• Title/Summary/Keyword: Western Himalaya

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Pedicularis cheilanthifolia var. albida (Orobanchaceae): A new record for the flora of Uttarakhand, India

  • Sunit SINGH;Sajan THAKUR;J.P. MEHTA;Harish Chander DUTT
    • Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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    • v.53 no.1
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    • pp.65-68
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    • 2023
  • The herb Pedicularis cheilanthifolia var. albida (Pennell) P. C. Tsoong is reported and collected for the first time from the Rudraprayag District of Uttarakhand. The species was seen growing along a glacial stream in an alpine region between 4,100 and 4,400 m asl. Morphological characteristics of the species were examined and processed for herbarium deposition. To simplify taxon identification, a brief taxonomic description and illustration of the taxon are provided.

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

  • Sharma, C.M.;Gairola, Sumeet;Ghildiyal, S.K.;Suyal, Sarvesh
    • Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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    • v.26 no.2
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    • pp.117-129
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    • 2010
  • 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.

Spatio-Temporal Variation of Soil Respiration and Its Association with Environmental Factors in Bluepine Forest of Western Bhutan

  • Cheten Thinley;Baghat Suberi;Rekha Chhetri
    • Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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    • v.39 no.1
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    • pp.13-19
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    • 2023
  • We investigated Soil respiration in Bluepine forest of western Bhutan, in relation to soil temperature, moisture content and soil pH and it was aimed at establishing variability in space and time. The Bluepine forest thrives in the typical shallow dry valleys in the inter-montane Bhutan Himalaya, which is formed by ascending wind from the valley bottom, which carries moisture from the river away to the mountain ridges. Stratified random sampling was applied and the study site was classified into top, mid, low slope and further randomized sample of n=20 from 30 m×30 m from each altitude. The overall soil respiration mean for the forest was found 2248.17 CO2 g yr-1 and it is ~613.58 C g yr-1. The RS from three sites showed a marginal variation amongst sites, lower slope (2,309 m) was 4.64 μ mol m-2 s-1, mid slope (2,631 m) was 6.78 μ mol m-2 s-1 and top slope (3,027 m) was 6.33 μ mol m-2 s-1 and mean of 5.92 μ mol m-2 s-1, SE=0.25 for the forest. Temporal distribution and variations were observed more pronounced than in the space variation. Soil respiration was found highest during March and lowest in September. Soil temperature had almost inverse trend against soil respiration and dropped a low in February and peak in July. The moisture in the soil changed across months with precipitation and pH remained almost consistent across the period. The soil respiration and soil temperature had significant relationship R2=-0.61, p=0.027 and other variables were found insignificant. Similar relationship are reported for dry season in a tropical forest soil respiration. Soil temperature was found to have most pronounced effect on the soil respiration of the forest under study.