Influence of Aspect and Elevational Gradient on Vegetation Pattern, Tree Characteristics and Ecosystem Carbon Density in Northwestern Himalayas

Himalayan forest has been threatened by rapid anthropogenic activities, resulting in the loss of forest diversity and climate change. The present study was carried out on four aspects (northern, southern, western and eastern), at three different altitudinal ranges, namely, 1000–1300 m above sea leve...

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Autores principales:	D. R. Bhardwaj, Habibullah Tahiry, Prashant Sharma, Nazir A. Pala, Dhirender Kumar, Amit Kumar, Bharti
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	tree parameters biomass density altitude ecosystem vegetation community Agriculture S
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/b3eac2c40b5143eca4d25d51aa95b5b2
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:b3eac2c40b5143eca4d25d51aa95b5b22021-11-25T18:08:54ZInfluence of Aspect and Elevational Gradient on Vegetation Pattern, Tree Characteristics and Ecosystem Carbon Density in Northwestern Himalayas10.3390/land101111092073-445Xhttps://doaj.org/article/b3eac2c40b5143eca4d25d51aa95b5b22021-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/11/1109https://doaj.org/toc/2073-445XHimalayan forest has been threatened by rapid anthropogenic activities, resulting in the loss of forest diversity and climate change. The present study was carried out on four aspects (northern, southern, western and eastern), at three different altitudinal ranges, namely, 1000–1300 m above sea level (m a.s.l.), 1300–1600 m a.s.l. and 1600–1900 m a.s.l., and at three diverse mountain ranges (Kalaghat, Barog and Nangali) of sub-temperate forest ecosystems of the mid Himalayan ranges, to elucidate their influence on vegetation, tree characteristics and ecosystem carbon density. The results revealed that <i>Pinus roxburghii</i> is the most dominant forest community of the mid Himalaya’s forest, irrespective of altitudinal gradient and slope. The south-facing slopes are occupied by the xerophytic tree species frequently found in the lower Shiwalik <i>P. roxburghii</i> forest, whereas the north-facing ones are dominated by mesophyllic species, such as <i>Cedrus deodara</i> and <i>Quercus leucotrichophora,</i> which commonly grows in the northwestern Himalayan temperate forest ecosystem. The maximum stem density (211.00 Nha<sup>−1</sup>) was found at 1000–1300 m a.s.l., and on the northern aspect (211.00 Nha<sup>−1</sup>). The maximum stem volume (236.50 m<sup>3</sup> ha<sup>−1</sup>) was observed on the northern aspect at 1000–1300 m a.s.l., whereas the minimum (32.167 m<sup>3</sup> ha<sup>−1</sup>) in the southern aspect at 1300–1600 m a.s.l. The maximum carbon density (149.90 Mg ha<sup>−1</sup>) was found on the northern aspect and declined with increasing elevation from 123.20 to 74.78 Mg ha<sup>−1</sup>. Overall, the study establishes that the southern and western aspects are very low in carbon density, whereas the northern aspect represents higher biodiversity as well as carbon and nutrient stocks. Therefore, aspect and altitude should be given due importance for efficient managing of biodiversity and mitigating climate change.D. R. BhardwajHabibullah TahiryPrashant SharmaNazir A. PalaDhirender KumarAmit KumarBhartiMDPI AGarticletree parametersbiomass densityaltitudeecosystemvegetation communityAgricultureSENLand, Vol 10, Iss 1109, p 1109 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	tree parameters biomass density altitude ecosystem vegetation community Agriculture S
spellingShingle	tree parameters biomass density altitude ecosystem vegetation community Agriculture S D. R. Bhardwaj Habibullah Tahiry Prashant Sharma Nazir A. Pala Dhirender Kumar Amit Kumar Bharti Influence of Aspect and Elevational Gradient on Vegetation Pattern, Tree Characteristics and Ecosystem Carbon Density in Northwestern Himalayas
description	Himalayan forest has been threatened by rapid anthropogenic activities, resulting in the loss of forest diversity and climate change. The present study was carried out on four aspects (northern, southern, western and eastern), at three different altitudinal ranges, namely, 1000–1300 m above sea level (m a.s.l.), 1300–1600 m a.s.l. and 1600–1900 m a.s.l., and at three diverse mountain ranges (Kalaghat, Barog and Nangali) of sub-temperate forest ecosystems of the mid Himalayan ranges, to elucidate their influence on vegetation, tree characteristics and ecosystem carbon density. The results revealed that <i>Pinus roxburghii</i> is the most dominant forest community of the mid Himalaya’s forest, irrespective of altitudinal gradient and slope. The south-facing slopes are occupied by the xerophytic tree species frequently found in the lower Shiwalik <i>P. roxburghii</i> forest, whereas the north-facing ones are dominated by mesophyllic species, such as <i>Cedrus deodara</i> and <i>Quercus leucotrichophora,</i> which commonly grows in the northwestern Himalayan temperate forest ecosystem. The maximum stem density (211.00 Nha<sup>−1</sup>) was found at 1000–1300 m a.s.l., and on the northern aspect (211.00 Nha<sup>−1</sup>). The maximum stem volume (236.50 m<sup>3</sup> ha<sup>−1</sup>) was observed on the northern aspect at 1000–1300 m a.s.l., whereas the minimum (32.167 m<sup>3</sup> ha<sup>−1</sup>) in the southern aspect at 1300–1600 m a.s.l. The maximum carbon density (149.90 Mg ha<sup>−1</sup>) was found on the northern aspect and declined with increasing elevation from 123.20 to 74.78 Mg ha<sup>−1</sup>. Overall, the study establishes that the southern and western aspects are very low in carbon density, whereas the northern aspect represents higher biodiversity as well as carbon and nutrient stocks. Therefore, aspect and altitude should be given due importance for efficient managing of biodiversity and mitigating climate change.
format	article
author	D. R. Bhardwaj Habibullah Tahiry Prashant Sharma Nazir A. Pala Dhirender Kumar Amit Kumar Bharti
author_facet	D. R. Bhardwaj Habibullah Tahiry Prashant Sharma Nazir A. Pala Dhirender Kumar Amit Kumar Bharti
author_sort	D. R. Bhardwaj
title	Influence of Aspect and Elevational Gradient on Vegetation Pattern, Tree Characteristics and Ecosystem Carbon Density in Northwestern Himalayas
title_short	Influence of Aspect and Elevational Gradient on Vegetation Pattern, Tree Characteristics and Ecosystem Carbon Density in Northwestern Himalayas
title_full	Influence of Aspect and Elevational Gradient on Vegetation Pattern, Tree Characteristics and Ecosystem Carbon Density in Northwestern Himalayas
title_fullStr	Influence of Aspect and Elevational Gradient on Vegetation Pattern, Tree Characteristics and Ecosystem Carbon Density in Northwestern Himalayas
title_full_unstemmed	Influence of Aspect and Elevational Gradient on Vegetation Pattern, Tree Characteristics and Ecosystem Carbon Density in Northwestern Himalayas
title_sort	influence of aspect and elevational gradient on vegetation pattern, tree characteristics and ecosystem carbon density in northwestern himalayas
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/b3eac2c40b5143eca4d25d51aa95b5b2
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Influence of Aspect and Elevational Gradient on Vegetation Pattern, Tree Characteristics and Ecosystem Carbon Density in Northwestern Himalayas

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