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http://dx.doi.org/10.7747/JFS.2010.26.2.117

Physical Properties of Soils in Relation to Forest Composition in Moist Temperate Valley Slopes of the Central Western Himalaya  

Sharma, C.M. (Department of Botany, HNB Garhwal University (A Central University))
Gairola, Sumeet (Department of Botany, HNB Garhwal University (A Central University))
Ghildiyal, S.K. (Department of Botany, HNB Garhwal University (A Central University))
Suyal, Sarvesh (Department of Botany, HNB Garhwal University (A Central University))
Publication Information
Journal of Forest and Environmental Science / v.26, no.2, 2010 , pp. 117-129 More about this Journal
Abstract
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 assess the physical properties of soils in relation to the forest structure and composition. Twelve forest types according to the altitude, slope aspect and species compositions were selected for the study. Physical properties of soil i.e., soil colour, soil texture (per cent of sand, silt and clay), moisture content, water holding capacity, porosity, bulk density (gm/$cm^3$) and void ratio were analyzed for three different depths viz., (i) 'upper' (0-10 cm), (ii) 'middle' (11-30 cm) and (iii) 'lower' (31-60 cm) in all the selected forest types. Phytosociological and diversity parameters viz. total basal cover ($Gha^{-1}$), stem density ($Nha^{-1}$), tree species richness, Simpson concentration of dominance and Shannon-Wiener diversity index were also calculated for each forest type. This study also provides the comparisons between the results of physical analysis of the present study with numerous other previous studies in the temperate Himalayan region of the Uttarakhand.
Keywords
Tree diversity; Tree density; Soil moisture; Porosity; Bulk density; Altitude;
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