Vegetation Structure and Regeneration status of Rhododendron arboreum sp. in the forests of Western Himalayas: Study of Van-Panchayat and Reserve forests in Chamoli District of Uttarakhand, India

One of the known indicators of forest health is regeneration of trees, their diversity and the age class structure. Forests which are subjected to unsustainable harvest of its products are in particular vulnerable and stressed. The present study was conducted to study the vegetation structure and regeneration status of Rhododendron arboreum in the van-panchayat and reserve forests of Uttarakhand, Western Himalaya. R.arboreum (Family Ericaceae) is an important keystone species in the region, and any significant change in the species composition due to anthropogenic pressures may also impact the forest community structure. Regeneration status of this species in the study area was enumerated with relative density of seedlings, saplings and mature tree individuals. Regeneration with viable seedling population indicates good forest health and is also a critical part of forest management. Vegetation analysis revealed a total of 13 tree species belonging to 10 families in the forest sites of the study area. Species density (ind/ha) varied from 469-525 (trees), from 322-385 (saplings), and from 435-464 (seedlings) in the van-panchayat forests and 525-572 (trees), 325-350 for (saplings) and 108-275 for seedlings in the reserve forests. Species diversity (H’) value in the van-panchayat forests ranged from 2.04-2.16 (trees), 1.52-1.86 (saplings), 1.32-1.54 (seedling) and from 2.36-2.45 (trees), 2.04-2.18 (saplings), 1.22-1.34 (seedling) in the reserve forest sites.The tree species richness and density in the reserve forests were found to be marginally higher than the van panchayat forests due to low anthropogenic pressure and limitations on the community’s extraction of forest-resources. However, fewer number of individuals of seedlings and saplings indicate less regeneration capacity of Rhododendron sp. in the reserve forest sites, which might be due to reduced seed germination of canopy species or maturation of the forests.