WK. 1983. Influence of wind exposure on needle desiccation and mortality for timberline conifers in Wyoming, U.S.A. Arc. Alp. Res 15, 127-135.

Hadley JL, Smith WK. 1986. Wind effects on needles of timberline conifers: Seasonal influence on mortality. Eco 67, 12-19.

Huang S, Titus SJ, Wiens DP. 1992. Comparison of nonlinear height –diameter functions for major Alberta tree species. Can. J. For. Res 22, 1297-1304.

Hussain F, Illahi I. 1991. Ecology and vegetation of lesser Himalayas, Pakistan. Department of Botany, University of Peshawar, Pakistan.

Kalakoti BS, Pangtey YPS, Saxena AK. 1986. Quantitative analysis of High altitude vegetation of Kumaun Himalaya. J. Ind. Bot. Soc 65, 184-196.

Kapos V, EVJ, Tanner. 1985. Water relations of Jamaican upper montane rain forest trees. Eco 66, 241-250.

Kelly CA. 1992. Spatial and temporal variation in selection on correlated life-history traits and plant size in Chamaerista fasciculate. Evo. 46, 1658-1673.

Kelly MG, Levin DA. 1997. Fitness consequences and heritability aspects of emergence data in Phlox drummondii. J. Eco 85, 755-766.

Kemp PR, Williams GJ. 1980 A physiological basis for niche separation between Agropyron smithii (C3) and Bouteloua gracilis (C4). Eco 61, 846 858.

King DA. 1996. Allometry and life history of tropical trees. J. tro. Eco 12, 25-44.

King DA. 2006. The role of wood density and stem support costs in the growth and mortality of tropical trees. J. Eco 94, 670-680.

Kirdyanov A, Hughes M, Vaganov E, Schweingruber F, Silkin P. 2003. The importance of early summer temperature and date of snow melt for tree growth in the Siberian Subarctic. Trees 17, 61-69.

Kobe RK, Pacala SW, Silander JA, Canham CD. 1995 Juvenile tree survivalship as a component of shade tolerance. Eco. App 5, 517- 532.

Koch GW, Sillet SC, Jennings GM, Stephen DD. 2004. The limits to tree height. Nat 428, 851- 854.

Kohyama T. 1993. Size- structured tree population in gap dynamic forest- the forest architecture hypothesis for the stable coexistence of species. J. eco 81, 131-143.

Korner C. 1998. A re-assessment of high elevation treeline positions and their explanation. Oec 115, 445-459.

Kubota Y, Murata H, Kikuzawa K. 2004. Effects of topographic heterogeneity on tree species richness and stand dynamics in a subtropical forest in Okinawa Island, Southern Japan. J. Eco 92, 230-240.

Larson PR. 1956. Discontinuous growth rings in suppressed slash Pine. Tropical wood 104, 80-99.

Lieberman D, Lieberman M, Hartshorn GS, Peralta R. 1985. Small-scale

Marion GM, Black CH. 1987. The effect of time and temperature on Nitrogen mineralization in arctic tundra soils. ASESS DL 51(6), 1501- 1508.

McCree KJ. 1986. Measuring the whole plant daily carbon balance. Pho 93(20), 82.

Merriam CH, Stejnger L. 1890. Results of a Biological survey of the San Francisco Mountain region and Desert of the little Colorado Arizona. North America. Fau 3, 1-136.

Messaoud Y, Bergeron Y, Asselin H. 2007. Reproductive potential of balsam fir (Abies balsamea), white spruce (Picea glauca) and black spruce (Picea mariana) at the ecotone between the mixed-wood and coniferous forests in the boreal zone of western Quebec. American journal of Botany 94, 746- 756.

Miehe G, Miehe S, Vogel J, Co S, Duo L. 2007. Highest treeline in the Northern hemisphere found in Southern Tibet Mt. Res. Dev 27, 169- 173.

Noble IR. 1993. A model to the responses of ecotone to climate change. Ecological Applications 3, 396-403.

Oribe Y, Kubo T. 1997. Effect of heat on cambial reaction during winter dormancy in ever green and deciduous conifers. Tree Phys 17, 81-87.

Oribe Y, Funada R, Shibagaki M, Kubo T. 2001. Cambial reaction in locally heated stems of evergreen conifer Abies sachalinensis Masters, Pla 212(5/6), 684- 691.

Oribe Y, Funada R, Kubo T. 2003. Relationship between cambial activity, cell differentiation and the localization of starch in in storage tissues around the cambium in locally heated stems of Abies sachalinensis Master Trees- strt. Funct 17(3), 185-192.

Pendry CA, Proctor J. 1996. The causes of altitudinal zonation of rain forests on Bukit Bel along Brunei. J. Eco 84, 407-418.

Quideau SA, Chadwick QA, Graham RC, Anderson MA. 2001. A direct link between forest vegetation type and soil organic matter composition, Geo 104, 41-60.

Rawal RS, Pangtey YPS. 1994. High altitude forest vegetation with special reference to timberline in Kumaun central Himalaya. In Pangtey, YPS, Rawal R S (eds.) High Altitudes of the Himalaya. Nainital, India. Gya. Pra 353-399.

Reich PB, Walters MB, Ellsworth DS. 1992. Leaf lifespan in relation to leaf, plant, and stand characteristics among diverse ecosystems. Eco. Mono-gra 62, 365- 392.

Ross DJ, Campbell IB. 1979. Biochemical activities of organic soils from sub-Antarctic tussock grasslands on Campbell Island. 1. Oxygen uptake and mineralization. New Zeal. J. Sci 22, 161-171.

Saima S, Dasti AA, Hussain F, Wazir SM, Malik SA. 2009. Floristic compositions along an 18 – km long transect in Ayubia National Park district Abbottabad, Pakistan. Pak. J. Bot 41(5), 2115-2127.

Seki T, Kajimoto T, Sugita H, Daimaru H, Ikeda S, Okamoto T. 2002. Mechanical damage on Abies mariesii trees buried below the snowpack. Arc. Ant. and Alp Res 37, 34-40.

Sevgi O, Tecimen. 2009. Physical, chemical and pedogenetical properties of soil in relation with altitude at Kazdagi upland black pine forest. J. Environ. Biol 30(3), 349-354.

Soares P, Tome M. 2001. A tree crown ratio prediction equation for eucalypt plantation. Ann. Forest. Sci 58, 193- 202.

Sterling A, Peco B, Casado MA, Galliano EF, Pineeda FD. 1984. Influence of micro topography on floristic variation in ecological succession in grassland. Oikos 42, 334- 342.

Stevens GC. 1992. The elevational gradient in altitudinal range: an external of Rapaport’s Latitudinal rule to altitude. American Naturalist 140, 893-911.

Suarez ML, Ghermandi L, Kitzberger T. 2004. Factors predisposing episodic drought- induced tree mortality in Nothofagus- Site, climatic sensitivity and growth trends. Journal of Ecology 92, 954-966.

Svenning JC. 1999. Micro-habitat specialization in a Species-rich palm community in Amazonian Ecudor. J. Eco 87, 55-65.

Swift MJ, Heal OW, Anderson JM. 1979. Decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems. Blackwell Scientific Publication, Oxford.

Takahashi K, Hirosawa T, Morishima R. 2012. How the timberline formed: altitudinal changes in stand structure and dynamics around the timberline in central Japan, Ann. Bot 109(6), 1165-1174

Terborgh J. 1985. The vertical component of plant species diversity in temperate and tropical forests. Ame. Nat 126, 760- 776.

Terborgh J, Foster RB, Nunez VP. 1996. Tropical tree communities: a test of the non-equilibrium hypothesis. Eco 77, 561-567.

Thomson JD, Weiblen G, Thomson BA, Alfaro S, Legendre P. 1996. Untangling multiple factors in spatial distributios: lilies, gophers and rocks. Eco            77, 1698- 1715.

Vaganov EA. 1996. Analysis of seasonal tree-ring formation and modeling in dendrochronology. In: Dean JS, Meko DM, Swetnam TW (eds) Tree-rings environment and humanity. Proc Int Conf, Tucson, Arizona, 17–21 May. Radiocarbon pp. 73-87.

Vanclay JK. 1994. Modeling forest growth and Yeild. Applications to mixed tropical forests. CAB International, Oxon, U.K.

Vincent AG, Sundqvist MK, Wardle DA, Giesler R. 2014. Bioavailable soil phosphorus decrease with increasing elevation in a subarctic Tundra Landscape. Plos One 9(3), 1-11.

Wazir SM, Dasti AA, Saima S, Shah J, Hussain F. 2008. Multivariate analysis of vegetation of Chapursan valley: An alpine meadow in Pakistan. Pak. J. Bot 40(2), 615- 626.

Whitmore TC. 1984. Tropical Rain Forests of the Far East. 2nd Edn. Clarendon Press, Oxford.

Whittaker RH. 1965. Dominance and Diversity in land plant communities. Sci 147, 250-260.

Willig MR, Kaufman DM, Stevens RD. 2003. Latitudinal gradients of Biodiversity: Pattern Process, scale and synthesis. Annu. Rev. Eco. Evol. Sys.

Wykoff WR, Crookston NL, Stage AR. 1982. User’s Guide to the stand PROGNOSIS model. USDA. For Serv. Gen. Tech. Rep. Int.133.

Zarnoch SJ, Bechtold WA, Stolte WK. 2004. Using crown condition variable as an indicator of forest health. Can. J. Forest. Res 34, 1057-1070.

Zhang S, Chen D, Sun D, Wang X, Jeffrey L, Smith, Du G. 2011. Impact of altitude and position on the rates of soil nitrogen mineralization and nitrification in alpine meadows on the Eastern Qinghi- Tibetan Plateau, China. Biol Fertil Soil.

Zimmermann MH, Brown CL. 1971. Trees Structure and Function. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.